MANILA, Philippines?Many viewers here hoped that Fil-Am ?American Idol? finalist Ramiele Malubay would ?survive? at least as long as Jasmine Trias, who made it to third place in the singing tilt?s Season Three edition.

After all, didn?t the usually acerbic Simon Cowell gushingly declare that he thought Ramiele had one of the three best singing voices in the competition? That uncharacteristically rapturous comment could go to a girl?s head!

Viewers

Unfortunately, the show?s viewers obviously thought otherwise, because Ms Malubay said bye-bye long before the finalist field had been whittled down to three.

What happened? Another factor working in Ramiele?s favor was the prodigiously potent Fil-Am ?voting machine,? the power of which was most definitely proven four years ago, when it supported Jasmine all the way to third place.

So, how come the ?machine? lost its power so early this season? ?Blame? it on Ramiele?s poor song choices, which made it difficult for her to showcase her singing talent at its best. Thus, her Fil-Am fans may have remained loyal and supportive, but they weren?t joined by many other viewer-voters, hence her relatively early departure from the tilt.

Another negative factor may have been the general lack of variety to Ramiele?s performances from week to week. Her rich, expressive singing voice is impressive, but ?American Idol? is all about evolving versatility, depth and range, and this is where ?our? bet couldn?t compete.

Much of the time, she did only slight variations on her usual singing style?and even her ?look? in terms of clothes, make-up and hairstyle was too consistently ?signature? to sustain interest.

Life after ?AI?

What?s up for Ramiele now? Is there ?life? for her after ?American Idol?? Will she survive rejection like Jennifer Hudson and Kellie Pickler and attain stardom on sheer dint of drive, ?recall? and talent? Or, will she end up like other finalists like EJay Day, Charles Grigby, Mandisa Hundley and others who haven?t been heard from much since they ?disappeared? from the competition?

This early, things are looking up: Ramiele is guesting on a number of TV shows and will soon go on a performance tour with the tilt?s other Top 10 finalists. But, after that, what? It?s key that Ramiele gets to cut an album?and that it becomes a relative hit.

To boost her post-?Idol? career, Ramiele could also think of performing in the Philippines. Music fans here would be interested in seeing ?our? bet in person, and Ramiele?s ?cute? packaging should endear her to the ?hometown? crowd.

Plum role

In addition, Ramiele can take heart from the experience of another ?non-survivor,? Jennifer Hudson?who, much to her surprise, won over hundreds of other auditionees to clinch a plum role in the ?Dreamgirls? film musical. Similarly unanticipated lucky breaks could also come Ramiele?s way, if her handlers cover all the bases.

On the other hand, Fantasia Barrino?s case could prove cautionarily instructive in the opposite direction: The ?Idol? winner also got to play an important role in the stage musical version of ?The Color Purple,? but has been rapped for reportedly missing quite a number of performances of the show.

Clearly, that?s not the way to make important friends and impress influential people in US show business?so, a word to our wise ex-finalist is decidedly in order.