How this Pinay is Living Her Dream in Taiwan, China
By Maria Aleta Nieva Nishimori, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 05/30/2015 5:25 PM | Updated as of 06/01/2015 9:25 AM
MANILA – A Filipina singer is expanding her wings further by taking on a challenge far from her comfort zone.
Desiree Cambronero-Ting is hoping to impress the audience and judges of the singing contest “The Most Beautiful Harmonies” in Beijing, China.
“It’s a duet competition singing with our mentors. Hopefully, I can reach the final,” she said.
The show’s first episode was aired last April.
Before entering the competition, this Pinay has carved a name for herself as a professional jazz singer in Taiwan. She performs at 5-star hotels and also for private functions of companies and luxury brands both in Taiwan and China.
But aside from jazz, her repertoire also includes RnB, pop, ballad, bossa nova, Broadway and classical.
“I came from a family of singers. My sister Paulette Cambronero has recently established herself back home in the industry having been somewhat of an Internet sensation with her YouTube videos,” she said.
The 26-year Pasig native has been living in Taipei with her husband of four years. She describes herself as “simple” and started out abroad like many OFWs in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, she is most popularly known as “Birdy”, a stage name picked out by her manager. She explained that her manager chose that name as birds sing from the heart.
“In 2010, my name became more widely known following the signing of a management contract with the local agency, Ko Chen Entertainment. After signing the contract, we agreed I should include Chinese songs to help my marketability so I began studying Mandarin in a Taiwan language school,” she said.
Birdy only spent two semesters at the language school as she found it hard to juggle work with studying.
“I’m still struggling with the language but I have a great network of supporters, including local speakers who give me the encouragement and motivation to continue to get better,” she said.
Her first taste of competition on television was when she became a challenger at “Taiwan Super Idol 7”.
I got a lot of praises from the judges,” said Birdy who sang a Taiwanese song during the contest. “Luckily, they let me win against the contestant,” she said.
That competition gave her further exposure on television and made her slowly break into the music industry in Taiwan.
“After that, my name became more popular in Taiwan and also to all Filipinos living in the country. The result was a surge in popularity of my shows and traffic to my social media sites on Facebook, YouTube, etc. I am so thankful to all of my followers and fans because without them maybe I won’t have the courage to stand on stage,” she said.
After that contest, Birdy also aced another singing contest in Taiwan called “Super Star”. She was the only foreigner in that competition.
“Every episode, I received high scores from the judges and earned the MVP honors. I ended up receiving 10 out of 11 MVP honors throughout the competition,” she said.
As MVP honor, Birdy received NTD 100,000 worth of cosmetic products. “So I have a full house of products now,” she said.
She shared that the most memorable experience for her during that show was when she sang her first Chinese song called “Yue Chin”.
“It was very memorable, overwhelming, and I’m so thankful to the fullest. On the day of my graduation, I sang ‘I’m Just a Little Bird’ in Chinese. The judges gave me a record breaking score,” she said.
Her success in Taiwan was heard in China and her mentors received calls to have her join reality singing contests from different television programs.
“This was exciting but also very nerve-wracking,” she said.
For now, Birdy continues to hone her singing prowess for Beijing’s “Most Beautiful Harmonies”.
“I’m hoping for your prayers and support, mostly to Filipino people who are staying in Beijing. Sa ngayon, puspos ang pag-ensayo at pag-memorize ng kanta. I will be singing more Chinese song in this competition,” she said.
Supporters of Birdy will get a chance to see her perform live when she holds her mini-concert and release her self-titled album in September.