16
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 1 | October 2014
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Marlisa dazzles
to X Factor Top 5
SHE’S now in the Top 5. Indeed, she has come a long
way since ‘Yesterday’ – the Beatles classic that she
sang in her successful audition at X Factor.
By Violi Calvert
PINAY teenager Marliza Punzalan has earned strong support from the Fil-Aussie
sie
and the wider Australian community. She got the people’s vote and at the last elimimination stage (September 29) she was called to be in the Top 5.
Marlisa’s performance of ‘Super Love’, composed and sang by 2013 X Factor
or
winner Dami Im, dazzled both the studio audience and thousands of home viewers
rs
who voted for her to stay in the contest. Marlisa had never been in the bottom list of
contestants who had to sing and square off to remain in the competition and picked
d
to stay subject to the judges’ decision.
Dami Im who was impressed by Marlisa’s rendition of ‘Super Love’ sent her
er
vote of approval via Twitter.
The songs performed by Marlisa in the previous stages showcased her strong
g
vocals and versatility with songs of varied genres. These ranged from the vocallyychallenging Celine Dion song ‘All by Myself’, the quirky ‘Oh So Quiet’ by Bjork; Metallica song ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘Papparazzi’ by Lady Gaga; ‘Let It Go’ from the
e
popular Disney movie ‘Frozen’; ‘Try’ by Pink and from Australia’s own Olivia Newwton John’s ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’.
“Marlisa has grown up the most during the competition. She has willingly acccepted the challenges thrown at her and delivered well.” says Ronan Keating,
g,
Marlisa’s X Factor mentor.
Elvis charity concert
THE
Alliance of Philippine Community Organisations,
Inc. (APCO) hosted an Elvis Charity Concert to help
raise funds for its Humanitarian Emergency
f
and Livelihood (HEAL) Program and
co
community development projects at the
River Canyon Restaurant in Parramatta last
Riv
mo
month.
E
EDDIE ‘ELVIS’ Lombardo
wowed the audience Elvis
hits like ‘Little Sister’, ‘In
the
th Ghetto’ and ‘Treat Me
Nice’. His rendition of ‘I
N
Can’t
Ca Stop Loving You’ and
‘I C
Can’t Help Falling in Love’
elicited
elici a rousing standing ovation from the audience.
Versatile Brian Lorenz entertained the audience with
ter
a solo performance and a
duet with coloratura soprano and Linda Trinidad, APCO Director. The
Mindanao Ethnic Dance
APCO Officers, membeers and guests with Laurie Ferguson MP, member for
Werriwa (fourth from left)
Group served as background
dancers while the VSD Dancers led by Victor Valdez, performed the Igorot dance with
gusto. Ms Mariah Blanco, a
seasoned singer also belted out
a couple of songs.
Mr Guido Pengue, president of the Italian Associazione Laurentini, won the raffle’s 1st prize of $500 cash 1st
prize. He surprised everyone
when he turned over half of his
win ($250) for APCO’s charity. [Richard J Ford APCO
PRO].
Igorot dance by the VSD Dancers led b y Victor Valdez
Pop Tenors revisit OPM
FOLLOWING
the success of last year’s Four Filipino
Tenors concert tour come the Filipino Pop Tenors led by
visual artist-singer Miguel Castro, former lead tenor of the
now-disbanded ‘’Fab Four”.
THE Filipino Pop Tenors
plan a tour of Australia early
next year, bringing with them
‘’many great songs that many
Filipinos have not even heard
– again”, according to Miguel.
“We want to give it a
fresh approach, updated versions,” he said. “Hopefully
the younger generation will
embrace them, and bring back
happy memories to the notso-young.”
The singing group comprise Jun Murillo, Adrian Lachica, Rhenwyn Gabalonzo
and Castro. An album of their
songs is due for release soon.
“After almost a year of
waiting for the right singers to
work with, I regained my passion to re-live great Filipino
songs and offer them with refreshing arrangements to our
Filipinos everywhere,” Castro said.
The Filipino Pop Tenors’
Australian concert tour dates
and venue will be announced
soon.