Mabuhay Metro Pop Singing Competition Gallery        (from L-R: Charlyn Marundan, Katherine Awayan, Jessa DeLuna, Christopher Bambao, Jessica Mesa and Ashley Galang)

Each year, in celebration of the independence of the Philippines, the PIDC (Philippine Independence Day Council) holds a large event where Filipinos can partake in a full day of supporting their kababayans. Numerous booths of Filipino businesses and organizations mapped the open space of Hall A and to my surprise, hundreds of Filipinos where wandering and socializing the floor. I was impressed and proud to see the strength of the Filipino community in one room, under one roof.

The crowd concentrated where I was headed, the Entertainment Stage, where just moments ago, dance troupes from traditional cultural dance to hiphop flaunted their talent. I took my reserved seat at the front of the catwalk of the stage. Why did I have such a special seat in the house? Well, this year, RiR was invited to judge the first ever Mabuhay Metro Pop Competition, a singing contest to establish our best Filipino vocalist to represent us in the singing competition next year, in the Chinese Lunar Festival. Never before has the Chinese Lunar Festival opened the competition to other Asian countries which puts more at stake at the competition at hand.

In support of this, RiR will offer the winners of the Mabuhay Metro Pop Competition, as part of their grand prize, two recording contracts, one for the Mabuhay Metro Pop Idol and another for the Mabuhay U-Idol (the latter, being the idol to represent us in the Chinese Lunar Festival next year). Myself and two other judges (the President of the Chinese Lunar Festival and the President of PIDC) had the difficult task of assigning the two championship titles amongst the six contestants.

Each contestant had to perform two songs, one song of their choice and another song of their choice of OPM (Original Philipino Music). After two rounds of performances, the judges, based on the scoring criteria where 20% of the total was Audience Impact, found the winners:

• U-Idol Champion - CHRISTOPHER BAMBAO
• First Runner Up - Ashley Galang
• Second Runner Up - Jessica Mesa

• Metro Pop Idol Champion - JESSA DE LUNA
• First Runner Up - Katherine Awayan
• Second Runner Up - Charlyn Marundan

I just wanted to congratulate all the contestants on a job well done! It was very difficult for us judges to come to a decision. As you all may recall, the tabulation of scores took longer than anticipated. And it all boiled down to the scores for Audience Impact. Christopher and Jessa brought on such a reaction from the audience, especially Christopher, with his choice of OPM, 'Be My Lady' by Martin Nievera. I could hear every female in the hall swoon! And Jessa's Tagalog OPM also impressed us by showcasing her vocal range. (Sorry, I can't remember the name of the song but I won't ever forget the performance!)

We welcome Christopher and Jessa to the RiR Family! Keep tuning in for updates on them on a future cd compilation that they will debut on!