Cebuana wins TV5’s “Kanta Pilipinas”

CEBU, Philippines - An 18-year-old lass from Mandaue City was declared the first grand winner of TV5’s singing reality search “Kanta Pilipinas” during the finale aired Sunday night, beating thousands of aspirants from all over the country.

Dubbed as the “Miracle Singer of Cebu,” Chadleen Alberth Lacdo-o took home a P1 million cash prize, plus a recording and management contract from TV5. The entire season was completely taped before airing, which means the winner was already determined last year but had to be kept under wraps until the official TV announcement.

From the top 24 auditionees, 12 finalists advanced, until only the final four remained, namely, Chadleen, fellow Cebuana Thara Jordana, Ilonggo rocker Ricky Deloviar and former New Born Divas member Jennifer Nepomuceno.

In the final sing-off, all four contestants had to perform a duet with an established artist before their solo numbers. Chadleen sang Apo Hiking Society’s “Ewan” with Imago’s Aia De Leon, then later on gave her rendition of Rico Blanco’s “Himala” for the final round.

Blanco, who was both "Kanta Pilipinas" host and judge, was clearly pleased with Chadleen’s unique take on his popular song. Composer/orchestra conductor Ryan Cayabyab and Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha also sat as judges.

Chadleen’s coup de grace seemed fitting for someone who considers her life to be a beautiful miracle. Saddled with a birth deformity that impeded her speech, much so her ability to sing, the little girl who aspired to be a singer once wished she had never existed.

This Business Administration student was born with a cleft palate, which became worse after two failed operations (one when she was eight months old, the other at age four). Ridiculed by classmates, she would often wish that one day her cleft palate would simply disappear.

“When a teacher once asked who liked to volunteer to sing, I didn’t have second thoughts to go up front and sing and that would be the happiest moment for me, yet when I looked around amidst my euphoria I saw the joke in all my classmates’ eyes and I wished, from that time on, that I was never born. What kept me going were the love and support that I see and feel in my family and my dream that one day God will let me sing,” she once wrote in a testimonial.

Her miracle would arrive in the form of Operation Smile, an international organization that provides free surgeries to children with cleft lip and palate. The group would hold a medical mission in Cebu at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, and a then four-year-old Chadleen was the last patient in line.

“It seemed that day was made for me. I was the last in a long line. The miracle didn’t stop there; I was operated on by none other than the head surgeon of the Operation Smile mission, Dr. Han Kai from China,” stated Chadleen.

Chadleen’s speech improved after the operation, and after a year of speech therapy, she was able to speak properly. Best of all, she could now sing to her heart’s content!

She went on to write, “The rest is history. I try to share my talent to those who would care to listen to my songs but the best break I ever received so far, thanks to Operation Smile International, was when I sang before the US Senate in behalf of children all over the world who were born with cleft deformity, but who have dreams of having the equal opportunity for a better future just like any normal kid. And I received the best standing ovation.”

Chadleen is currently an Ambassador of Operation Smile Philippines, along with Binibining Pilipinas titlists Shamcey Supsup and Janine Tugonon.

Her dreams began to take shape when she joined and reached the finals of ABS-CBN’s singing contest for kids, “Little Big Star.” She was the guest performer during David Pomeranz's concert tour in the Philippines back in 2009, and through Operation Smile International, she once shared the stage with Charice and Miley Cyrus in Los Angeles.

At 16, Chadleen was cast as a mean girl in the ABS-CBN musical drama series “Idol,” where she sang and acted alongside Sarah Geronimo, Sam Milby, Coco Martin and Zsa Zsa Padilla.

And now here she is, a towering and blooming lady who just became the latest pride of Cebuanos with her “Kanta Pilipinas” feat.

Meanwhile, TV5 head of creative and entertainment production Perci Intalan announced during the finale that because of their impressive performances, the three other grand finalists will also be given recording and management contracts from TV5.

Blanco also announced that the contest will set off on a European tour to find its next batch of Filipino contestants from overseas and will return on the air as “Kanta Pilipinas World.” (FREEMAN)