Fil-Am, 11, bags grand prize in US singing finals

As if to prove that Filipinos don’t just vote entertainers into office but are able entertainers in their own right, an 11-year-old Filipino-American has won the Grand Prize in the US prime-time CBS talent show Star Search.

Mark Mejia, who calls San Diego, California home, captured the $100,000 prize for his powerful rendition of the Donna Summer classic "Last Dance."

Mejia bested two other contestants in the Junior Singer finals in a performance described by judges as "terrific" and "full of energy."

Mejia, whose favorite TV shows are Star Search and its rival American Idol, confessed before the contest that he was "really, really excited" about performing and that he might feel "homesick not being on the stage anymore."

Two Filipino-American teenage girls are also grand finalists in American Idol.