MANILA, Philippines?Reality bites for Madonna Decena, the Filipina singer who made thousands of viewers, and at least one judge cry, on the UK talent search ?Britain?s Got Talent.?

She failed to make it to the final round of the reality contest. Now, Decena is jobless and without a working permit.

Inquirer Entertainment recently received a text message from talent manager Steve Jones, who introduced himself as ?the employer of Madonna,? claiming that Decena?s ?serious misconduct ? has resulted in her being fired.? He added, ?Her work permit is being revoked so she will no longer have a visa to perform in the UK.?

Inquiries

In a phone interview shortly after that, Madonna?s father, Rey Decena, disputed Jones? allegations, saying that after BGT, his daughter and Jones and they decided to continue with their plans for the 32-year-old Filipina to pursue a singing career in the UK.

?Every time she received an inquiry for a show, she turned it over to Jones,? Rey said. ?But she learned that Jones sat on all those opportunities, saying that Madonna was unavailable.?

Rey said his daughter also told him that her salary was withheld for five weeks. ?That?s in violation of her contract,? he said, ?which states that, show or no show, she should get compensated.?

He said that most of the offers Jones turned down were from the Filipino community.

Madonna has reported the situation to the Philippine Embassy and the Labor Attaché, Rey said.

?I hope she finds a new manager soon,? he said.

Just the start

In her last e-mail to the Inquirer in June, Madonna said she was raring to go back to work after her BGT stint. ?You win some; you lose some. But life goes on. With the exposure I got on BGT, I?m sure doors will open for me. I hope the right breaks come ? not [just] for my sake, but [also] for my daughters?.?

Madonna made BGT judge, stage actress Amanda Holden, weep listening to her tale of woe as a single mother who had to leave her two daughters in Manila to work in the UK.

The video of Madonna?s audition performance of Whitney Houston?s ?I Will Always Love You? has received at least 350,000 hits since it was posted on YouTube in April.

In her June e-mail to the Inquirer, Madonna insisted, ?My journey doesn?t end here. This is only the beginning.?

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