Danielle Ozaraga’s roller-coaster ride
If at first you don’t succeed, then by all means, try again.
That’s a belief Cebuana singer Danielle Ozaraga knows all too well. Despite her singing prowess as a powerful belter, people might not believe that she’s had her share of rejections. Take her “The Clash” experience. It took the 21-yearold Danao City native two tries to get into the recently concluded GMA-7 singing-reality show.
Danielle began singing at five years old, her first public performance being the recital for her voice lessons. It wasn’t until four years later that she joined her first competition, “Little Big Star Cebu.” Danielle placed third runner-up, which wasn’t bad for a rookie.
“All I wanted was to travel to all kinds of places, while doing what I love which is singing and performing,” Danielle said in an episode of
online show “MARKado” while she was in Cebu to surprise her mom. The Tourism graduate is halfway there, seeing that she’s become a familiar face and voice not only in Cebu but also in the country after her “The Clash” stint.
Danielle started to perform more after her first competition. However, she chose her competitions carefully because she was afraid at first. She earned her “Doxology Princess” moniker not long after, since she was almost always chosen to sing for that part of the program during events.
Her next leap of faith was the third edition of Sinulog Idol. It was 2012, and at 15 years old, Danielle was the youngest among the hopefuls. Observers often said she was too young for the competition, which ran for several consecutive nights until the finals in time for the feast of Sr. Sto. Niño. Danielle didn’t win.
Despite landing first runner-up, doors opened for the then teen. Danielle had more gigs than ever, and each time, regardless of how many times she’s booked within the same day, she would say yes. Hence, the title “Lagari Queen.” While her parents could afford sending her to school, Danielle wanted to help with the expenses, becoming a scholar throughout her high school and college days as a performer for the University of Cebu Dance Company.
By then, Danielle had earned a name for herself, even joining the prestigious World Championships of PerformingArts (WCOPA) and coming home with three silver medals. Still, despite those achievements, Danielle dreamed of more.
When she felt she was ready to go nationwide, it seemed the world was not because she would never make it past the auditions.
As her colleagues slowly made their way to the same dream, Danielle began to feel unsure about her own.
“I already gave up. Every time someone asked me to audition, I would say that I’d never make it. I lost all my confidence. And seeing my batchmates getting shows and making it to national competitions… why couldn’t I do the same?” Danielle bemoaned. “So I said that national singing competitions weren’t meant for me.”
Deep inside, Danielle must have hoped for more because she agreed to join “The Clash.” She failed to make the cut after she auditioned for the show. Little did she know that the experience would be a roller-coaster ride. Shortly after the audition, she got a call for the final call backs in Manila but still got the negative. So you could imagine Danielle’s surprise when she received word that she would be coming back to Manila for the workshops, which meant that she had become one of the official 62 “Clashers” for the show.
After that moment of sunshine, Danielle had to say goodbye to the competition after earning a spot in the Top 12. She burst into tears backstage, feeling like she could have done better that night when she performed “Patuloy ang Pangarap” while she was ill. A lot of people comforted her, her crush and “The Clash” host Andre Paras being the first, and even her idol “Clash Master” Regine Velasquez-Alcasid pulled her in for a hug.
But just as she was about to give up and look for a job related to her degree, she was among the Clashers chosen to prove themselves again as wildcard bets. Life was funny like that. Danielle asked God if this really was her shot, if she was going to come out of “The Clash” on top. There, Danielle redeemed herself with her rendition of “Anak.” But even though she didn’t make the cut, Danielle felt a lot better, knowing that she had done her best.
“I’ve fallen short in auditions a lot of times. And I already lost in the competition. But then I was given a chance, again, to get a spot,” Danielle said, explaining why the wildcard portion had been one of her most unforgettable moments in the competition.
Throughout “The Clash,” between the rejections and the wonderful comments from judges, Danielle remains grateful for everything she’s been through, especially her experience competing here in Cebu—joining “Sinulog Idol,” facing rejections, becoming a scholar and paying off her education by performing—all of them had been vital to Danielle’s success.
Named Cebu’s “Sultry Biritera,” Danielle has gotten close with her fellow Clashers, especially the Bisayas, being one of the six Cebuanos to join the competition. However, she said, her greatest competition would always be herself.
Apart from her dose of losses, Danielle also struggled with bashers. At the “Laban Kung Laban” rounds, Danielle – who performed “Shine” against Willy Cordovalez who sang “Ngayon,” and won – received negative comments from netizens. They said that Cordovalez should have won, that all Danielle did was shout and show her cleavage.
“At first I cried. But as time went by, I understood that they [bashers] didn’t know the truth,” said Danielle, sharing how she would also get labelled as “mean” in school because she liked to dress up, which was only because she wanted to look presentable at all times.
Throughout her time in “The Clash,” Danielle cherished her moments with her idols, Lani Misalucha and Regine Velasquez. Danielle would never forget how Lani complimented her in Bisaya, and how Regine hugged her when she lost saying that she should never give up. At the same time, she and the rest of the Clashers were sad about hearing their Clash Master sign with another network.
Danielle, who has signed a five-year contract with GMA Artist Center, has grown a lot since joining “The Clash.” Judge Christian Bautista commented that she was “consistent” in all of her performances, so Danielle made it a point to switch it up every now and then to give audiences a bit of surprise factor.
When she was used to being fetched to and fro by her parents here in Cebu, Danielle had to learn to do things herself. She used to need someone to wake her up, but had learned to get up by herself and was never once late for call times.
“I didn’t want to get scolded. I’d rather be too early. I’ll just catch up on sleep at the venue,” said Danielle, who also opts to do her own makeup when stylists and make-up artists get busy.
Despite not winning in “The Clash,” Danielle is still in a happy place. Performing in the new GMA variety show “Studio 7” on Sunday nights, Danielle also has a string of performances and corporate shows and currently spends her time in more singing, dancing, personality development, and hosting workshops, since the network is grooming them to become multi-media stars.
Danielle’s favorite song is “Through The Rain” because it mirrors her experiences and reminds her that despite the struggle, she always comes out victorious on the other side.
“The times I lost have their purpose, it’s so that I won’t give up. So that I have a story to share, and would hopefully inspire other singers that no matter how many times they fail, they should never give up,” Danielle quipped.
“To all the aspiring singers who can’t seem to get into auditions, never give up. Everyone has their own time to shine and everything happens for a reason.”