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Make way for Jason Velasquez and Mark Bautista THE RECENTLY concluded talent search, "Star for a Night," has produced not only a "star" in Sarah Geronimo, the search' top winner, but also five other promising performers who may be called the competition's magic six. Two of them, thankfully, are males -- 21 year-old Jason Velasquez and 19 year-old Mark Bautista. During the show's earlier episodes, there was a clear preference for female contestants over their male counterparts. It was only after some industry observers openly took potshots at the show's bias against male contestants that the production people had a change of heart. Jason is proud of his being an amateur singing contest veteran, starting at age 11. "Lahat na yata ng singing contest sa Pampanga at Zamboanga, nasalihan ko. Naikot ko na ang Mindanao -- from Cagayan de Oro, Davao -- pati Cebu! There were times na natalo ako, but I never gave up. Kasi, the loss motivated me to improve my performance," Jason shares. It was only after finishing a degree in Management Information Systems at Ateneo de Zamboanga that he "rested" from joining amateur singing contests. He then came to Manila to look for a job and got one in Cavite City as a computer operator. But his love for singing never waned, so when he came across an announcement for the "Star for a Night" audition, off he went to SM Megamall, where he had to slug it out with more than 400 other hopefuls. Luckily, he passed the audition, and went on to win the weekly and semi-final rounds to qualify for the finals. During the "Star for a Night" finals, Jason's star shone because he turned in a performance that could put to shame some of our established performers. His voice, which can be mistaken for Gary Valenciano's, was truly exceptional. Jason's version of Martin's "You Are My Song" will be the "Star for a Night" album's second carrier single. He will also start shooting the song's MTV soon. Mark, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of Jason. Mark had never joined any singing competition until "Star for a Night." The tall and good-looking singer from Cagayan de Oro is surprised at the way his singing career is being fast-tracked. "Talagang hindi ko akalain na magkaganito ang buhay ko, kasi talagang mahiyain ako when I was much younger," he recalls. He was a reluctant singer in school. He was more into joining oratorical contests and even won in a national competition. It was only later, during high school, that he realized he had a good singing voice. To make up for lost time, he joined singing and acting workshops and acted in Cebuano plays mounted by Pasundayag, a community-based theater group in Cagayan de Oro. He also joined boy bands that performed in the city's resto bars. Later, he went solo and did the rounds of piano bars while, at the same time, pursuing a course in architecture at Cagayan de Oro College. He was so busy with his solo singing career that he eventually stopped going to school. Sensing that he'd had enough of performing for a local audience, Mark tried his luck as a singer in Japan. It was in Manila, while working on his travel papers, that he decided to join the talent search, "MTB's" Star Quest. His first try wasn't a success. Next, he auditioned for "Star for a Night" in Cebu. He passed, but was told to go to Manila for a second audition. This time, Mark did not pass up the opportunity -- even if he had to travel on a cargo ship and endured the three-day trip from Cagayan de Oro to Manila with only 250 pesos in his pocket! Like his new-found buddy Jason, Mark topped the weekly and the semi-final rounds of "Star for a Night" to qualify for the finals. During the finals, Mark made his fellow Cagayanons proud with his deep baritone rendition of a re-arranged version of Basil Valdez's "Ngayon at Kailanman." Both Jason and Mark are being managed by Viva and are busy with mall tours in Metro Manila. They are each expected to record a solo album within a year's time. Let's hope they make it! |