MANILA -- The showdown for the first batch of semi-finalists of "Tawag ng Tanghalan" on "It's Showtime" continued on Tuesday as they performed songs for their families.

The singing competition opened with Leo Valdez's "Magsimula Ka" from Jaime Navarro, who became emotional as he dedicated his performance to his children.

"Yung sa pagkakanta mo, damang-dama ko naman. Maganda ang pagkanta mo pero naghahanap pa ako ng mas matindi. Ibig sabihin eh 'yung paano mo ba ako magugulat o 'yung pagkatapos nito ay hahabulin kita para mapanood lang kita. Pero 'yung rendition mo ngayon para sa akin ay okay naman," judge Edgar Mortiz said.

It was Mary Gidget dela Llana, who dedicated "Home" from the Broadway musical "The Wiz" to her mother, who made Mortiz cry.

"Nakita natin 'yung ganda ng rendition mo sa song, at 'yung dynamics mo, buhay na buhay. Ang kulang na lang for me ay 'yung interpretation mo sa kanta. ... Bawasan natin yung tawa ng tawa o ngumingiti kasi kailangan mong ipadama sa amin ang mensahe ng song. That's very, very important. Huwag kang lalayo doon sa lyrics," judge Karla Estrada advised.

Restaurant singer Maricel Callo wowed the studio audience and the judges with her rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel.

"Ako naman ang muntik maiyak," head judge Rey Valera commented. "Wala akong masabi. Akala ko sumabog kanina ang ilaw sa energy mo. Ito 'yung sinasabi ko na nag-re-reach out ka sa audience mo dito at nararamdaman ko na gusto mo kaming abutin."

Rachel Gabreza belted out Regine Velasquez's hit "Shine."

"Kapag kumakanta ka talaga tumatagos, papasok sa tenga, papunta sa puso. Congratulations! I'm a huge fan of what you are capable of doing," Billy Crawford said.

Last to perform on Tuesday was Davao's Dominador Alviola Jr., who made the audience and judges smile, as he sang "Il Mondo" by Engelbert Humperdinck, which he dedicated to his family.

"Ang sarap panoorin kapag ang tao gustong-gusto ang ginagawa niya. 'Yun ang nakita ko sa iyo. Kikita ka diyan sa ginagawa mo. Aasenso kayo. Promise 'yan," "The Voice of the Philippines" grand winner Mitoy Yonting told Alviola.

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Lowest votes

For the first time, the noontime show revealed the two semi-finalists who received the lowest total scores from the combined text votes and hurados' votes.

The partial votes were based from semi-finalists' performance last Monday.

The two with lowest scores were Navarro with 57.33 while Gabreza garnered a total score of 63.20.

Before the end of this week, two of the five semi-finalists will be named as part of "Tawag ng Tanghalan" grand finals.