Billy Crawford admits he was “litong-lito” when “The Voice Generations” was first offered to him
Billy Crawford is happy to have made a comeback in his original home, GMA-7.
Billy started his showbiz career in GMA-7’s youth-oriented variety show, “That’s Entertainment” wayback in 1986 before he migrated to the United States and pursued an international career.
When he returned to the Philippines in 2007, Billy signed up with GMA-7 and then transferred to ABS-CBN in 2008, then returned to the Kapuso network in 2022 via “The Wall Philippines.”
Now that he’s back with GMA-7 after 14 years, he says that he just feels at home.
He tells FreebieMNL during a recent “The Voice Generations” media conference, “Para ka lang bumabalik sa bahay. You feel at home.
“There’s a certain familiarity, yung warmth feeling na kilala mo [sila]. Yung nakakatuwa kasi dito, particulary sa studio na ito pati sa kabilang building, there’s so much good memories kahit papaano.
“I’ve been in the industry for more than 37 years and a good chunk of those 30-plus years was here in GMA.
“I started my career with GMA and it’s like a business, kung saan ka man pumunta, kung bubuksan nila ulit yung pintuan nila and you’re welcome, it’s such an amazing feeling to have that. So, it’s great to be back home talaga.”
Billy is one of the coaches of GMA-7’s upcoming talent-reality show, “The Voice Generations,” which premieres on August 27 on the Kapuso Sunday evening block.
The other coaches are Chito Miranda, Julie Anne San Jose, and SB19’s Stell Ajero, with Dingdong Dantes as host.
READ ALSO: Who Are The Coaches Of GMA-7’s “The Voice Generations?”
Reaction to “The Voice” offer
Admittedly, Billy was at first “litong-lito” with the offer he received to become one of the show’s coaches.
He shares, “I was so curious kasi sobrang litong-lito ako sa totoo lang, kasi I had no idea what was happening, what was going on, and obviously naman, all these shows are franchised somehow.
“Noong sinabi nilang ‘The Voice,’ same with Stell’s reaction, ‘Wait, ano ako doon? Coach as in mentor? Kailangan ba ako kapag one of the coaches, kailangan ng mentor, ng tulong?‘
“Akala ko, yun yung role ko. I never thought that I’d actually be part of the turning chairs ‘tapos noong sinabi na kung sinu-sino yung kasama, Boss Chito, Julie, si Stell, that’s when I got super excited.
“Tapos si Dingdong pa. It’s like parang nandiyan na lahat from appetizers to main course to dessert.”
What can he share with the contestants he will be mentoring in the show?
Billy says, “Lahat ng matututunan ng mga talents, never-ending yan. It never stops. It can be from all coaches, from the hosts, from anyone that they meet.
“Ang isa sa pinaka-importanteng natutunan ko sa buhay ko bilang isang mang-aawit at mananayaw and whatever else is one, you have to be professional. Even by showing up, number one na yun.
“Showing on time, that’s another thing. Pangalawa doon ay apart from punctuality is aralin mo kung ano yung craft mo, do your best and perfect your craft kasi yun ang ipepresenta mo.
“Once you perfect your craft, never forget where you came from, stay humble kasi humility and love and passion will take you a long way, sa kahit anong career path yan.
“So, sa aspiring talents and dreamers, lahat kami rito, we were once dreamers and we still dream, gusto lang namin ma-motivate and ma-inspire yung mga talents, kung anong meron kaming matutulong sa kanila.
“It could be as ‘Good job,’ ‘Continue to do a good job and you will go far,’ that’s enough advice anyone could get.”
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