Cyrus Villanueva once again wowed the judges and viewers of The X Factor Australia this week, this time with a performance of Hold Back the River by British singer James Bay. (See video of his performance below)
On Monday night’s show, the remaining 10 acts performed songs that have appeared in the top 10 charts.
"This should be easy for you because you already have a top-10 hit under your belt," Villanueva was told by American rocker Chris Isaak, who is a judge on the show and his mentor. Last week, Villanueva's recording of Isaak's song, Wicked Game, peaked at No 1 on the iTunes charts – quite a feat, as none of the other contestants have made the charts at all so far.
This week the 19-year-old Filipino-Australian student, from Wollongong, New South Wales, was given the job of closing the show. It was another triumph.
Judge Guy Sebastian said: “Cyrus, your voice is incredible. Anything you sing sounds amazing. I love that song – I love your treatment of it. It was amazing.”
“No wonder they kept you until the end because you ruined the stage,” said James Blunt. “Cyrus, you’re the front-runner. You are the man that everyone has to try to beat.”
Isaak added: “It’s a great performance – but I just want to say, it’s so much fun working with you backstage because you are the nicest guy, the hardest-working guy and you always deliver. Well done.”
Villanueva later posted on Instagram: “I don’t think I’ve had as much fun as I did last night. A huge thank you to those who voted for me!”
Tuesday night's results show featured a double elimination, the first in X Factor Australia's history. Georgia Denton, a 14-year-old pop singer, and Jimmy Davis, a 21-year-old folk-rocker, were eliminated after receiving the fewest audience votes.
Aside from Villanueva, the current favourites on the singing competition are folk-pop duo Jess & Matt, and soul vocalist Big T.
This week’s musical guests were British artist Jess Glynne and girl group Little Mix.
Joey G, Aiza Seguerra perform in Abu Dhabi
Veteran vocalist Joey Generoso and singer-songwriter Aiza Seguerra will headline the Abu Dhabi Pinoy Music Festival tomorrow at the Abu Dhabi City Golf Club.
Also scheduled to perform are comic Giselle Sanchez, actor Derek Ramsay and young crooner Darren Espanto, the runner-up in last year's The Voice Kids Philippines.
Tickets, priced from Dh80 to Dh300, are available at www.platinumlist.net, as well as at UAE Exchange outlets and several Filipino restaurants across the UAE, including Max’s, The Filipino Kitchen and Binalot. Doors open at 5pm and the festival performances will continue until 2am.
Amy Vachal impresses in The Voice US
Cyrus Villanueva is not the only aspiring singer with a Filipino connection making waves in a TV singing competition. Amy Vachal has advanced to the next round of the American edition of The Voice after impressing the judges with her audition performance of the classic track Dream A Little Dream of Me.
The 26-year-old Filipino-American’s voice inspired three of the four coaches to turn their chairs around in approval.
“First of all, I don’t have a beautiful Pocahontas, fairy princess, angel-like singer on my team,” said Gwen Stefani. “You’re creative with the way that you’ve performed and you seemed like a real, honest artist. I can really help you on this journey, because I did this already. I feel like we could have such a connection.”
Attempting to convince Vachal to join his team, Pharrell Williams said: “I would be unbelievably appreciative to have the opportunity to aid you in that journey. Let me be the guy that can help you explore that side.”
“Please pick me,” said Blake Shelton, who compared Vachal to Norah Jones and Colbie Caillat. “Let me say this: I know that I’m looking at a superstar. I’m so impressed – please pick me.”
Adam Levine, whose team was already full and so could not try to recruit her, said: “I’m sad that I didn’t get to turn for you. You could win this whole thing.”
Vachal picked Pharrell as her coach. She advances to the top 48 Battle Rounds, which will be broadcast in the coming weeks.
She lives in Brooklyn and is the niece of Gwendolyn Garcia, who serves in the Philippine Congress as a representative for the province of Cebu.
Alden Richards album lands in Billboard charts
Filipino actor and singer Alden Richards has conquered the global Billboard charts. His self-titled debut album is at number 10 on this week’s world albums chart.
Released in 2013 by Universal Records, there has been a surge in sales thanks to Richards's newfound fame as a heartthrob on the variety programme Eat Bulaga. He stars in a segment titled AlDub, a combination of his first name and his character's love interest, Yaya Dub (played by Maine Mendoza).
Richards is only the third Filipino singer and first Filipino male artist to make the Billboard charts, following Jaya in 1990 and Charice in 2010.
artslife@thenational.ae
