A 14-YEAR-OLD GUITAR whiz, a wacky ventriloquist, a Fil-Norwegian crooner and an Igorot Broadway siren are among the acts hoping to win the ?Pilipinas Got Talent? grand prize tonight at the Big Dome.

16-week eliminations

The 12 finalists, picked over a span of 16 weeks from more than 200 hopefuls across the country, have slugged it out for a P2-million cash prize and the prestige of being PGT?s first champ.

They delivered their final performances last night. SMS votes will determine the winner.

Contenders for the title are: young guitarist Keith Delleva; Jovit Baldivino, the Batangueño who created a stir with his version of Journey?s ?Faithfully?; ventriloquist Ruther Urquia, who uses two puppets; Bicolana Jeline Oliva, who says she can play 10 musical instruments; magician Allan ?Alakim? De Paz;

Fil-Norwegian singer Markki Stroem; Igorot Ingrid Payaket, who first wowed the PGT audience with a Broadway piece; Cagayan de Oro?s pride, balladeer Sherwin Baguion; break-dancing siblings Velasco Brothers; and the Luntayaw family, singers from Cebu; Ezra Band quartet; and Baguio Metamorphosis, a dance company.

The PGT judges are Ai Ai de las Alas, Kris Aquino and Freddie M. Garcia.

Top-rated

According to production manager Morly Nueva, 15 executives from FreeMantle Media, show creator and producer, are in town to watch the grand finals.

Since its launch in February, PGT has topped the weekend prime-time national TV ratings, Nueva said, quoting data gathered by the US-based TNS Media Research. He said the show hit a high of 43.1 percent on its second week of airing.

?Viewers like it [probably] because they can empathize with the contestants,? Nueva told Inquirer Entertainment.

Nueva said his team considered TV5?s ?Talentadong Pinoy,? a tough competitor. But, he added, ?that show doesn?t tell much about where the contestants come from and/or how they made it to the contest. It doesn?t put as much value on backstories as PGT does.?

?Perfectionist?

Many also find the three PGT judges intriguing, Nueva said, pointing out that Garcia played a ?very important? part. ?He recently expressed his decision not to join us for the second season anymore,? Nueva revealed. ?We can?t think just yet of anyone who can replace him. Maybe viewers can help us convince him to stay.?

Nueva recalled the time he made FMG watch a ?rough edit? of the pilot episode. ?He said, ?Kung ?yan lang ipapalabas natin, ?wag na [If that?s what we?re going to show, forget it].? He?s a perfectionist,? Nueva recalled. ?When we went back to him, we showed what we thought was our best work, and at last he was pleased. In front of other network executives, he said ?That?s my show!?

?Pilipinas Got Talent,? hosted by Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford, conducted auditions in Batangas, Cebu, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Manila. ?For the next season,? said Nueva, ?we hope to feature talents from places other than those we?ve already visited. We know that there are still a lot of undiscovered talents out there.?

Tonight?s final results episode will be aired live on ABS-CBN starting at 8:15 p.m.