Pinoy passes blind auditions in ‘The Voice UK’
With over 10 million Filipinos living overseas, it’s no surprise that a country that boasts of world-class singing talents should shine on the global stage.
Add a 21-year-old Filipino based in Kent, England to the list.
With a British accent and features other Filipinos will recognize as their own, Joseph Apostol has passed the blind auditions of the popular BBC talent show, “The Voice UK.” He impressed the coaches with his rendition of The Shirelles’ “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”
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Coach-mentors Jessie J and Tom Jones swiveled their chairs, indicating their interest in including Apostol on their team.
‘Original-sounding voice’
“I think you will be a huge asset to my team,” said pop singer Jessie J. “I think I want to make sure I am representing people that really know how to tell a story when they're singing and that's exactly what you did. Congratulations!”
In the end, though, Apostol opted to go with Tom Jones and fill the last remaining spot left open on his team.
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The legendary singer of “Delilah,” “Kiss” and “Sex Bomb,” told Apostol, “I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting. But when I heard you, I heard the passion from you and the range that you have, and there's a lot of fire there and you didn't copy anybody, you have an original sounding voice. I know there's a lot of great Filipino singer because I've been to the Philippines and I've heard them sing. You really do have a great voice and I'd love to have you on my team.”
will.i.am shows off Tagalog skills
Apostol has lived in the UK for 10 years. He left the Philippines at age 11 when his mother was hired as a nurse in the UK.
Blackeyed Peas member will.i.am, another coach, picked up on the Filipino connection, saying that Apostol was “just like my best friend apl (de.ap).”
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will.i.am also dropped a few Filipino terms he had picked up like “salamat,” “mabuti” and both he and Apostol bantered over Filipino dishes like adobo and pancit.
apl.d.ap represents worldwide ‘kababayans’
Meanwhile, apl.d.ap, one of the coach-mentors of the Philippine version of “The Voice,” which will air on ABS-CBN in June, admitted during a press conference, "Yeah, actually will.i.am is one of the people that encouraged me to do it.
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“He's like, 'Yo apl, you got to do ‘The Voice,’ you got to represent your kababayan all over the world and you got to search new talent.' So he really inspired me to do it.”
Joining apl.d.ap as mentors in the local franchise are Lea Salonga, Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo.
