3 Pinoys make it to ‘X-Factor’ Australia

Three Filipino crooners made it to the audition phase of Australia's “X-Factor,” earning standing ovations not only from the audience but also from the four judges as well.

The three were self-described shy girl Marlisa Punzalan; Tiny Justin Vasquez, who has won a singing competition in Manila; and pop-rock fan Mary Ann Van Der Horst.

During the first week of the competition, Punzalan entered the stage singing the Beatles' popular hit “Yesterday,” wowing both the audience and the four judges.

She confessed in the show's Backstage eXclusive feature that getting the nod from all the judges made her “feel so happy and blessed.” She described “X-Factor” as her favorite show.

One of the youngest to audition, the 14-year-old Punzalan has been featured in the Australian magazine WHO, where she said she started singing at age 3 and coveted a Las Vegas residency.

“I'm very shy, but somehow when I walk onto the stage, I gain more confidence. I switch into a different personality,” Punzalan told WHO magazine.

Vasquez followed Punzalan in the next round, where his version of Maroon 5's “Sunday Morning” won him the approval of the judges.


Vasquez, 15, had won the International 2013 DMZZ Global Singing Idol in Manila as a representative of Australia. He told Star Community, a local Australian news site, that his love for music was fostered by his uncle, who is a musician, and mother, a singer.

Though performing in front of a crowd used to scare him, Vasquez said “positive feedback” built his confidence.

“I’ll play music forever, but if I get older and I don’t get famous I’ll probably stop,” he told Star Community.

The easygoing Van Der Horst, meanwhile, got in via Beyonce's “Halo,” which one of the amazed judges said she “owned.”

“I was not expecting this at all... You owned the song and that was incredible to watch,” judge Ronan Keating told Van Der Horst after her performance.


Van Der Horst is a 28-year-old health professional who is married to an Australian. She jokingly said her husband was annoyed whenever she performed.

On her StarNow page, she stated her vocal range as soprano and favored pop and rock as her musical genre.

All three are moving on to the boot camp stage of the competition. —KBK, GMA News