RECALLING THE HONORS THAT EVA SANTOS GAVE THE PHILIPPINES
Let us take a look back at the inspirational story of Boholana diva Eva Santos who reached the crest of her musical career only to turn her back on it when motherhood and family beckoned her
COMPETING AGAINST THE WORLD’S BEST
Eva Santos with three of her talented kids
Eva Gulle- de los Santos better known in the live entertainment circuit as Eva Santos and who hails from Jagna, Bohol did more than just represent our country in the annual Midnight Sun Song Festival in Lahti, Finland on June 6, 1992
She enthralled everyone inside the cavernous competition venue the moment her mellifluous voice started to soar through.
It was a spellbinding performance especially when she belted it out and hit the right notes.
Eva's awesome interpretation really brought out the story behind her composition, every emotion, every nuance and every pause made her song come to life and so when the announcement of winners came, Eva was already jittery and tense but there was relief also for she knew that she had given it her all
It was a moment of pride and pure delight not only for Eva but also for her jubilant countrymen especially those who were there in Finland when she won 2nd Runner Up honors.
TRULY A BOHOLANA PRIDE
To this day, Eva still holds the distinction of being one of a select few composers in the Philippines to have sung her own composition in the an international song festival and place in the winners' circle
She may not have made it in the Voice of the Philippines where winners are determined not through sheer vocal quality but text votes
But for us who are avid Eva Santos admirers and believers, You would always be the Voice
Here’s the video that captured the award- winning performance of Eva Santos in the global stage
With Eva Santos' Award- Winning Performance in the1992 Midnight Sun Song Festival
Announcement of 1992 Midnight Sun Int'l Song Festival Winners VIDEO
EVA SANTOS MAKES THE CUT Boholana Eva De Los Santos became the 8th and final contestant from the first batch of contestants to make it to the Round of 16. It was an exciting down- the- wire finish for Eva during the Aug 25 Live Shows for The Voice of the Philippines held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of New Resorts World After Morrisette Amon was revealed as having garnered the highest percentage share of text votes from Team Sarah, Eva & Junji together with their families & fans including this blogger anxiously awaited as Coach Sarah made up her mind who to save.
In the end, Coach Sarah picked the Boholana warbler to advance to the Round of 16. The cameras then zoomed in to the De Los Santos Family for their reaction.
De Los Santos Family Whoops It Up!
It was a touching emotional moment especially seeing the cameras zoom in on her daughter Monique who burst into tears THE VOICE LIVE SHOWS Group A The evening started with all the contestants and the four coaches opening the competition with a spectacular production number
Twelve of the 24 semifinalists or three for each of the four coaches were spotlighted during last Sunday's next elimination round as they gave it their best to impress and get the nod of the text- voting public as well as that of their respective coaches
The competition then followed with all 12 performing songs that they and their coaches chose
Representing their respective teams in their order of performances were:
Darryl Shy, Radha and RJ Dela Fuente for Coach Lea Salonga
Cora Dela Cruz, Thor Dulay and Jessica Reynoso for Coach Apl de Ap
Lee Grane ,Myk Perez and Talia Reyes for Coach Bamboo.
Eva Delos Santos, Junji Arias and Morrisette Amon for coach Sarah Geronimo
It was with bated breath when our very own Eva Gulle De Los Santos finally performed onstage.
She was such a delight to see and hear her as she sang Carole King's So Far Away during her performance even as she showcased her virtuosity with the piano
Afterwards, Leah Salonga commented that what she liked with the performance was the start and the ending.
She also gave an instructive advice on controlling one's performance especially when hitting the high notes and sticking to the musical arrangement "Just because you can doesn't mean that you should"
UNIQUE VOTING SYSTEM
The unique voting scheme for the Live Shows allowed viewers to send in their votes only during commercial breaks – I believe this is a first on Philippine TV. The voting for each team opened after the performances of the three artists and closed after one full commercial break. The poll results for all the teams was announced at the end of the show.
The artist from each team who got the highest percentage of votes was then announced and thus got an automatic save. The coach then had to make the difficult decision of choosing who between his or her two remaining artists gets to continue in their journey and who gets to pack up and go home MIXED VOTING RESULTS
FOR TEAM LEA
Voters picked the very soft- spoken and simple Baguio musician Darryl Shy over early front-runner, former Kulay member Radha
FOR TEAM BAMBOO
The voting public picked Myk Perez over another early favorite, singer Lee Grane
FOR TEAM APL
Early fave Thor Dulay topped the voting as predicted
FOR TEAM SARAH
L-R: Eva Santos, Junji Arias & Morrisette Amon
Theater actress Morissette Amon got an overwhelming 57% of the total text votes for Team Sarah. Eva and Junji got a combined total of 43%
Let us vote for Eva in the Round of 16 please
GREAT SHOW
Overall, I loved the format of The Voice. The show was fast- paced, there was no commercial overload and most importantly, it was entertaining
Don’t miss “The Voice of the Philippines,” every Saturday, 9 PM, and every Sunday, 8:15 PM on ABS-CBN. UP NEXT: Get ready with your support for Kim Mainit as he sees action in the September 1 Live Shows
Eva Santos as well as Boholanos and Cebuanos alike are on tenterhooks as ABS CBN's The Voice of the Philippines moves to the next round tonight after Rated K
TEXT VOTES
Eva, together with 11 other semifinalists will compete in the Live Show where the top qualifier from each team will be determined by text votes
CONTEST FORMAT
All the 24 qualifiers or six for each coach/ mentor's team have been divided into two for the Live schedules and Eva is one of the 12 who will see action tonight.
After all three singers from each team performs tonight, there will be a break for the televiewers and live audience to send in their text votes.
Incidentally, the other Boholano qualifier Kim Mainit will see action on September 1
The singer from each of the four teams that gets the highest text votes will advance to the Top 16.
From the bottom two, the coach decides who will move to the next round and who will be going home VOTING MECHANICS: For voting tonight August 25:
Text VOICE space EVA
Send to 231 for smart, talk n text.
Send to 2331 for globe, TM, SUN cellular
P2.50/vote
Max 30 votes per sim
Online: (vote.abs-cbn.com) look for the logo of The Voice
Purchase epin
P25=10 Votes P75=30 Votes
Please share.
GOLDEN MOMENT IN TIME LAST NIGHT:
Did you see how our Golden Girl Eva blew the competition out last night with her mind- blowing performance of One Moment in Time?
It was a goosebump experience for me.
A very proud moment for Bohol and her family even as the TV cameras were zooming in on her very telegenic daughter Monique de los Santos and gorgeous son, the world-class karatedo gold medalist OJ De Los Santos
Anyway, here's another article on Eva Santos from Wikipedia
Eva delos Santos (born October 1, 1962) is a Filipino entrepreneur, housewife, and singer from Cebu who is currently a contestant on the first season of The Voice of the Philippines.
Her daughter, Monique delos Santos, auditioned before her but did not advance to the battle rounds
Before she became a mother and an entrepreneur, music had been part of Eva's life.
Born and raised in Bohol, the young Eva moved to Cebu City for college, where she began performing.
During her glory days of singing, she was able to perform around the country and in some major cities around Asia.
In late 1980's, she fell in love and got married. Eva decided to put music in the backseat to give way to her life's new challenges as a wife and as a mother.
As this mother reaches her golden years, Eva wanted to give herself a chance to continue the music where she left it off.
She joined the competition not only for the chance of making her dreams come true, but to inspire people her age that they can still dream new dreams, or awaken passion in hiatus.
DID YOU KNOW THAT a Boholana warbler has represented the Philippines in an international songwriting competition?
Eva Gulle- de los Santos better known in the live entertainment circuit as Eva Santos and who hails from Jagna, Bohol did more than just represent our country in the annual Midnight Sun Song Festival in Lahti, Finland on June 6, 1992
She enthralled everyone inside the cavernous competition venue the moment her mellifluous voice started to soar through.
It was a spellbinding performance especially when she belted it out and hit the right notes.
I could just imagine and from the hit romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Wedding", I would like to quote Julia Roberts in that karaoke scene where she introduced Cameron Diaz, "Ladies and gentlemen, be prepared to be dazzled by the vocal stylings of Eva!"
Eva's awesome interpretation really brought out the story behind her composition, every emotion, every nuance and every pause made her song come to life and so when the announcement of winners came, Eva was already jittery and tense but there was relief also for she knew that she had given it her all.
It was a moment of pride and pure delight not only for Eva but also for her jubilant countrymen especially those who were there in Finland when she won 2nd Runner Up honors.
To this day, Eva still holds the distinction of being the only composer in the Philippines to have sung her own composition in an international song festival and place in the winners' circle
I first met Eva Santos through her sister Baby back in 2002.
Although it was our first meeting, it felt like we had known each other for years. Eva has this warmth that radiates from within and surprisingly, for an accomplished newsmaker, she was very humble whose feet were both firmly planted on the ground.
There was no trace of the supercilious and haughty ways usually associated with divas
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Her journey towards that award- winning performance in Finland started with Vehnee Saturno, well- known Filipino songwriter/ composer advising her former manager Raul Laurente to let Eva send an entry for the annual Midnight Sun Song Festival, a songwriting competition.
She had to beat 50 other entries coming from songwriters and composers from all over the Philippines to earn the right to represent the country in the Finland- based competition
Eva recalled her amazing experience during the contest.
“The Finland competition was so memorable and I performed two songs. I sang first my own composition “Just Like You & Me” and then performed the second song that was written by a Finnish. I was so inspired during rehearsals because I realized that all contestants get to perform with a 50 piece orchestra”
CHILDHOOD YEARS IN JAGNA
Eva was born and raised in Tejero, Jagna, Bohol.
Her grade school years were spent at Jagna Central Elementary School.
She graduated as High School Class Salutatorian at the Colegio de la Medalla Milagrosa.
At around this time, Eva had acquired a local celebrity tag in her hometown after winning the nationwide Girl Scout of the Philippines Singing Contest
Looking back, Eva remembers her childhood days with fondness.
“Those were fun- filled years full joy and love from family and friends. I grew up in a musically talented clan on both my mother’s and father’s side.
Every single day, well, besides house chores, there were singing, playing guitar, and dancing lessons. It was a simple life but my siblings and I were always doing something that revolved around the performing arts. It has always been a part of our lives”
COLLEGE YEARS IN CEBU
Right after high school graduation, Eva received a talent scholarship grant from the then Cebu State College now Cebu Normal University.
It gave her not only a better appreciation for music but also opened doors for opportunities to showcase her singing and to pit talents in inter- school chorale competitions and singing contests.
She squeezed in all of these in her tight class schedules and graduated right on schedule with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree with cum laude honors tucked under her belt.
TEACHING'S LOSS IS SINGING'S GAIN
She applied for teaching positions in private schools and with impressive academic credentials, Eva easily got accepted.
Her first teaching job was in Sacred Heart School for Boys before she eventually transferred to Cebu International School.
During those years that she was in the teaching profession, her heart was torn between the academe and her music
After teaching for four years, she decided to shift gears and take her passion for music more seriously
AND THE JOURNEY BEGAN
She started as an acoustic singer with Ricky Pineda and Friends.
Later on, she joined other bands and performed in a few hotels in Manila for a year before joining Zee Band which would later on dominate the live entertainment circuit of Cebu in the 80’s for its musical virtuosity and showmanship.
The legendary group had some of Cebu’s best singers like Bernie Uy, Chad Borja, Archie Marcial and of course, Eva Santos.
They performed for a few months in Singapore then came home to perform in Cebu and Manila.
At the peak of their fame, the group disbanded to pursue individual careers and move to different directions
PERSONAL LIFE
Eva got married in 1988 and decided to settle in Cebu where she has been a resident since her college years
Right now, she has put her vocal chords to rest but once in a while, she comes out from her hiatus when couldn't say no to projects that she believes in.
She performs mostly for corporate events, guests in live shows, and occasionally performs for specially produced solo shows, mostly in Cebu and other cities in the Visayas.
Guesting in the 2006 Miss Bohol International Pageant Talent Show & Gala Dinner at one of the posh resorts in Bohol.
Shown enjoying her performance are Rich Asuncion and Cathy Remperas (both in red shirts) before they entered the glitzy and glamorous world of showbiz
DOTING MOM
Carlos, her eldest, is already married and has four kids. He works in Microsoft, Seattle, USA as a computer engineer.
That's me with Monique!
Monique is really her mother's daughter. Of her children, it is Monique who is following her footsteps as a singer/ songwriter/ performer.
Early 2011, she flew all the way to the U.S. to join American Idol Season 10.
She auditioned and passed the series of tough elimination rounds and made it as a Hollywood Week finalist.
One of her group mates for the group audition included eventual AI Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery
Monique is the first homegrown Filipino meaning born and raised in the Philippines who joined and got noticed in the very popular American singing contest.
A big achievement already. Monique is on her last two trimesters before she graduates with a BS Psychology degree from De La Salle University, Taft, Manila.
OJ, the younger of two sons and taking up business major in advertising also in De La Salle University is a member of the Philippine Karatedo Team aka Philippine Typhoons.
He bagged bronze and silver medals at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Incidentally, OJ is competing in the 2nd International Shotokan Karatedo Federation (ISKF) World Shoto Cup 2012 which will be held in Cebu on Nov. 6 to 11 at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Fifteen countries, including the Philippines, will be participating in this prestigious tournament
Eva is asking fellow Boholanos especially those based in Cebu City to watch and support her son OJ and the rest of the Philippine team
Ana, the youngest in the brood is a first year high school at the Paref Southcrest School in Cebu.
She is also into the performing arts. She's a versatile musician who sings, plays the piano, guitar, ukulele, and the violin.
She does all of these while juggling her time between academics and co- curricular activities. What a busy girl !
BIGGEST DREAM
Eva’s biggest dream is to gain global fame as singer- songwriter.
Her journey towards that dream started with the singing of her first single “I Believe,” before a live audience.
Next was gaining the nod from fellow songwriters when her composition “Just like You and Me,” won 2nd RU in the Midnight Sun International Song Festival
Eva hasn’t realized it but she is already halfway through in the pursuit of her dreams.
RECOGNITION
On March 13, 1998, the City of Cebu presented her the Perlas Award as “Valuable Filipino in the Field of Singing.” in recognition of her prodigious talent and contribution to local music.
She was also hailed as one of the Top 7 Women of Cebu in the Field of Performing Arts in 2004 and finally, during Jagna’s 375th Foundation Anniversary back in September 2006, she was awarded one of the Most Outstanding Jagna-anons
But more than the accolades, the recogniton & the awards that she has received, what she cherishes the most is the thought that she has entertained people and has touched their lives through her music
Presently, Eva is mainly preoccupied with her multi-tasking roles as wife, mom and as entrepreneur. One of these days, Eva Santos just might retire from the glitzy entertainment world and pursue her other passions and interests and when that time comes, she can be assured that her place in the list of outstanding Boholanos is already secured
But for the meantime, step on centerstage Eva and keep the music playing
VIDEO CLIP OF HER AWARD- WINNING PERFORMANCE:
Check out the video clips of her performance during the 1992 Midnight Sun International Song Festival. All contestants were required to sing two songs. Their entry and a Finnish- composed song.
Video of her interpretation of her very own award- winning composition
Her Award- Winning Performance in the Midnight Sun Int'l Song Festival
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