Short post. I was downloading songs yesterday, a lot of them actually, and the owner of the computer shop called me out for it. He said that his IP address may be tracked or something. He has always been that grumpy but this time I was able to learn something. Although I am not really sure if these free mp3 download sites really track all the IP addresses of the people who go there for free downloads. It seems silly.
Anyways, I wanted to download Dolly Parton’s Do I ever Cross Your Mind (I know, I am such a cliche) and when I typed it, Ramiele Malubay’s version appeared. Ramiele Malubay was the 10th or 9th placer of the seventh season of American Idol. She is half Filipina, which made me root for her then. I was also one of the people who were disappointed with her performances then. I thought she was great in the early episodes though. Back to the song, I listened to it and thought it was great. Listen to it then tell me what you think.

Note: I don’t know how to post videos and audios here. I tried copying the embed codes from the sites but they are not working. Do I really have to pay for an upgrade just to eb able to do this?
Yey! I finally learned how to insert videos/audios here! Thanks Mr. Nonsense!

EDIT: A cry for help–

I have been trying to put an mp3 player or get a song to play on my site’s widget (like when somebody visits my site there would be a background music or something like that) but nothing I’ve done worked. I have been trying to do this for hours now. Technology makes me cry. Bastard. Anyone knows how to do this? Help please.

This is the cover of “Isang Katulad Mo”, the CD of AJ Tabaldo and Bernie Ann now being sold at Odyssey. Who are they? They are Fil-Am singers who perform as front acts for Pinoy artists who hold concerts in the US. They have recorded this album, which is released here by Universal Records, the same label who brought us Jasmine Trias years ago.

Now the guy AJ, like Jasmine, is a product of American Idol. We all know how a smashing success Jasmine has turned into when she set foot in the Philippines – a feat which her fellow Fil-Am idols Camile Velasco and Ramiele Malubay failed to duplicate.

AJ joined American Idol’s 6th season. America has just crowned their 8th idol, meaning, it’s already too late for AJ to play the Idol card here. Besides, he was (prematurely) ousted during the second week of the semi-finals, making him the least successful among the idols who tried to go “home” and build a career in the Philippines.

We can’t tell what exactly does Jasmine have that the others doesn’t (aside from, of course, being in the TOP 3). We can say that Jasmine was just lucky enough to have found the goldmine that is Philippines, first. One, two, three more Filipino idols - and it’s no longer a novelty.

It’s not even Jasmine’s “Filipino-ness.” We should not forget that during her run on Idol, she positioned herself, not as a Filipina, but as the ambassadress of Hawaii’s aloha spirit with the hula, the flowers and the surfing. In her interviews though, she declared she’s “Filipino-Spanish-Chinese.” Same with Camile Velasco, who declared she’s “half Filipino, quarter Irish and quarter Spanish.” Ramilele meanwhile unabashedly displayed her 100% Filipina blood (mentioning Regine, Lani and Nina as her influences/favorites, saying inane things like “Oh my vegetable” which of course means “Oh my gulay”, calling BFF Danny Noriega bakla, and tweeting about how she likes the puto a fan gave her.)

Now AJ, obviously, has released a tagalog single. That makes him so Filipino, right? In an interview with Ricky Lo, he said he’s quarter Portuguese, and the rest of his ancestry – Filipino. In his American Idol profile, he said “I’m an ethnic mutt! I’m part Filipino and Portuguese with Spanish, French, Italian and Chinese.”

Now let’s wait for AJ to release albums in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and China.

AJ and Bernie Ann performing their song on SOP:

AJ’s last American Idol performance:

Ramiele Malubay, a top ten finalist on American Idol last season, performs at the 4th annual Samahan Fest at The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno.

Entertainment by local (and not-so-local) Filipino artists, dancers, and models, as well as a stuffed bee, was hosted at The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, CA on Saturday, October 17th. This festivity, the 4th Annual Samahan Fest, was a free event hosted by the mall as a celebration of Filipino American Heritage Month. Mallgoers watched as the Barangay Dance Company and Kariktan Dance Company performed traditional Filipino dances and as Jollibee (The mascot of a Filipino fast food chain restaurant of the same name) showed off some hip-hop moves. Young, teen, and adult models from FAYE (Fashion Arts and Youth Enterprises) showed off fashions of the Philippines. Audience members also had the chance to watch and meet former American Idol finalist, Ramiele Malubay.

Photo Slide Show >

The List (a running collection of Asian American artists worth checking out) has finally been updated.

Here are some of the recent additions:

Acoustic & Rock: Paul Dateh, Vienna Teng, Zee Avi, Kina Grannis, Tim Te Told, Jennifer Chung, the Nehemiah Band, Susie Suh, Willie Moon

Hip Hop: dumbfoundead, illmind, jimmyboi, Deep Foundation, J Reyez, Bambu, Sam Geunjin Kang, JL, Taiyo Na

R&B: Erika David, Calista Wu, Olivia Thai, Heather Park, Jae Jin, Bella, Rin on the Rox, Jessi Malay, Ashley Robles, Olivia Thai, Natalise, Sophia Moon, Ramiele Maluby, Sam Ock

I know I’ve been terrible in regularly updating the List as I come across new artist so I’ll try to stay on top of that.

Am I missing anyone?

BEST

Katharine McPhee
Season 5, Love Songs Week

Jordin Sparks
Season 6, Country Night

Tamyra Gray
Season 1, Big Band Night

Syesha Mercado
Season 7, Beatles week

Carrie Underwood
Season 4, Billboard No. 1s Week

David Cook
Season 7, Dolly Parton week

Fantasia Barrino
Season 3, Performance-Night Finale

Anthony Fedorov
Season 4, 21st Century Week

Stephanie Edwards
Season 6, Semifinals

Michael Johns
Season 7, Dolly Parton week

Vonzell Solomon
Season 4, Season Finale

Kady Malloy
Season 7, Semifinals

WORST

Jennifer Hudson
Season 3, Wild Card Round

Ryan Starr
Season 1, pick a week…any week!

Ramiele Malubay
Season 7, Dolly Parton results night

Blake Lewis
Season 6, Bee Gees Week results show

Amanda Overmyer
Season 7, Semifinals

Rickey Smith
Season 2, Disco Night

Haley Scarnato
Season 6, British Invasion Night

Sanjaya Malakar
Season 6, various nights

Nadia Turner
Season 4, Billboard No. 1s Week

Clay Aiken
Season 2, Bee Gees Night

Vonzell Solomon
Season 4, Semifinals

Katharine McPhee
Season 5, Songs From the 21st Century Night

Source

Season 7 American Idol contestant (and cutie) Ramiele Malubay has released a new christmas single: “We Are One (This Christmas)”.

You can listen at her website, and if you like what you hear, you can purchase it HERE.

Ramiele will give 2 cents per download to charity. (Source: MJ’s Big Blog)

Last year on AI, the girl proved she can definately sing but lacked energy and performance poise. It’s good to see her still moving forward post Idol.

Here’s one of my fav performances from her during Idol.

Carrie Underwood Rocks the cover!

Season 7’s Ramiele Malubay

Season 7 winner David Cook!

Brooke White- Wow, look at her!

Kristy Lee Cook & David Archuleta

Jason Castro Rocks it out!

Carly Smithson & Michael Johns

Work it Syeesha Mercado

Carly Smithson channeling her inner goth

David Archuleta

Brooke White and Chikezie

Ramiele Malubay

It has come to my attention that Ms. Kristy Lee Cook, aka the blond who came to Idol with a killer body, no horse, terrible fashion sense, terminated recording contract and credits including a Skinamax-inspired dental commercial, was shilling for “gifts” during the AI Tour, even offering a prize for the fan who came up with the best present.

Here is her MySpace post dated 8/23:

I HAVE ON MY PERSONAL MYSPACE A SCRAP BOOK COMPETITION.!!!!
BEST SCRAPBOOK WINS A AUTOGRAPHED 8X10, A SIGNED HAT, AND A GIFT CARD.
SO IF YOU WANT TO BE IN IT, THEY HAVE TO BE IN BY SEPT 13TH, THE END OF TOUR YOU CAN EITHER GIVE THEM TO ME WITH ALL YOUR CONTACT INFO, MAILING ADDRESS AT THE SHOWS..

****ALSO THIS IS NEW BUT I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FUN AND KEEP YOU GUYS BUSY ! SO I AM GOING TO HAVE A BEST GIFT CONTEST. I AM GOING TO KEEP A BOOK WITH THE GIFTS I GET AND WRITE DOWN WHAT IT WAS AND THE CONTACT INFO (MAILING ADDRESS) AND WHOEVER GETS THE BEST GIFT GETS A PRIZE.!
SO HAVE FUN AND HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE SHOWS! I JUST FIGURE IM GETTING ALL THESE GIFTS WE MIGHT AS WELL DO SOMETHING FUN IN RETURN RIGHT?
SO THERES A FEW THINGS TO KEEP YA’ALL BUSY HOPE YOU HAVE FUN AND HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON..!!
THANKS GUYS AND GALS!

KLC

Ok…she was asking for scrapbooks. At some point in my postings about the various gifts Idol fans give their favorites, I think I pointed out that little homemade things aren’t even in the same category as Kindles, laptops, video cameras, et al…

She also promises a prize in return…but she was asking for scrapbooks, right? Is this considered “begging for gifts”?

But wait, as Stoner S pointed out in the comments thread, she starts a new paragraph regarding the BEST GIFT competition. So this is separate from the scrapbooks? Hmmm, very interesting.

I’m not sure what the prize was, and as of 9/22, it does not seem that anything had been awarded, judging from a comment on her MySpace blog:

Kristy did you forget about the competition

Did Kristy ever award the scrapbook competition prize to the winning scrapbooker? And was she out of line in asking for such things? Since we’ve spent so much time concentrating on those illustrious Castros and Castrofans, I would like to bring up some other instances of Idol gift-giving.

And what sort of prize was she going to give to the winner of this BEST GIFT competition?

While I have made it clear I have always wanted to dislike Kristy Lee more than I actually do, I have little knowledge about how the things Idol contestants are given from their fans. I have heard Carly Smithson received a video camera from some of her fans, and Ramiele was rather blatent in asking for a guitar at one point in the tour. I’m not sure what Brooke White received, although I’m hoping someone had the good sense to buy her a muzzle.

What I will say in semi-defense to some of these female Idol contestants, it must kind of suck to see their male counterparts take home bags and bags full of goodies, gift cards, guitars and other items from their almost entirely female fan groups at every stop on the Idol tour. Male Idol contestants develop much larger cult-like followings than the females. While it is definitely in the poorest taste to even request gifts, a scrapbook seems a bit different, perhaps. Yes? No?

If anyone has any information regarding the illustrious gift giving drives that may or may not take place during the Idol tour, of any season, PLEASE let me know. Even if this is a trivial matter, it is a discussion about ethical behavior from (pseudo) celebrities. Can people make the same defense that these gifts are no different from the expensive gift bags give out at red carpet events? Or are they different since they are purchased by individual fans?

What do YOU think?

I love Kristy Lee Cook’ EPK, which stands for Electronic Press Kit.
From the snippets I hear, her album sounds good.

Definitely not my taste, but if I have the extra money I’ll definitely buy her album !
(considering it even comes out in Singapore):

DAVID COOK’S ALBUM IS COMING OUT 18TH NOVEMBER!!!
*cue screaming: AHHHHH!*

I’m so excited, you wouldn’t believe it!
Anyway, the audio of the interview is HERE!

Anyway, Aris the winner of Indonesian Idol 2008 has sent his mum for Umroh!
Go Aris!

This is week has been terrible but I’m too tired to rant right now, so I’ll just show you what I’m listening to:

Carly Smithson – “The Shadow of Your Smile

Words can’t describe the amazingly awesome feel-good experience of this year’s American Idol season and contestants, which is sensationally amplified on this year’s concert tour.

By Blake

SPOILER WARNING: If you’re going to an American Idol 2008 concert and want to be surprised by the song lineup, performances, and, well . . . surprises, then please don’t read any further. It would spoil the entire concert for you! However, if you’ve already been to the concert or just don’t care about not being surprised, then please read on! You’ve been warned, though . . .

It’s not just a reality show. American Idol is a program that the entire family can enjoy without worrying about inappropriate content, and at the same time the show expands itself beyond the television set by creating solid singing careers out of everyday aspiring performers.

So you can imagine my excitement when the moment had arrived when I would be experiencing my first American Idol concert, this year featuring this 2008’s top ten contestants: Chikezie Eze, Ramiele Malubay, Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, Brooke White, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, and, of course, the Davids – David Archuleta and David Cook.

I had taken a visit to the American Idol message boards about a month beforehand just to read other people’s comments to get the lowdown on what to expect at the concert, how things were run, etc., without spoiling any of the show itself for me. I’m certainly glad I had read the information that I did because I found out that right as the American Idol buses pull into the venue, many of the contestants come outside to talk, take pictures, and sign autographs for their fans waiting outside. This was great news.

We arrived at the arena around 11:45am and found a small crowd waiting near where the buses were scheduled to arrive. WHAT AWESOME TIMING! Just as we got there, a group of policemen arrived telling everyone that the meet & greet would be moved to another area of the arena because the current spot would interfere with traffic on the road. So everyone relocated to the new spot, where we were among the first people behind the barriers for the red carpet-like walkway, just without the red carpet or press. It was just fans.

The contestants finally arrived around 2:30, which was about an hour after they usually come out in other cities (I learned later that they had just finished a 7 ½ – hour bus ride). If you plan on going early to see if you can meet the contestants, I’d advise to bring some snacks and water. There’s no set time for how long you’ll be waiting, and standing in the summer heat can get sweltering. Thankfully, the morning’s thunderstorm had passed over, leaving behind a shady spot of clouds which hovered over us, occasionally dropping some rain sprinkles, but nothing too serious. We could have been out in the sweltering sun for the 2 ½ hours of waiting. I’m very thankful for the weather we had. It could have been MUCH worse.

The clouds eventually disappeared, revealing the sun . . . oh, and DAVID COOK!!! I guess he could tell by the looks on everyone’s faces that we had been standing out there a while, so when he arrived he literally leaped out the arena door, landed with a stomp on the ground, and then – again literally – ran over to the fans waiting in the line. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such loud screaming in all my life. Carly and Jason soon followed.

I must say all of the contestants’ energy and enthusiasm during the little greeting was certainly contagious! As each of them came out and walked by, you couldn’t help but have a huge, obnoxious smile on your face. Some of the people around us were complaining about the heat and that they couldn’t see the contestants . . . I was thinking, HOW could you POSSIBLY not be beaming when DAVID COOK is merely a few feet away?!?!? I just couldn’t see how anyone could not be happy in that mob of people.

It was such a thrill to meet all of them. It was like, here they are. All of the people that brought joy into your home every Tuesday and Wednesday night for the past year, and you have one chance to say to them anything you want and tell them how much their work is appreciated. I just didn’t know how to express how much each of them meant to me and my family. My Disney fascination is great and all, but I can’t physically thank any one person for the happiness that Disney brings to me, except for maybe Mickey Mouse. But he wouldn’t even say anything back. With the American Idol contestants, they were all lined up right there in front of me. I wanted to thank each of them immensely for all their hard work, for being awesome role models, for taking the time to meet us right now, but somehow I never got around to saying any of that. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what to say, it was just I didn’t know how to say it. So, other than a “Thank you” to each of them for their autographs (who responded gratefully and appreciatively), I pretty much kept my mouth shut.

Beforehand I had made a collage of all ten contestants using Picasa and then formatted it sepia, and then with some help mounted it on a poster board for the contestants to sign autographs on. Carly was the first to sign. She seemed sort of rushed, but I totally understand that all of them are pushed for time on their packed tour schedule.

Next was Jason, who was talking to everyone, and drew a little smiley face with some dreadlocks next to his name on some of the autographs he was signing.

Then, while David Cook was still making his way down the line, out came David Archuleta! I take back what I said earlier – this was the loudest screaming I’ve ever heard in my life. David A. started at our end and worked his way down the line VERY slowly, but certainly not in a bad way. He took his time with each and every one of the people standing out there and signed everything they asked him to, posed in every picture, and was definitely out there longer than any of the other contestants. He was one of the first to come out and the 2nd last to leave. He still seemed to be just as overwhelmed – in a good way – with how many people adored him as he was on the show. I did manage to tell David that I was enjoying his tour blog – he seems to update it more than any of the other contestants – though my compliment was drained out by the woman next to me who said something loudly to David so he couldn’t hear me.

Next out was Kristy Lee Cook! She made her way down the line and seemed to efficiently give autographs to anyone who wanted them.

Then Chikezie came out and started at our end of the line. Although he looked tired, he also seemed to be very patient with each fan in line, and posed for more than one picture with us. (He remarked at how the many cameras everywhere “always confuses me!”)

Next was Brooke, who WANTED to stop and talk to everyone, but was being urged by one of her handlers to go inside and take a phone interview, as the interviewers were already waiting for her. Right when she got to us she started doing a countdown from ten as to how many more autographs she would give out. You could tell she was heartbroken when she got to zero and couldn’t sign any other autographs, as were the last few fans that she didn’t get to see.

Lastly was Michael Johns! (Ramiele and Syesha weren’t going to be coming out.) He too seemed to take his time with the fans, but not nearly as slowly as Archuleta. When one of his fans gave him a picture of himself to sign his autograph on, he remarked “Oh, I hate this picture!” in his Australian accent. “I couldn’t look worse in this picture!” Hahahaha.

After that, the crowds began to dissolve, as only David Archuleta and Michael Johns were left and most of the fans had gotten their pictures and autographs. We stuck around a little longer . . . eventually David made it through the end of the line and finally Michael headed on in.

And so . . . we came back to the arena around 6pm for the concert! The preshow started around 6:55 and included a walk-around Pop-Tart guy dancing through the audience. When it was finally show time, I could feel the anticipation gathering in the air. I guess it was that American Idol contagiousness again because I couldn’t help bearing a smile.

Chikezie’s set was great, and then Ramiele came out and had a bee-boppin’ pop set. I was thinking that her performance sounded like something I would hear on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, and then later I read in the concert program that she hoped to do something with Disney Channel in the future.

Next was Michael Johns who ROCKED THE HOUSE. He sang “We Will Rock You”, “We Are the Champions”, “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right”, and “Dream On.” It was awesome.

Next was Kristy Lee Cook, who of course had some country songs, including “God Bless the USA”, which happens to be the song that saved her in the voting process. I was a little surprised that Kristy didn’t sing her new single “15 Minutes of Shame,” especially since her album is being released on September 16. Perhaps she doesn’t yet have the necessary rights to perform it live or something.

Then it was the incredible Carly’s turn, who was jammin’.

Next was Brooke, who sang her best American Idol song (in my opinion, at least) “Let It Be”, along with “Yellow” and “1, 2, 3, 4”. I had recently taken a liking to “1, 2, 3, 4”, and was pleasantly surprised to hear it sung at the concert. When I first heard it (which happened to be on a clip from Sesame Street on YouTube) I thought “This would be a great song for Brooke White to sing.” And there she was singing it!

Then it was time for the act one finale, which included the bottom six contestants singing U2’s “Pride” white footage from American Idol Gives Back played on the big screens to promote Fox’s campaign for viewers to donate money to needy families in Africa.

The intermission was Guitar Hero central! The two Guitar Hero commercials featuring the Davids (that originally played during this season’s finale) showed on the big screens, as did a brand-new commercial that’s exclusive to the concert. It’s promoting the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour game and features the entire top ten decked out in 70’s clothes and hairstyles.

Then there was some live entertainment, as opposed to up on the screens. First two crew members had a live Guitar Hero competition and then two audience members had an “air guitar” competition.

After that, it was time to get back to the show! Jason Castro was up first, singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on his ukulele, followed by two other songs. Next Syesha wonderfully belted out some tunes, and after that you could just feel the excitement in the audience (even way up from our 2nd floor seats) as everyone anxiously awaited David Archuleta’s performance. He arrived via a stage lift playing the piano and singing “Angels”, “Apologize”, “Stand By Me”, and “When You Say You Love Me”. Again, I was surprised that he didn’t sing his new single “Crush”. Anyway, as always he was phenomenal and, as I stated earlier, he seemed just as humble as he was on TV. And I even got to hear his laugh in person.

Lastly, it was time for David Cook to take to the stage! As he entered through a stage lift, the arena was almost silent. He calmly walked to the center of the stage, stopped, looked around, and simply said “Hi.” The crowd goes bazerk. He was FANTASTIC. He sang “Hello”, “The Time of My Life”, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, “Hero”, and “Billy Jean”. He seems to have taken his instant superstardom very professionally, with having a powerful stage presence and in the way he acts in interviews, performances, and such but at the same time hasn’t let his sudden fame go to his head in any way. In the concert program interview with him, when asked who his best friend on the show was, he proceeded to list all 23 of his competitors, and when asked what he was going to do after the tour, he said “I can’t wait to do some charity work.” While not being an obsessive fan, David Cook is someone who, between last January and now, I have grown to greatly respect and admire and I sincerely hope he goes on to have a successful career and not let his opportunities slip through the cracks like some have done. He even threw his half-finished Coke bottle into the crowd.

As David Cook’s set came to a close, it was time for the big finale! “Please Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna began to fill the air and I was literally bouncing in my seat my now, clapping along, since everyone else in my section still neglected to get on their feet. The finale I think will be the most memorable part of the show for me, for several reasons: “Please Don’t Stop the Music” is my favorite current song. My favorite group of performers was singing it right before my eyes. I got to see the Mavid in person. David Archuleta playfully kicked David Cook’s hiney. And all this going on as I realize that with such an incredible American Idol season that took place this year, it’s unlikely that any other future season will top this year’s outstanding display of artists and their incredible voices. Right now, watching this amazing top ten, was probably as good as it was ever going to get. I just couldn’t help but getting reflective and soaking in the atmosphere, watching an excellent group of performers. I still can’t comprehend how much each and every one of them has musically impacted my family. They’re an amazing group of talented people.

As the show-stopping finale came to a close, it was time for the contestants to head on in. Everyone had one last look at the bottom nine as they walked backstage, and at David Cook as he glided back down through the stage lift.

As we exited the arena, we saw a huge mob of people waiting in the same area that we had been earlier to meet the contestants (they came out after the show, too). However, whereas when we met them the crowd was at most two people deep, this had to be at least seven people deep. It was insane, so we decided not to stay. We later found out that the contestants finally made it outside a little after 11pm (the concert ended around 10:15ish), and all of them except David Cook and Ramiele come out. I kinda wish we would have stayed, but at the same time I know it would have been crazy. Fun crazy. But still crazy. I needed sleep, anyway.

Well, the awesome night was finally over. The whole American Idol concert experience was . . . amazing. Outstanding. Phenomenal. ROCKIN’. Superb. Unbelievable. Excellent. And what’s that word that you say when you don’t know what to say? Oh, yeah. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I just can’t describe it any other way.

By Blake; originally posted August 18, 2008. All images belong to Blake’s family.

Oh no ! Rami’s amazing Vblog has been pulled !
Check the alternative via Rickey.org.

I love Kanye West’s Bittersweet with John Mayer..can’t believe I just found this on YouTube:
(well it turns out I had this on my iPod the whole time (I bought West’s Graduation)

Ramiele Malubay has entered the Vblog scene and I’ve got to say, it’s the best one yet !

Catching Up With Ramiele Share This

August 09,2008Once Ramiele Malubay was chosen as one of the top 24 contestants in season 7 of American Idol, life for her has been anything but dull. After competing for five weeks knowing that she would be on tour during the summer, Ramiele stayed in L.A. This worked out well for her, as rehearsals for the finale and the tour began in earnest before the season even ended.

Life in the Idol world is always fast paced. As soon as the finale ended, rehearsals really kicked up and then the top 10 Idols were on the road, touring America from coast to coast. Luckily for us, Ramiele took some time out of her busy schedule while she was in Newark to share some thoughts about the past year.

Ramiele has had a great experience on the road and she notes that “every city is different. We try to get off the bus, put our stuff inside and go and sign autographs before we have hair and makeup done and do press and whatnot.” Later, she followed up, “I really didn’t come into this with any expectations. I just love getting off the bus in other cities. I love waking up in different cities.”

While it sounds glamorous and exciting, being on the road can be somewhat exhausting. Ramiele, though, exclaims, “It’s less exhausting than the show.” Without having to stoicly receive feedback from the judges after every performance, she confirms there’s just less stress. This is how Ramiele describes a typical day on the road for her:

“Usually, after a show, if we have a show the next day, we’ll travel to the next city and it will be, like, a four or five hour drive. We get out of the bus, take all of our stuff out, go and sleep for a couple hours, get ready, get all of our stuff back, get our hair and makeup done, meet the sponsors, perform, meet people after the show and, then, we go sign autographs outside and, then, we go and do the same thing all over again.” Whew.

“All of us have gotten it down to a routine schedule. We’re working on getting things done quicker. You know, like hair and makeup because there are five girls and four of the girls are in the first set, so it’s hard to get everybody done, but we’re doing really well.”

Being on tour is also quite different from being on the show in that she is now regularly performing in front of thousands and thousands of people. Laughing, Ramiele told us what kind of effect this has had on her:

“Backstage I freak out a little bit when I look into the audience. I go second, so when Chikezie is out there, I peek through the little cracks and see how many people are out there. I kinda freak out a little because there are so many people. Then, you go out there and you do the same songs every night. You don’t have to learn new words or impress anybody — you’re just being yourself. Putting yourself out there for the people who have been watching you and supporting you.”

Being away from family and friends for so long can be challenging, but she speaks to them often. When we spoke to her, Ramiele was missing her dog very much, but, fortunately, her boyfriend was coming into town with her dog for a visit. After the tour, Ramiele hopes to meet with some major studios and will be retuning to the Philippines in December to do a few concerts.

American Idol Season 4 Finalists

Click Here for more: American Idol’s Blog

With all the tard videos chronicling their quest Idol autographs, its nice to see someone going after a “lesser” contestant. At least those kids are getting some love even when excitable large woman are readily pinching David Cook’s ass for the camera.

(Note: If you post this photo of yourself on the Internet for public consumption, you know people like myself and IdleTard are going to use it. If you don’t like it, just think about the fact you’re getting 15 seconds of web fame. 15 seconds. Because things move a bit faster now than when Andy Warhol was alive so the measure in which everyone will be famous has to be adjusted for pop culture inflation.)

Yes, Ramiele has a fan base. And someone’s cousin named Randall LOVES her.

Life is full of Reviews ?

Yeah, actually it is. Well, maybe only for today. I watched some American Idols Live videos and I wish I could watch the tour because all the idols gave their all, well except one idol…*ehemkristyleecookehem* I might be biased, but I never really wanted her to be in the Top 12 in the first place.

Anyway, my favourite sets has got to be David Cook, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson and David Archuleta. I also like Jason Castro and Brooke White’s sets, Chikizie and Ramiele Malubay proved that they deserved to be in Top 10.

Both Chikizie and Ramiele did a fabulous job on opening the concert. Carly and Michael both gave a tremendous performance, something that we missed on seeing because they were robbed on American Idol. Brooke and Jason both did a fantastic job and proved critics wrong.

One name that I have not mentioned is Syesha Mercado. I’ve got to say that I really do not like this girl. I mean I can see that sometimes she over-estimates her ability and I really would like to see her not do the whole “diva-big-singing-voice” because having a big voice doesn’t mean you’re a good artist. A reviewer on Rickey.org even said something about Karma happening ? Check it out yourselves guys, I’m not saying anything.

Finally, the Davids. What can I say ? They are…I’m speechless! They proved to people why they deserved to be the Top 2, Cook definitely proved critics wrong because he definitely deserves to be our American Idol. One thing that kind of made his set a bit awkward was the “Magic Rainbow” song. Now, don’t get me wrong here I actually like the song it’s got the whole Pop vibe going but Cook’s voice makes the song bearable.

Can you imagine if Archuleta got that song ? I have to agree with Archie, a Rainbow might suddenly pop out if Archie sang it. Glad that Cook won. I loved Archie’s set as well, just that I’m not sure he would sell. Obviously, he’s got a group of fans that rivals the Jonas Brothers fanclub so he might actually get a good album sale..but not sure how his album will sound like. But I hope things work out for Archie.

As for David Cook? If there was a pre-order for his album in Singapore, I would definitely pre-order. Just wondering though when his second single (after Magic Rainbow) will be released and whether it will also be released worldwide?

That’s all for now.

P.S. Magic Rainbow is The Time of My Life, (I love the song, and I’m glad the Magic Rainbow part comes up only once in the song)

The search for the next American Idol has commenced.

Because the first of the series of auditions was held at the Cow Palace in Daly City, “the Philippine City” in San Francisco, many Filipino-Americans made it with their entry wristbands, and hoping to pass the first round.

With many talented Fil-Ams trying their luck in this popular TV show, I would not be surprised if one day we will have an American Idol with Pinoy lineage.

In the last season, Ramiele Malubay was at the Top 9.

12:51 p.m.

Well, Patrick and Monique sure know how to end their visit with a flourish. We all went to the American Idol concert last night, including Shannon and Kenya. It’s actually the first time I have been to a concert. (My second will be later this summer to see Jack Johnson! Yay!) We had a great babysitter for Noah and Braxton, so we got to enjoy the concert without worrying about the little guys. Our plan was to go out to dinner first, but the traffic was so heavy we barely had time to get to the stadium in time for the concert to start. It’s a good thing we left as early as we did! Here are a few pictures of us heading in to the stadium. Shortly after that my batteries died, so the rest of the pictures come from Pat and Monique’s cameras. Thank goodness for them being prepared!

We got some food in the stadium and found our seats. They were really great seats. We were off to the side and really close to the stage, so we had a great view of the singers. In fact, one part of the stage where the singers would walk during their songs and touch the hands of audience members was close enough that Sammy and Ember were able to go over there. Ember got to give five to Kristy Lee Cook and Sammy says his hand barely touched David Cook’s hand. They were pretty excited.

The concert was good. All the singers did a good job I thought. The crowd, at least where I was sitting, didn’t get up and dance much or get all that excited. Our kids, although they all said they liked it, certainly looked bored, but I think they were just tired from our busy week. I will say that I really noticed more in concert than watching on TV what the judges mean when they talk about “connecting with the audience.” There were definitely standouts as far as performance and personality and just having that connection. Like I said, they all sounded good. I liked the songs and their voices. To me the real standouts were of course my favorite, Michael Johns, and also the winner of American Idol, David Cook. They really had presence and star quality. David Cook especially interacted more with the audience than anyone else and really built up the excitement. The one that surprised me the most was Kristy Lee Cook. I never gave her much thought to her on the show (other being mad that she lasted longer than Michael Johns), but she really had star quality too. She looked gorgeous and was probably the best there as far as the way she walked and moved. She just seemed like she owned the stage and was so confident. As far as David Archuleta, the favorite of my nieces, he does have an amazing voice and sounded awesome. He is lacking the confidence some of the others have but he is sweet and endearing, and of course he’s young so he’ll get that in time more probably. Monique took lots of pictures and got some really great shots. Here are my favorite shots of each.

The part that really got the kids to show some excitement, though, was after the concert. All the kids got concert t-shirts and then Pat found out where we needed to go to see the singers leaving for their tour bus. We waited for a little while, it actually didn’t take too long, and then they started coming out to sign autographs and most of them were willing to take pictures too. The kids had a blast, and it was really fun to see them all and hear some of the comments with the fans as they went through the line. Here are some of the pictures that Pat got.

We got home late and found that Braxton and Noah had done well and were both sleeping soundly. Now Pat’s family is all gone and we miss them! It was so great having them all here. We had lots of great adventures and most of all just enjoyed being with them. We love having visitors and we look forward to many more fun family or friend visits from whoever is willing to come!