MANILA, Philippines—Ramiele Malubay, the pint-sized (4’11”) Pinay singer with a powerful voice, who made it as one of the Top 10 finalists on the top-rated talent show, “American Idol,” has come home to perform in the concert, “The Idol Experience: Ogie Sings wth the Idols,” today and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Aliw Theater. Also in the show are GMA-7’s “Pinoy Idol” Top Three, Ram Chaves, Jayann Bautista and Gretchen Espina.
Ramiele will be in town for the next three months to explore her options, as far as joining the local entertainment scene is concerned.
Vacation
The last time she visited the country was three years ago for a vacation. “I was excited about coming back to the Philippines,” she shares. “I miss the food, lalo na ang sinigang.” Although she admits to eating balut, she says she always puts the chick aside.
Ramiele was born in Damman, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 6, 1987, to engineer Roger Malubay and nurse Alicia Macrohon Malubay. When the Gulf War erupted in 1989, she was sent back to the Philippines to live with her grandparents in Zamboanga City. At age 4, the family migrated to Miramar, Florida, where she spent her formative years.
Asked whether she was teased about her height while growing up, she replies, “When I was in high school, they called me shrimp, small fry, shorty, and anything na maliit. At first, I was bothered, but eventually, I got used to it, and they stopped teasing me.”
Considering her small frame, where does that powerful voice come from? She laughs when she says: “Sabi ng Mama ko, sa aking pata!” What impresses me about her is that this Florida-bred singer speaks fluent Filipino without an American accent. “’Pag ’di kasi nagta-Tagalog sa bahay, pinapalo kami ng Daddy. Minsan, nagalit siya, at tinanggal ang cable for several months—naiwan lang ang Filipino channel!”
Unlike other parents who want their star-struck children to finish their course before embarking on a career, Ramiele’s dad wants her to give priority to her singing.
On the other hand, she had wanted to finish her Nursing course in Florida, where she’s on her junior year. “Gusto ko kasi, tahimik na buhay,” she explains. But, when she did well on “AI,” she says, “Bakit ako binigyan ng Diyos ng boses kung hindi ko naman gagamitin?” So, she decided to give in to her dad’s wishes.
Ramiele was 16 when she first auditioned for “AI” in 2004, inspired by the good showing of Jasmine Trias and Camille Velasco. She didn’t make the grade and swore not to have anything to do with “AI.” Her dad, however, pushed her to try again.
In August 2007, she auditioned for the second time. Although Simon Cowell was lukewarm and turned her down (“I think you’re a good singer. I don’t think you’re a contemporary singer. You’re more like a hotel singer.”), Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul were impressed with her rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman.”
Cowell would later change his mind about Ramiele, as she breezed through the succeeding auditions that trimmed down the list of 165 contestants during Hollywood week to 24. After she sang “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” Simon commented, “You outsang every single person here!”
Close friends
The day, she was voted off the show, she couldn’t help but shed copious tears, mainly because she was sad about leaving her fellow contestants, who had become her close friends.
On her website she says it was Cowell who comforted her. “Simon asked me to cry on his shoulder, he was really sweet! He’s my favorite judge, because he tells it like it is to help you improve.” She tells me, “Mabait talaga si Simon offscreen. Masungit lang ’yun ’pag nasa harap ng camera.”
The “American Idol” experience has given Ramiele more self-confidence. “I’m not that quiet anymore. Now, I’m able to speak my mind!”
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