JESSICA SANCHEZ

THE IDOL

WHILE FILIP IN A AMERICANS LIKE THIA MEGIA AND JASMINE TRIAS HAD REMARKABLE RUNS ON AMERICAN IDOL, the Philippines’ euphoria achieved fever pitch because of one spectacular voice— that of Smart endorser Jessica Sanchez.

Nowhere was there a campaign quite like the Filipino public during season 11 of American Idol.

Stars like Ruffa Gutierrez and company, gated community family and blue collar worker alike would watch the show with bated breath, ready to cheer or jeer the judges depending on how appreciative they were of Jessica. When she sang Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, a power song in local videoke joints, the YouTube video hit upwards of four million views, in less than a month, largely spurred by a Filipino public who couldn’t get enough of their star’s performance. In the run-up to the finale that saw a dip in American viewers but a spike in Filipino viewers, there was a clear message across the board—Jessica was being called home. And come home she has.

The stage is Jessica’s comfort zone and unlike the rest of the population, there, armed with a microphone, she morphs into a sound machine, her petite frame belying her monster pipes. There is a reason behind Jessica’s humble disbelief at all of her success and the adulation of the Filipino people. “I was bullied as a child,” Jessica explains. “That was why I was homeschooled. I was always ‘too small’ or ‘too short’ or ‘too skinny.’ Despite her 5’1” frame, there’s nothing diminutive about Jessica Sanchez. Today, her voice and story has continued to inspire a legion of loyal fans around the world— she has definitely made her mark as a true Global Pinoy.