Martha Joy triumphs at WCOPA

Making it to the Top 6 of season three of Canadian Idol was already quite a thrill but Viva recording artist Martha Joy experienced even more at the WCOPA talent olympics held from July 11 to 18 at Western Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.

The tall and lovely teenager from Toronto was one of only two representatives from the Philippines in the Senior Division to make it to the finals and knowing how hard she works, Martha Joy gave every category she competed in, everything possible. As a result she came home laden with medals and full of new hopes for her career in the Philippines.

Songs Martha Joy performed and the awards she won at WCOPA are: Power of Love, Gold Medal, Pop Category; I Have Nothing, Gold Medal, Open Category; Crazy, Bronze Medal, Country/Western Category; You’ll Never Walk Alone, Bronze Medal, Gospel Category; Power of Love, Overall Award, Champion of the World Plaque for Pop Category as the best in all age groups; I Have Nothing, Overall Award, Champion of the World Plaque, Open Category also the best for all age groups; the Industry Medal given by the judges and staff for having many call-backs or go-sees and for being the contestant they would hire for a job or their choice to work with; and I Have Nothing again at the semi-finals and finals where she received the Finalist Medal.

The road to international success for Martha Joy started two years ago. She auditioned in Canada’s most-watched reality TV show, Canadian Idol, and was the youngest contestant to make it to the Top 10 finals at age 16. Although Martha Joy has many previous achievements to boost her credit, it was her success in the show that opened the door for her to seriously pursue a career in the music industry. She signed an exclusive recording contract with Viva Records and released her debut album, titled Martha Joy early this year.

Martha is of mixed Asian and Latin parentage. She started singing almost as soon as she learned to speak. Her mother recognized her gift and sought the best available vocal coaches in Toronto to ensure the proper development of her voice. Those years of formal training gave her not only the capacity to sing with ease but the stamina required in a singing career.

Her wonderful musical sense, intonation and range have been explored in songs that have a classical feel, yet a pop resonance. Like a young Barbra Streisand, she hits high operatic notes without them sounding operatic. Although she enjoys singing traditional R&B/pop music, her heart is truly drawn to the clarity of singing classical material with soaring melodies. She hopes she will also find lots of opportunities to do this in the future.

Martha Joy started winning trophies in singing competitions as a child. She was only 11 when she wowed the 50 or so judges at the September 2003 Best New Talent Awards in L.A. at the Century Plaza Hotel. Out of hundreds of contestants, she handily won two separate categories, Best Contemporary Pop Singer and Best Child Broadway Performer.

She has also performed in countless events in and outside Toronto. Among those she is most proud of are her solo performances before the United Nations Global Peace Initiative in Geneva, Switzerland; the Mike Bullard Show on CTV; and of the Canadian National Anthem for the games of the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre.

Martha Joy sings in various languages including English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Tagalog. Her Eurasian descent — half Filipino and half Portuguese — makes her striking beauty quite breathtaking. Standing almost 5’7”, she is statuesque and her eyes sparkle as she speaks and sings.

Titled Martha Joy, her first album was produced by Christian de Walden of Hollywood. It has an all-new originals lineup with Dumating Ka, by Jimmy Borja as the first single. The CD also includes The Right Moment, Only My Heart, Broken, Holding On To A Dream, a duet with Jimmy Marquez, I Love the Sunshine, That’s How It Has To Be, All Of A Sudden, Pagka’t Mahal Pa Rin Kita, This Special Night, Just Exactly Like We Planned, Maybe, Nothing More to Say, Do You Think of Me and Laging Ikaw.