MANILA, Philippines – The Voice Kids PH semi-finals are coming up this August 22 and 23, and the coaches are doing their best to prepare their finalists for the weekend. (WATCH: ‘The Voice Kids PH 2’ Top 6 on their biggest competition, semifinal round)

During the show’s press conference on August 29, coaches Lea Salonga, Bamboo Manalac, and Sarah Geronimo spoke about their experiences with the kids thus far, how they’re gearing up for the semi-finals, and how they’re collaborating with the kids on the song choices for the semis.

Preparation

Aside from picking the right songs and helping the kids with their performance on stage, the coaches said they have to help them prepare mentally as well.

“It’s about mental preparation. Since we’ve had the experience of doing this for a couple of seasons already, telling them ‘you have to rest up, you have to be disciplined.’ Those are the things that I – ’cause vocally I think they can do – so it’s about mentally preparing them for that moment, for that brief two minutes,” said Bamboo.

Keep on walking pic.twitter.com/RW6DlXy8vo

— Bamboo (@BambooMuzakLive) August 17, 2015

All 3 coaches were on The Voice Philippines as well as the first season of The Voice Kids.

Sarah said that it was also important to remind the kids that whether or not they win, their growth is the most important part of the competition. “Makuha man nila yung title o hindi, ang pinaka-importante sa lahat ay yung growth na makukuha nila dito sa experience na ito, na madadala nila hopefully and talagang dapat pagtrabahuhan ng mga bata, ng pamilya nila,” she said.

(Whether or not they get the title, the most important thing is the growth that they’ll get from this experience, that they can bring, hopefully and that the kids and their families should work on.)

Collaboration

For the semi-final weekend, the kids get to choose what songs they’ll sing with the help of their coaches, and all the coaches follow almost the same process. The kids give the coaches a list of the songs they want to sing and the coaches help them narrow it down.

Lea will usually choose songs based on how appropriate they are for the child. “This is in the presence of our executive producers, and the writers, so it’s not just me. So it’s a full team effort picking out just the right song for that moment in semi-finals or even for grand finals,” said Lea.

Bamboo takes on a different approach, as he likes to listen to his contestants sing their songs of choice before making a pick.

“What I do is I like to hear them sing it and I’ll see if it moves me, affects me, and if nothing on that list works, then I say send me a new one,” said Bamboo. Bamboo added that he’ll sometimes suggest songs for the kids too.

Early at rehearsals for this weekends semis.this was a looooong (but productive) day pic.twitter.com/jE06rWfwWi

— Bamboo (@BambooMuzakLive) August 18, 2015

Journey

The coaches also made time to spend time with their kids and get to know them a bit better.

Bamboo expressed his appreciation for the time he spent with his team. “Everytime we get to spend time together away form the studio, away from the stage, I get to see the kids for what they are, what they do,” said Bamboo.

Coach Lea visited contestant Esang de Torres at home, and got to see a side of the serious little girl that she doesn’t often see.

“Seeing her getting to know her family I get a better idea of the kind of person that she is and she’s very makulit (persistent). That’s when the kid comes out and that’s when I realize that oh she’s not 115, she’s actually 8,” shared Lea. Lea also took Reynan Dal-Anay to Kidzania, an amusement park.

Sarah added that the reason she gets emotional about her job is because of how attached she gets to the kids. “Siguro kaya din po ako kaya nagiging emotional din, sa akin yung trabaho ko bilang coach kasi yung attachment ko sa mga bata, at kung paano ka – kung paano mo sila nakikilala not only for the artist that they are,” said Sarah.

(I guess the reason I also get emotional about my job as a coach is because of the attachment I feel toward the kids and how I get to know them not only as artists [but also as people].) – Rappler.com

More The Voice Kids PH 2 below:

• WATCH: ‘The Voice Kids PH 2’ Top 6 on their biggest competition, semifinal round
• Meet the ‘The Voice Kids PH 2’ top 6
• How ‘The Voice Kids PH’ coaches help kids cope with pressure
• WATCH: The 5 best Battle Rounds from ‘The Voice Kids Philippines 2’
• FULL LIST: ‘Voice Kids PH’ Battle Rounds results: Who’s in, who’s out?
• 10 amazing ‘Voice Kids PH 2’ blind auditions
• WATCH: Lea Salonga ‘mini-me’ stuns in ‘Voice Kids PH’ audition
• WATCH: Brothers from Bohol impress with unique ‘Voice Kids PH 2’ blind audition
• WATCH: ‘Voice Kids PH’ coaches turn for young contestant singing ‘On My Own’
• Bamboo to this young ‘Voice Kids PH’ contestant: ‘I’m so in awe of you’
• WATCH: Darren Espanto performs ‘Moves like Jagger’ with contestant on ‘The Voice Kids PH 2’
• WATCH: Sarah G, Jason Dy, Bamboo serenade young contestant in ‘Voice Kids PH 2’