The Thank You

FINALLY! All my hard work has paid off! I have my voice back and I am very well conditioned for the competition tonight! And it's all thanks to my friends, family and vocal coaches who had stuck with me 'til the end! PLUS of course my determination to win and my passion for singing helped too. :)


There are so many people to thank... so I'm gonna start with:


MY MOM, who stuck with me from the very beginning and has supported me in all my endeavors... She's my number one supporter in this POP ICON competition... My stage mom, thank YOU! I will be a much better daughter to my mama from now on! I LOVE YOU MA!


MY DAD, who patiently drove me to practices, Pop Icon rehearsals and costume fittings. :)


MY SIBLINGS, who are always there supporting me and cheering me on!


MARK BADONG, who graciously took some time off from his busy schedule to watch me sing every night and bring inspiration. Thank you for giving me my strength and passion back. This song is for you and you know it! :)


MICHAEL ARLOU DE DIOS, who listened to my woes every night and gave me time to think about what I should do to pull myself up again. Thanks for being such a wonderful and supportive friend! And for giving me HK! I will bring her tonight! ^^


MRS. KHOURY, for always believing in me and giving so much confidence! And for taking some valuable time each day to coach me for free in your class. I am sorry for those times that I felt I couldn't do it, but I am thankful that you have so much faith in what I could do! :)


CRISTINA PENALOSA, for being a very patient vocal coach! You've done so much in polishing my song and helping me get back on track after getting sick! I would still be singing sharps and flats if it weren't for you!


JEI-C, who gave me that very powerful message that woke me up from my desperation! I will never forget what you said, that my enemy is me and I am my only inspiration. That my song is about being a fighter so I should fight... and so I AM FIGHTING! :D

MS. LAURIE and MS. SITTI, two of the most wonderful co-workers in the world! Thank you for lifting me up each day and for allowing me to go to Ms. Khoury for my training even during work times hehehe. :)

MY FRIENDS AT FACEBOOK/MULTIPLY, POP ICON S2 and S3... Thank you for all your wonderful and inspiring messages! Thanks for taking time to vote for me as well. :)

And above all... GOD THE ALMIGHTY, for Whom I owe all these blessings. If it weren't for God I wouldn't be in this competition. Thank you Lord!!! This fight is for YOU!

The competition is tonight at 5PM KSA/10PM PHIL. at the Philippine Embassy here in Riyadh! Please take some time to pray for me or send me some positive vibes. :)

The Climb

Lately I have been down in the dumps, because I have been sick with a sore throat and cough for two weeks and that rendered me useless, because I am not allowed to practice my piece, to sing and to do cardio work-outs for my breathing. And so when I came back from being ill my voice was not in good condition.

Then last Saturday, for the first time after two weeks of being sick, I sang again with Mrs. Khoury... and I really sucked! I didn't nail the high notes, I wasn't myself. AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHH! I WANTED TO CRY that time!

I only had 6 DAYS... SIX freakin' days before the competition and I am still not at my best!!!!!!

A huge part of me wanted to give up. But a chockfull of friends were lifting me up with wonderful words of wisdom. A friend of mine even asked me the title of the song I was going to sing in the competition, and I was like “You already know right, it’s Fighter”… and that’s when he made his point, that my song was about being a fighter and fighters don’t give up, they fight! A friend of mine also said that I have to think about my passion in singing, my determination to win and stay focused in what I’m doing… and that’s what I am doing right now.

I can’t say that I am back to what I was before I got sick but atleast I’m doing my best now and not giving up.

I guess struggles like these happen to challenge people and see if they really want what they want. I suppose a lot of pop stars had to go through same things like these in the beginning.

Well, just like Miley Cyrus said in her song, The Climb:


“The struggles I’m facing, the chances I’m taking, Sometimes might knock me down but no I’m not breakin’… But I gotta be strong, Just keep pushing on! There’s always be gonna another mountain, I’m always gonna wanna make it move, Always gonna be an uphill battle, Sometimes I gonna have to lose, Ain’t about how fast I get there, Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side… IT’S THE CLIMB!”

KEEP THE FAITH!!!

Sick

It’s been more than a week since I practiced singing and it is making me feel rusty.
I have been sick since Feb. with a sore throat and that lasted for a week, which was then followed by a bad cough and I still have it today.
I guess this is a lesson for me not to overdo practicing especially during cold weather. Now I realized how important it is to take care of, not only my singing voice, but of my health as well, otherwise it will be useless if I can’t sing well because of my condition.
My vocal coach suggests to stop singing once I feel tension in my throat, and to only sing my piece twice a day to not strain my voice. I should’ve listened to her.
Now, I only have less than two weeks to prepare for the 1st elimination round and I’m still not in my best shape and I still haven’t been rehearsing.

The Audition Piece

 My Audition Piece during the Pop Icon Auditions uploaded by Sherwin... LOL... don't LAUGH! :))

Jan. 29: The Photoshoot

I had such a grand time during our photo shoot that I almost didn't want the day to end. We were all beginning to bond well with each other, joking around, almost as if we're not competing. I guess this is how the contenders in the Pinoy Dream Academy or Pinoy Big Brother feel, they form this special bond inside the house that they almost forget that they are in a competition.

While waiting for our turn, I formed my "Boys Over Flowers" group, of course inspired by the popular Korean and Japanese series. The concept was very fun because we ended up looking like characters from a Korean teleseries.

More of our behind-the-scenes pictures in here.

And here's my picture from the photo shoot... I just grabbed it from one of the photographers hehehe. There will be more coming soon, so hold your horses hehe

                                            

Check out the rest here.

Jan. 28: The Judge

A couple of days ago, I was asked by the International Philippine School in Riyadh to judge their Musical Contest for their 24th Foundation Week, which was this morning. I felt honored to be chosen as one of the judges and I saw that as a good opportunity for me to experience how it is to be a judge in a musical competition, that way I would understand how judges think and feel while judging the singers, and how they evaluate and observe the contestants.

I judged the singing contest from 7am in the morning until 3pm for all levels. It was tough and fun at the same time. Being able to watch singers from a musical judge's viewpoint allowed me to see how I should be in the Pop Icon competition. It was indeed a great learning experience.

First I was able to realize what I should do on stage to wow the judges, based on how I observed the contestants as a judge. Then I learned and picked up a lot from the contenders as well, like techniques, gestures and styles. I saw what I should and should not do on stage that the judges will see.

Hopefully, I will be able to apply the things I learned from the event so that I could have a better connection with the judges during the competition.

Jan. 22: The Personality Factor

I arrived at our first Pop Icon workshop yesterday an hour and a half late. The moment I went inside the room, all eyes were on me. And just as soon as I entered Mr. Ron Jacobe, our workshop facilitator, asked me to introduce myself. I was caught off guard and was a bit confused so I didn’t do anything fancy. Little did I know that it was an exercise to see which one of us would catch the attention of the audience based on how we introduce ourselves. But somehow, I was able to because of my dramatic entrance LOL.

The first workshop was basically all about personality building. As Mr. Ron discussed, a Pop Icon not only means that one should necessarily have to have the best voice but one should also have a personality to boot. A certain character that would capture the hearts of the audience so the package should also contain confidence, charisma and the right attitude.

The workshop kicked off with Mr. Ron asking all of us this question:

"Which of all the contenders is most likely to be coined as the next Pop Icon?"

A guy raised his hand and chose me, then Mr. Ron asked the whole room, who else agree. I was surprised that more than half of the contenders raised their hands in agreement. Most of the comments were because I am pretty (ahem), I have the right style (I was wearing a cute trench coat, a hat, tights, grey blouse with scarf and boots) and the right aura. That’s when Mr. Ron said that if we wanted to become the next Pop Icon we should start dressing up and acting like one.

We then moved outside for our activities. We were asked to do ramp modeling in the middle with confidence. It was fun because that activity loosened us up a little bit. Of course we were all nervous at first, and then there were a few who seemed uncomfortable doing the activity, but we all had fun. I, on the other hand, having watched so many fashion shows and having tried ramp modeling once, was able to pull it off pretty well, with me smiling at each one I pass and then removing my coat and hanging it on my shoulder as an effect. That had them all cheering and laughing. :D

In the next activity we were asked to introduce ourselves pretending that we are in front of the TV saying “Watch out coz I’m your next Pop Icon” or “I will be your next Pop Icon”. We had to do the activity twice because the first time most of us were mumbling, or stuttering as we if we were unsure of ourselves. For the first try I said:

 “Good evening y’all, I am Reia Ayunan. Are you scared? Well, I’m not... 'Coz I’m gonna be your next Pop Icon!”

During the second try I said:

“Good evening! I am Reia Ayunan. Remember this face… because this is gonna be your next Pop Icon!”

And that statement had them cheering.

Anyway, in the next activity we were asked to pretend that we are encouraging our TV audience to vote for us. This time all of us were becoming more creative and everybody seemed less nervous. For my take I said:

“Hello Saudi Arabia… Hello World! (trying to imitate Toni Gonzaga) You better start texting now and vote for me! Reia Ayunan!”

For our last activity, we were asked to pretend that we are having a concert in Araneta stadium. So the very famous “Good evening Araneta… I love you all!” line needs to be inserted. It was so funny because everybody had their own gimmicks, which is a good indication that all of us are becoming more confident. What I did was, I ran up to the front from where I was with my hands raised up shouting, pretending I am a popular artist getting the crowd excited for my concert, when I got in front I still had my arms raised up waving to the crowd screaming

“Good evening Araneta!!! Reia Ayunan in the house! You better vote for me R-E-I-A!!! I love you all!!! Woooooh”

It was pretty funny I think, because everybody cheered with me and laughed at what I did.

Apart from all of us having a great time, I think that the first workshop was a great success because towards the end of the session we were all beaming with confidence. :)