From Manila mall to US TV: Zendee Rose rides her voice to stardom

Another Filipino has become a guest on the hit TV show "Ellen" in the United States — Zendee Rose Tenerefe, who earned the nickname "Random girl" after a video of her singing in a mall became viral on the Internet this year. Zendee Rose made a guest appearance on the popular US talk show the “Ellen DeGeneres” show on October 26.

 

Filipino international singing sensation Charice Pempengco was the first Filipino to guest on the show in 2007. Singer-songwriter Rap Salazar came next in 2009.

 

Arnel Pineda, the Filipino lead vocalist of the American band Journey, also performed with his band on "Ellen."

 

For her October 26 performance, Zendee Rose sang “And I am Telling You I'm not Going” from the musical “Dreamgirls,” earning her a standing ovation from the audience.

 

“And I am Telling You I'm not Going” was actually also the song performed by Pempengco when she guested on "Ellen."

 

When she was interviewed by Ellen, Zendee Rose, 21, who hails from General Santos City, admitted that she always sang in malls. Zendee Rose also mentioned that she dreams of becoming a famous singer so that she could improve their family’s living conditions and send her cousins to school. She caught the media's attention when a mall passerby recorded her on a camera phone singing an impromptu but "performance-level" rendition of Broadway torch song "And I'm Telling You" outside a store that sells videoke equipment, and posted the video on YouTube.