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>Little Jonalyn is now a big star >Date: 5/11/2005 9:02:06 AM >Source: The Manila Times >By: Danny T. Vibas > >We Filipinos are superb at singing. Honest-to-goodness >singing. And >we start really young. So by the time we're in our >teens, some of >us >have become champion amateur singers. But some amateur >singers make >it big time, some never do. Will Jonalyn Viray make it? > >Jonalyn, the GMA 7 amateur singing contest Pinoy Pop >Superstar's >first grand champion, is only 15 years old and was the >smallest >among the eight contenders on Sunday night's grand >finals of the >GMA >7 amateur singing contest Pinoy Pop Superstar. She was >also the >youngest. > >The eight contenders of Pinoy Pop Superstar were all >in their teens >(early twenties at the most). The grand showdown held >at the Araneta >Coliseum was single-handedly hosted by Regine >Velasquez, who was >herself the champion of an amateur singing contest >then known as >Tawag ng Kampeon. Each of the eight contenders was a >champion in the >10-month singing contest for at least four Sundays. >(Contest rules >require that winners for less than four weeks cannot >qualify for the >grand finals.) > >Jonalyn won only for four weeks. She sang "I Wanna Run >To >You" for >her second piece. She won for herself P1-million cash >from Coca >Cola, a house and lot from Filinvest, a Futura Classic >Toyota car, >and services worth several thousands of pesos from the >Belo Medical >Group and from Ricky Reyes's chain of salons. > >Jonalyn comes from San Mateo, Rizal, and is the eldest >child in the >family. Her father works at Purefoods. Both of her >parents watched >the show at the Big Dome, along with two younger >siblings. Jonalyn >is an incoming senior student at the Jose P. Laurel >High School. > > > >Contenders > > >Three of the contenders were from the provinces and >only two from >Metro Manila. One was from Canada and another from the >United >States. GMA 7 conducted searches in those countries >not only because >of their huge Filipino populations but also in >preparation for the >launch of a cable network service there as a >counterpart of The >Filipino Channel operated by rival ABS-CBN 2. > >Michael Anthony Garcia hails from Iligan City, >Mindanao, and was >raised singly by his father along with three siblings. >Michael's >father is a humble truck driver in Iligan. Happily, he >made it to >the Big Dome to watch his youngest son compete. > >On grand finals night, Michael seemed to have had the >biggest fan >support. He was, after all, the contest's first weekly >champion >who >went on to reign for seven weeks before he lost the >title. And >though barely over five feet, he is handsome and >sweet-faced. Very >boyish. > >Michael's fans even had tarpaulin photos of him. They >occupied >hundreds of seats in the Big Dome's lower and upper >boxes, and >most >of the general admission seats. They screamed his >name, battling it >out with the equally screaming fans of Brenan >Espartinez, >Char­maine >Piamonte, Kristel Astor, MC Montirola and Jonalyn. >Only Sheila >Ferrari and Philbert de Torres had no fans to scream >out their names >as they from the United States and Canada, >respectively. > > >Judgment night > > >The judges sat a few meters from the stage, each >equipped with a >computer to input scores. The panel was headed by >Philip Yalong, >executive vice president and chief operations officer >of GMA >Records. The others were composer-musical director >Danny Tan, >singers Jaya and Kyla, TV and theater director Floy >Quintos. > >Star quality took 60 percent of the contenders' >rating, while >only >40 percent was allotted to musicality. In the first >round, fans' >text votes were factored in, but the second and final >rounds used >only the judges' ratings. > >Charmaine, Jonalyn, Michael and Brenan made it to the >second round, >for which their scores were reverted to zero. Jonalyn >and Brenan had >to sing the same song for the final showdown and the >song was the >show's theme, "My Miracle," composed by Danny Tan, and >which all the eight contenders had already performed >in groups >in the show's past telecasts. > >Fan power > >The fans easily filled up the place, bringing with >them huge >streamers and posters announcing their support for a >particular >contender. Some fans even flashed elongated red >balloons shaped in >letters that spelled out their idol's name, >specifically that of >Brenan, a Metro Manilan who later emerged as second >placer. He is a >little-known actor on educational TV shows and was >part of the short- >lived youth show on GMA 7, Bestfrends (yes, spelled >without the >"i") >hosted by German Moreno. > >Brenan was voted by fellow contenders "Most Admired >Finalist" and >was given by Coca Cola a cash prize of P20,000. A >counterpart of the >same amount was also donated to the GMA 7 Kapuso >Foundation. > >Album > >After the grand finals, GMA Records put together the >Pinoy Pop >Superstar The Finalists album that features the six >winning contest >pieces of each contender including "If You're Not the >One" by >Michael, "If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Kristel, >I believe" by Charmaine, "Through the Fire" by MC, >"Home" >by Brenan and "My Miracle" by all six. > >It is available in CDs and cassettes in record stores >nationwide. > > >---------- m.i.b. -----------------> > > > > >---------- m.i.b. -----------------> > > > >M.I.B.I. >http://insidebuzz.tripod.com > > >------------ have a nice day ------------ >

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