MANILA - She revealed last week that she had plans to back out of the finals due to a lingering vocal problem.

Despite that, It's Showtime! Tawag ng Tanghalan celebrity contender Ethel Booba beat all odds and eventually came out as champion in the grand finals, Saturday.

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Booba, or Ethel Gabison in real life, once again proved her chops outside comedy after chilling renditions of Buddy Rich and Sammy Davis Jr.'s "What Kind of Fool Am I?" and Nonoy Zuñiga's "I'll Never Say Goodbye."

Booba, who first rose to fame through a karaoke singing competition and has been known for her witty Twitter quips, defeated Jason Fernandez and Roxanne Barcelo with a total average score of 39.82 percent.

Fernandez came in second with a score of 36.79 percent, while Barcelo got 23.39 percent.

On Wednesday, Booba said she nearly backed out of her finals bid after losing her voice, resorting to alcohol, which she said helped whenever she had vocal problems.

"Muntik na ako talaga mag-back out kasi nakakahiya!" she said then.

Booba took home P300,000 cash, on top of a pair of customized in-ear monitors, a recording contract, and a trophy carved by Toym Imao.