Music has always been a huge part of my life.

I was born in America, but I consider myself a Filipino.

My friends are mostly familiar with music that plays on the mainstream radio.

When I found out that I was going to be singing with Jennifer Holliday, I literally freaked out! I grew up listening to her, and I was going to cry because I sang with someone who is a huge inspiration to me.

A lot of people who wanted to audition for Idol have asked me: “What should I do?” or “How to I prepare myself?” I always told them: “Just go in and believe in yourself.”

Even though it was a stressful time in my life, I have a lot of good memories from my Idol experience.

I think that I have grown a lot as an artist. I have been writing about my experiences of love and overcoming the struggles that I have faced in the music industry. I have so much more to tell my fans, and I know so much more about myself. It is crazy how much I have grown over these past years.