Entertainment
Filipino Jovan Aquino crowned champion of UAE singing contest ‘The One’
“To my family, relatives, and friends who never stopped believing in me, THANK YOU!
It was a month-long competition which I just enjoyed…
not thinking that eventually, I’ll be the one.” (Photo: @jovanaquino/Instagram)
Filipino talent makes international headlines once again as Jovan Aquino, originally from San Pablo, Laguna, bagged the top prize of the first season of the contest “The One,” a show based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), last December 31.
Aquino wows judges with his last performance, giving his own rendition of Michael Buble’s version of “Feeling Good,” which is actually a 1964 song from the musical The Roar of Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. Jovan was eventually chosen a champion among the six finalists in the Above 21 category (five of the finalists also being Filipino).
For the grand prize, he obtained a total of 12,500 UAE dirhams, which is equivalent to P178,888.81. The finals occurred at IMG Worlds Dubai, where Filipina Ivy Grace Paredes, a previous contestant for X-Factor United Kingdom 2016, was also a contender.
In his most recent Instagram post, Jovan gushes about his win saying that he’s “still speechless and can’t believe it.” In his words, “What a way to close 2018’s door and what a great start for me this 2019!” He explains, “Five minutes before the countdown begins, I was announced the grand winner of UAE’s largest singing reality show, The One UAE Season!” He ends his post stating, “Lord God, you have paved my way here since the very beginning.”
For his day job, Jovan works for Aldrich International, which is a marketing consultancy company where he holds the position for project manager. An alumnus from Centro Escolar University (CEU), he also works as an events host and street photographer.
Even though he received a silver medal in the World Champions of Performing Arts in 2016, before joining “The One,” Jovan shares with Manila Bulletin that he had no intention in joining more singing contests after being rejected from X-Factor, The Voice, and I Can See Your Voice in the Philippines. He explains in Filipino, “Week after week, you feel like the best of the best is only what’s left. I was even at a point that I wanted to exit this competition because I was looking for work and I had a hard time balancing practice and work.” However, he eventually “got tired” from not practicing, where his determination paid off.
