Hannah Precillas shares emotional journey in Indonesia's 'D'Academy' talent show

Kapuso OST Princess  Hannah Precillas made the country proud when she made the Final 3 of the "Dangdut Academy Asia 5" talent competition in Indonesia last December.

With her powerful vocals and emotional performances, the 21-year-old Filipina singer placed 3rd in the show that had more than 30 competitors hailing from all over Asia.

Hannah Precillas, who grew up in Bohol, won GMA's talent competition "Bet ng Bayan" in 2014.

After lending her voice to the theme songs of several Kapuso dramas like "Kambal Karibal," "Hahamakin Ang Lahat" and "Kapag Nahati ang Puso," she auditioned for Dangut Academy Asia 5 and was given the chance to represent the Philippines last year.

She wowed the judges and finished 3rd in the grand finals in December before coming home in January.

Looking back on her journey during a press conference on Monday, Hannah revealed she was among  the underdogs of the competition.

Hannah had to learn songs in Bahasa and, apart from mastering the words, she tried her best to get the tone, pronunciation, and the technique just right.

She learned at least 20 songs in Bahasa — one of the many feats she never thought she would be able to pull off.

"Feeling namin, kami 'yung mahina and sabi din ng ibang contestants... Nakikita daw nila sa amin na kami yung pinaka-stressed kasi kahit ano pong ginagawa namin, naka-earphones, nag-a-aral ng kanta," she said.

"And, syempre, 'yun din ang nararamdaman namin kasi sila, relaxed lang sila, eh kami lang 'yung araw araw umiiyak, araw -raw nahihirapan."

After wowing the world as the 2nd runner-up in Indonesia's "Dangdut Academy Asia 5" talent competition, Kapuso OST Princess Hannah Precillas is back home! @gmanews pic.twitter.com/zyIduDazwL

— Margaret Claire (@MClaireLayug) January 6, 2020

Hannah said she almost gave up at one point, when she was struggling to learn her song for the grand finals.

"Sinabi ko sa kanila, sobrang hirap nung song. I think I cannot do it, but they said: 'We know that Filipinos are strong," Hannah said.

"Sabi nila: 'Alam namin ang Filipino, hindi nag-gi-give up, sabi nilang gano'n. So I said, 'Okay, I'll still have to fight'," she added.

"So idadaan ko sa iyak muna, tapos saka nalang ako ulit na malakas na lalaban ulit ako."

Hannah eventually came through, surprising even herself at what she pulled off in the past few months.

"In total, siguro more or less 20 songs na 'yung alam ko, na hindi ko expect. Ini-imagine ko ngayon, pano ko natutunan tong mga kantang to?"

.@gmanews Kapuso OST Princess Hannah Precillas learned at least 20 songs in Bahasa for Indonesia's "Dangdut Academy Asia 5" international talent competition, where she made the Top 3. | via @MClaireLayug pic.twitter.com/Nog8BsKP5W

— GMA News (@gmanews) January 6, 2020

She may not have been the winner of the talent competition, but Hannah was very grateful to win a prize that would help with her mom's medical bills.

She also expressed gratitude to the kind people of Indonesia, her Kapuso family, and all who helped her shine on the international stage.

"Somehow, pumasok po sa isip ko na nagkaroon ako ng experience na ganito na pumasok sa international singing competition sa ibang bansa, so, why not sumali pa sa ibang bigger competitions sa ibang countries?" Hannah said.

"Humuhugot lang ako ng lakas para mag-survive ulit sa iba pang competition." — LA, GMA News