Help Miguel win in INXS tilt

Yes, you can help Miguel "Mig" Ayesa win in the on-going reality-TV show Rockstar: INXS where he’s one of the finalists for the slot as lead singer of the formerly mega-selling band INXS.

As Funfare "scooped" several issues via an exclusive report by Edmund Silvestre (news editor of the New York-based The Filipino Reporter), Mig is a Filipino raised in Australia. He’s a nephew of my favorite lady lawyer, Katrina Legarda, who’s the cousin of Mig’s mom Carmen Legarda. Mig’s father is Titos Ayesa.

Before I tell you about the voting procedure, let us hear from Suzette Montinola, Mig’s first cousin (their moms are sisters):

Mig was born on Jan. 12, 1970. The Ayesas migrated to Australia with Miguel and his brother Andrew in the early ’70s.

As fas as I can remember, Mig wanted to be a rock singer of a band ever since he was small. He has always had a band and has, from the time we were 10, written, recorded and performed his own music. Growing up, Mig took part in various plays and musicals in school, and performed gigs with his band Lovetown on the side. He also collaborated with Martin Nievera and Louie Ocampo on the song Looks Like Love for Martin’s Time album.

In 1991, Mig was offered the role of Richie Valens in the musical The Buddy Holly Story which toured Australia. The part led to the same role in the West End production of the same musical. He practically stole the show when he sang La Bamba. People got up to dance and women threw their bras at him, swooning. It was pretty incredible!

After The Buddy Holly Show, Mig went back to Australia and took part in various musical productions. He was Angel in Rent, Joe Vargas in Fame and Danny Zuko in Grease. He also did a Pokemon tour around the world, was a Brooklyn vampire in Queen of the Damned and was considered to play Merry the hobbit in Lord of the Rings.

In 2002, Mig married Simone de la Rue, a dancer and actress. Soon after, he landed the role of Galileo in the West End production of We Will Rock You, the musical based on the music of Queen. He has impresssed Queen lead guitarist Brian May with whom Mig is now working on some of Mig’s original compositions.

Mig was doing We Will Rock You when the chance to audition for Rockstar INXS came. It was a gruelling process but he got in and made it to Hollywood. He’s living in a Hollywood mansion. The contest goes on for three months.

His favorite beach is Boracay. He dreams about the fresh Mango Shake the food in True Food (a restaurant in Boracay).

And now, here’s how you can vote for Mig and help him win:

Every Wednesday, Star World viewers in the Philippines can cast their votes for their favorite contender via SMS. Voting windows will open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. right after the live performance show. Rockstar: INXS show is aired on Star World Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. (live performance) and 8:50 p.m. (primetime repeat), and Thursdays at 9 a.m. (live results) and 9 p.m. (primetime repeat).

To vote, key in your favorite rocker’s finalist code (INXS O1, INXS 02, INXS 03, etc.) and send it to 283 (Smart subscribers) or 2800 (Globe subscribers). Finalist codes will be featured on the live performance episodes of Rockstar: INXS every Wednesday. A confirmation message will be sent upon receipt of the SMS.

For help or instructions on how to vote, simply type INXS HELP and send to 283 (Smart subscribers) or 2800 (Globe subscribers), and an SMS with the detailed information will be sent to you. To retrieve the code of the finalist you wish to vote for, key in INXS CODE and send to 283 (Smart subscribers) or 2800 (Globe subscribers). Each SMS message costs P2.50. Or log on to www.startv.com.rockstar for more details.

Once you’ve voted, the three finalists with the least votes will be short-listed for elimination on Thursday’s results show. They will each get a last chance to strut their stuff before INXS band members make the final cut for the week.

For 13 weeks (starting on July 12), the fate of the world’s next rock sensation will be in your hands. Happy judging!

Six In, Six More To Come

And speaking of talent search, ABS-CBN’s Search for the Star in a Million Season 2 is getting to be hotly-contested. Twelve finalists will compete for the title (prizes include P1 million and house and lot) in the grand finals next month. So far, six have been chosen and six more are to come. This year’s batch are so good and so talented that I’m sure judges Wyngard Tracy, Rowell Santiago and Agot Isidro will have a tough time picking the winner.

The two new lucky ones are Vino Bello and Jimmy Marquez.

Taking up Masscom at Adamson University, 20-year-old Vino front-acted for a concert at his school topbilling Christian Bautista (a Star in a Million finalist in 2003) and Parokya ni Edgar. He got as much cheers – even more – as the main stars did. He is good looks and good voice combined. He sounds like Jun Polistico.

A Martin Nievera fan, Vino knew that he could sing only when he joined a singing contest during his second year in high school. Asked who his inspiration is, Vino said, "My father. He has overcome a lot of struggles in life."

With his curly locks and dark looks, 23-year-old Jimmy Marquez reminds people of Bob Marley. The youngest of nine children, Jimmy began singing when he was in the nursery. A line from his song goes, Somewhere out there where dreams come true... Jimmy has been pursuing that dream since then.

A native of Toledo, Cebu, Jimmy studied Masscom at the University of San Jose Recoletos where one of his schoolmates was Anna Fegi. It was Anna who encouraged Jimmy to come to Manila and try his luck. Besides performing with a band, Jimmy also served Anna’s back-up singer in Anna’s concerts in Manila just like Jimmy did when Anna was performing at Cebu Plaza Hotel.

Jimmy has gone abroad twice with the University of San Jose Recoletos Dramatic and Cultural Ensemble, in 1999 in USSR and in 2001 in Utah.

The seventh and eighth finalists will be chosen in tomorrow’s edition of Search for the Star in a Million. E-mail reactions at [email protected]