By MICHELLE CALIGAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN'S OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

 

Last March, Asia's Romantic Balladeer Christian Bautista held a contest for his fans where they were asked to send a YouTube video or Soundcloud recording of them singing any duet song from his 'Soundtrack' album.

The top five finalists were chosen via online voting. The winner, who will be picked by Christian, gets to record 'A Thousand Years' with no less than the My Mother's Secret star himself.

 

READ: Christian Bautista and Gwen Zamora exchange secrets

 

In an exclusive interview, Christian told GMANetwork.com why he decided to organize the contest.

 

"The goal of the #XtianBDuet is to engage the fans more, to showcase their talent to each other, and to connect them. It's also to promote the 'Soundtrack' album and the song 'A Thousand Years.' We had so much fun creating that singing contest project."

 

A total of 28 entries were sent and more than four million fan votes were cast, and on May 3, the Kapuso singer-actor was in a recording studio with the contest winner Julian Sean.

LOOK: Christian Bautista sings 'A Thousand Years' with fan

 

When asked how it felt to sing with a multi-awarded recording artist, Julian says it's a dream come true.

 

"Singing with him is a dream come true because I grew up with his music and he is one of my musical influences. I hope this won't be the last time that I will be singing with him. I am looking forward for more opportunities."

 

The internationally renowned singer, who is currently in Vancouver with other Kapuso stars for a series of GMA Pinoy TV concerts, was also impressed with Julian's voice.

 

"Julian's voice has a special quality. He really loves to sing, and he also follows instructions well in accordance to what's needed in the song. He was a bit nervous at first because it is his first recording, but he did well."

Here's the music video of Christian and Julian's cover of 'A Thousand Years':