Lucena singer Marcelo becomes 1st 'Philippine Idol'

Twenty-six-year-old Mau Marcelo became the first Philippine Idol on Dec. 10, winning the singing contest spun off American Idol by getting the most number of text and landine votes over contenders Gian Magdangal and Jan Nieto. According to the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP - www.pep.ph), the singer from Lucena City got 36.26 percent of texters' votes, just 1.42 percent higher than the first runnerup, whom host Ryan Agoncillo did not name. To close the show, held at the Araneta Coliseum, a teary-eyed Marcelo sang Whitney Houston's "On My Own." Marcelo will get a cash prize of P1 million, a recording contract with Sony-BMG, a non-exclusive P1-million contract with Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Freemanatle management company. According to Agoncillo, ABC president Tonyboy Cojuangco was so impressed with the contestants that he decided to award P200,000 to Magdangal and Nieto. For the full story, visit the PEP website at www.pep.ph. - GMANews.TV