Is Faith Cuneta among the ‘chosen ones’?

Many are called, but few are chosen. And among the chosen, fewer endure.

Faith Cuneta knew at an early age that she was meant to sing. She started joining singing contests during her elementary and high school days at Malate Catholic School. In 1990 – using her real name, Carmela Cuneta – she joined Tanghalan ng Kampeon. In 1997, she joined the Metropop Star Search where the final three included her, Jonard Yanzon and someone named Melanie Calumpad, now famously known as Kyla.

But her singing career took a backseat when Faith decided to finish college first. The girl has no regrets though that she prioritized her studies over her singing career. Faith graduated in 2000, three years after the Metropop Star Search. People may say that she has been eclipsed by young singers like Sarah Geronimo and Rachelle Ann Go, but Faith isn’t the type to cry over spilled milk or lost opportunities. Besides, she can hardly consider those years a loss since she got the college degree she’s always wanted. "No, I don’t have any regrets," she says with a smile. "Ang akin naman, makakanta lang ako, okay na."

After college, she started singing in hotel lounges where she slowly gained her own following.

"Halos lahat na yata ng hotel lounges dito sa Metro Manila nakantahan ko na. I wasn’t really dying to be a singing star. I just wanted to sing," says Faith. Her patience and hard work paid off and her career finally began to pick up. She became the Koreanovela Queen because of her poignant interpretations of the theme songs of a number of Koreanovelas, the latest of which is Stairway to Heaven on GMA 7. A few months back, she performed during the Boyz II Men concert in Manila.

Faith is now being managed by Jacob Fernandez, who has an anecdote as to how Faith became his ward. "I met her after she won the Metropop Star Search because at that time, I was still with GMA 7’s Artist Center. When I left Artist Center to pursue a political career, I lost touch with her. After my ‘short-lived affair with politics.’ I began seeing her in hotel lounges whenever I had meetings. We would say ‘hi’ and ‘hello’ to each other and that was it. One time, I was in a meeting and Faith was singing on stage. Faith suddenly stopped singing. It turned out that the pianist had a heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. Left with no pianist to accompany her, Faith decided to just mingle with the guests. When she saw me, she said, ‘Hi’. I asked her how she was. She had no manager at that time so she asked me if I wanted to be her manager. I told her to set an appointment with my staff. True enough, the next day, she called my office and arranged a meeting with me. During the very first meeting I had with her, I was amazed by her passion and her spirit. She was so driven that it was impossible for me to say no to her. I told her that if she wanted to be my talent, the first thing that I would change was her name. It was just too conservative."

So Jacob began looking for a showbiz name for his new talent. "I just became a Christian at that time and when I attended a Christian gathering, the topic was faith. And it suddenly hit me that Faith Cuneta will be her name," Jacob enthuses.

And that started Jacob’s faith in Faith. "I feel that the industry still has a place for singers like Faith. She’s very talented and the girl deserves to be in this business for she’s been working really hard at her music."

Faith will soon be headlining a major concert entitled One: The World Tour. She will share the stage with another Jacob’s talent, male singer Juaquin Garcia, said to be a balladeer cut in the style of Martin Nievera.

One: The World Tour will kick off at the Music Museum on Sept. 14, 22, 23 and 24 and is produced by Jacob’s JLF Productions and directed by Rowell Santiago from a script by Noel Ferrer. The concert is presented by South Forbes Golf City.

After the Manila shows, Faith and Juaquin will start preparing for the second phase of the tour, which will take them on a swing through Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan) in October this year, followed by a US tour in February that will take them to several cities on the West Coast, including Los Angeles, Glendale, San Francisco, San Jose, Las Vegas, San Diego and Hawaii.

One: The World Tour is undoubtedly one of Faith’s biggest breaks to date. "I’m happy that my talent is finally being recognized," says Faith.

Producer Jacob Fernandez says that the public is also eagerly awaiting this concert, because it will give them a taste of "something new" on the concert stage.

And hey, if we’re fixing for something new, why not a bit of Faith, indeed?