Aicelle Anne Coronel Santos-Zambrano (born February 24, 1985), is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

singer-

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, and actress who. She has been known as the "First Undefeated

Pinoy ''Pinoy'' ( ) is a common informal self-reference used by Filipinos to refer to citizens of the Philippines and their culture as well as to overseas Filipinos in the Filipino diaspora. A Pinoy who has any non-Filipino foreign ancestry is often ...

Pop Superstar", when she achieved eight straight wins in

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

's ''

Pinoy Pop Superstar ''Pinoy Pop Superstar'' is a Philippine television singing talent show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Regine Velasquez, it premiered on July 3, 2004. The show concluded on June 2, 2007 with a total of 3 seasons. In the 2006 Star Awards fo ...

'', She is an International Stage Diva who played Gigi in Miss Saigon, " Eat Bulaga's Traffic Diva", and known as the one and only "Soul Flair Songstress".

Biography

Early life and career

At the age of six, Aicelle Santos or "AA" received abecedarian musical training at the St. Theresa's College Quezon City, and the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

College of Music for piano. The early training allowed Aicelle to indulge in her original dream to become a famous pianist. However, a shift in focus took place as she realized she would rather be a famous singer than be a known pianist. Aicelle's inspiration on the field came from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's character

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

from the movie ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

''. The movie's theme song "Part of Your World" was the first song Aicelle memorized, which she also performed during her elementary school programs. While still at her first year of college at the

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (from 'University of the City of Manila', abbreviated as PLM) is a city-government-funded local university situated inside the historic walled area of Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It was established on ...

, Aicelle joined

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

's Season 1 of ''

Star in a Million ''Search for the Star in a Million'' (formerly ''Star in a Million'' after two seasons) is a Philippine television program in ABS-CBN. The shows premise is almost the same to that of ''American Idol'', although the format is derived from GMA's ' ...

'' (2003), her first take on a nationwide televised singing competition. The competition opened many doors for Aicelle. Although she sometimes struggled, she eventually struck a balance between attending university and focusing on her blossoming singing career. Aicelle took advantage of the minor fame that her

appearance gave her and showcased her talents on top performers' settings with a new acoustic group Dream Sequence. Dream Sequence proved to be a success on its own right, and brought its three members to many cities around the Philippines. The Metro's prime stages Bagaberde, Chef and Brewer, Phi Bar, Fiesta San Miguel in Dusit, E's Bar in Edsa Shangri-La, and others became the group's main performing stages. The nightly gigs are believed to have been Aicelle's training ground for improving her vocal and stage performance. On January 4, 2016 Aicelle Santos interpreted Dinggin Mo Oh Dios which was composed by Cris Bautista in

A Song of Praise Music Festival The ASOP (A Song of Praise) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Metro Manila, Philippines. Basically a songwriting competition, it is the only gospel music television program in the country. An original concept of Bro. Eli Sorian ...

year 4, a gospel songwriting competition, in

UNTV UNTV, formally known as UNTV News and Rescue and UNTV Public Service, is the flagship Philippine television network of the Progressive Broadcasting Corporation (known on air as UNTV-PBC), together with Breakthrough and Milestones Productions ...

with

Reymond Sajor ''Philippine Idol'' is the first version of the Idol series in the Philippines, the 35th country in the world to air a local ''Idol'' adaptation and the sixth in Asia broadcast by ABC (now TV5). Similar to the premise of original show ''Pop Id ...

Leah Patricio Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...

Rachelle Ann Go Rachelle Ann Villalobos Go-Spies (born August 31, 1986) is a Filipina singer and actress. She began her career by participating in and winning several singing competitions, the first of which was in the long-running Philippine variety show ''E ...

Frencheska Farr Marie Frencheska Mae Tobias Farr-Jose (born September 9, 1992) is a Filipino-British singer, model and actress. She was the Are You the Next Big Star? grand champion along with Geoff Taylor. Early life and career Farr was born in Pasay City, ...

Jonalyn Viray Jonalyn Roxas Viray (born November 15, 1989), better known by her stage name, Jona, is a Filipino singer and actress. She was the first '' Pinoy Pop Superstar'' grand winner. She was the lead singer of trio girl-group La Diva, alongside Mari ...

Rita De Guzman Rita Daniela de Guzman Iringan (born September 15, 1995), popularly known as Rita Daniela (), is a Filipino people, Filipino actress, singer and television host. Grand Champion of the very first season of ''Popstar Kids''. She and Ken Chan (F ...

RJ Buena RJ, R&J, or Rj may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Radio jockey, a person who hosts a radio talk show * RJ, a raccoon in the comic strip and feature film ''Over The Hedge'' * R.J. MacReady, the helicopter pilot in the 1982 sci-fi/horror film '' ...

Kyla Kyla may refer to: *Kyla (given name), including a list of people with the name ** Kyla (Filipino singer) (born 1981), Filipino R&B singer **Kyla (British singer) Kyla Reid ( Smith; born 22 September 1983) is a British house music singer in the ...

. On February 14, 2016 Aicelle will be contestant in Sunday Central Club Battle of the Champions with

Lizbeth Yap Dy &

Julie Anne San Jose Julie Anne Peñaflorida San Jose (; born May 17, 1994) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, actress, host and television personality. She is dubbed as "''Asia's Limitless Star''" for her singing prowess and achievements. San Jose is regarded as ...

. In 2018, Santos bid farewell to fans as she will be leaving for United Kingdom to star as Gigi Van Tranh in the hit musical ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

''.

Audition

Pinoy Pop Superstar

In 2005, Aicelle once again decided to aim for a solo singing career by joining the second season of

. An eight-straight win during preliminaries put Aicelle on top and on the show's history, as the first 'Undefeated Superstar.' She showcased her impressively wide vocal range on her performances of: *All The Man That I Need – Week 1, *I Need You – Week 2, *Natural Woman – Week 3, *A House Is Not A Home – Week 4, *Respect – Week 5, *Summertime – Week 6, *A Song For You – Week 7, *Man In The Mirror – Week 8. Aicelle got into the finals favored to win. On PPS's season finale, Aicelle Santos claimed first runner-up and signed a

record deal A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

and an exclusive management contract under GMA Artist Center. Her story in ''Pinoy Pop Superstar'' is somehow related to Sheryn Regis.

Music career

Once again, Aicelle proved her vocal competence when she won "Best Performance of Own Country Song" representing the Philippines in

Astana Music Festival Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

in Kazakhstan. Aicelle bested delegates from 13 countries around the world, including Mexico, Peru, Finland, Romania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Tajikistan, Lithuania, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malta, and China. Her winning piece was entitled "Bakit Di Subukan", a

Vehnee Saturno Venancio Saturno (born April 1, 1954), better known as Vehnee Saturno, is a Filipino composer, songwriter and record producer. He found success in 1982 by winning at the Metro Manila Popular Music Festival first place for the song "Isang Dakot". ...

composition which is a Tagalog-English song ("If We Just Hold On" in English). Following this triumph was Aicelle's recognition for "People's Choice Best New Female Artist" in the 2007 Awit Awards. In 2007, Aicelle is visible in the Philippines recording scene with her debut album '' Make Me Believe'', a 14-cut album under

GMA Records GMA Music (formerly known as Infiniti Music and GMA Records) is a subsidiary of GMA Network Inc. and is engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of music and concerts. GMA Music is a member of PARI and has the distinction of having ...

. ''Ikaw Pa Rin'' is her hit single in the charts. In 2008, she joined fellow

contestants

Jona Jona may refer to: * Jona, Switzerland, a village of the municipality Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland * Jona (river), in the cantons of Zürich and St. Gallen in Switzerland * Jona (album), ''Jona'' (album), an album by Jona Viray People with the giv ...

and

Maricris Garcia Maria Cristina Yu Garcia-Cruz (born September 26, 1987), professionally known as Maricris Garcia-Cruz (), is a Filipina singer and actress. She came to prominence after winning the third season of '' Pinoy Pop Superstar''. She is the Philippine ...

to form the musical group La Diva. On February 25, 2015, Aicelle held her first solo concert, Class A, at the PETA Theatre. On the same year, she released the music video of her latest single Kapangyarihan ng Pag-ibig.

Theatrical Works

In 2012, Aicelle auditioned and was part of the shortlist for the 2014 West End revival of ''

.'' In 2013, she debuted in the theatrical scene by portraying the role of Katy in ''

Katy! the Musical ''Katy! the Musical'' is a Filipino–language biographical musical based on the life of Katy de la Cruz, considered the "Queen of Philippine vaudeville and jazz" with music by Ryan Cayabyab and story and libretto by Jose Javier Reyes. Syno ...

''. She also stars in ''

Rak of Aegis Liza Magtoto is a Filipino playwright, scriptwriter, feature writer and editor best known for the plays "Game of Trolls," "Care Divas," and "Rak of Aegis." She has also won the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature several times, for h ...

'' where she plays the lead character, Aileen (alternating with

Kim Molina Kimverlie Soriano Molina (born July 1, 1991), popularly known as Kim Molina, is a Filipino singer and actress, known for portraying Aileen in the long-running Filipino stage musical ''Rak Of Aegis'' (2014—present), Savannah in the drama series ...

). The musical had several runs but Aicelle continues to play the role till present. Aicelle won Best Actress in a Musical in the 2014 Aliw Awards for her performance in Rak of Aegis. In 2015, Aicelle had a special participation in the musical entitled ''Sabel: Love and Passion''. In 2017, she played Perla in the musical adaptation of ''Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag'' and won the 2017

Aliw Award The Aliw Awards by the Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc. was established by the renowned Philippine journalistbr>Alice H. Reyes to recognize achievements in the live entertainment industry in the Philippines. It was founded in 1975 by the National Press ...

for Best Actress in a Featured Role. In 2018, Aicelle played Elsa in the second revival of ''Himala: Isang Musikal'', based on the 1982 film starring

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as Ph ...

. She is set to play the role of Gigi in the UK/Ireland tour of ''Miss Saigon''.

Vocal profile

Santos possesses the vocal range of a lyric

mezzo soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle ...

, spanning three full octaves (from the lowest note of Bb2 to the highest note of Bb5).

Personal life

Santos married her boyfriend of three years, former broadcast journalist Mark Zambrano, on November 16, 2019 in

San Juan, Batangas San Juan, officially the Municipality of San Juan ( tgl, Bayan ng San Juan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 114,068 people. The town is known for its ba ...

. In June 2020, Santos announced on an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post that she and Zambrano were expecting their first child, due in December.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Make Me Believe'' (2007) *''Liwanag'' (2015)

Singles

*"Ikaw Pa Rin" (2007) *"Make Me Believe" (2007) *"Kapangyarihan Ng Pag-Ibig" (2015) *"Liwanag" (2016) *"Palaging Ikaw" (2017)

Soundtracks

*"Tayong Dalawa" (2006) (from ''

Bakekang ''Bakekang'' is a Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based on a Philippine graphic novel by Carlo J. Caparas. Directed by Gil Tejada Jr. and Khryss Adalia, it stars Sunshine Dizon in the title role. It pre ...

'') *"Maghihintay" (2007) (from ''

Impostora ''Impostora'' (International title: ''The Impostor'' / ) is a 2007 Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Maryo J. de los Reyes, it stars Sunshine Dizon and Iza Calzado. The series is loosely based on a 1993 ...

'') *"I'll Never Go" (with

Gian Magdangal Giancarlo "Gian" Alzate Magdangal
Philippine Idol features section (; born November 18, 1981

) (2013) (from '' My Lady Boss'') *"Paliparin ang Pangarap" (with

) (2013) (from '' Adarna'') *"Liyab" (2014) (from '' Niño'') *"Be With You" (2015) (from ''

The Rich Man's Daughter ''The Rich Man's Daughter'' is a 2015 Philippine television drama romance series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Dominic Zapata, it stars Rhian Ramos and Glaiza de Castro. It premiered on May 11, 2015 on the network's Telebabad line up rep ...

'') *"Nasaan" (with Maricris Garcia) (2015) (from '' Beautiful Strangers'') *"Hanggang Makita Kang Muli" (2016) (from the '' theme song of same teleserye'') *"Sa Lahat ng Iba" (with Hannah Precillas) (2016) (from ''

Ika-6 na Utos ''Ika-6 na Utos'' (pronounced as Ika-anim na Utos / international title: ''A Woman Scorned'' / ) is a Philippine television drama revenge series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Laurice Guillen, it stars Sunshine Dizon, Gabby Concepcio ...

'') *"Kumapit Ka Lang" (2017) (from ''

Tadhana ''Tadhana'' () is a Philippine television drama anthology show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Marian Rivera, it premiered on May 20, 2017 on the network's Sabado Star Power line up replacing ''Karelasyon''. The series is streaming onlin ...

'') *"Haplos" (2017) (from ''

Haplos Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of certain types of e ...

'') *"Nasa Iyong Tabi" (2017) (from ''

Super Ma'am ''Super Ma'am'' (International title: ''My Teacher, My Hero'') is a Philippine television drama action fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Lord Alvin Madridejos and Albert Langitan, it stars Marian Rivera in the title role. It ...

'') *"Bahagi Ko ng Langit (2018) (from '' The Stepdaughters'') *"Panata sa Bayan" (2019) (from Eleksyon 2019 and Eleksyon 2022 Coverages of ''

GMA News GMA Integrated News and Public Affairs (formerly known as ''RBS News Department'', ''GMA Radio-Television News'' and ''GMA Rainbow Satellite News''; and commonly GMA (Integrated) News) is the news division of the GMA Network Inc. The division ...

'') *"Bakit Siya?" (with Maricris Garcia) (2019) (from '' The Better Woman'')

Compilation albums

*''The Pinoy Pop Superstar Year 2 Contenders' Album'' (2006) ** Track 3: All The Man That I Need *''Mga Awit Mula Sa Puso, Vol. 2'' (2006) **Track 3: "Tayong Dalawa" *''Mga Awit Kapuso, Vol. 4'' (2008) **Track 3: "Marimar" **''The Best of Mga Awit Kapuso'' (2009) **Track 10: "Tayong Dalawa" *''GMA Records No.1 Hits'' (2013) **Track: "Ikaw Pa Rin" (with

Janno Gibbs Janno Ronaldo Ilagan Gibbs (born September 16, 1969) is a singer-songwriter, actor, and comedian in the Philippines. He was a regular host of GMA Network television shows ''SOP Rules'', ''Nuts Entertainment'', ''Eat Bulaga!'', '' Kakasa Ka Ba ...

) *''Take1: the Best of Awit Kapuso Originals'' (2013) **Track 9: "Marimar" *''Versions 7.1'' (2014) **Track 2: "All the Man That I Need"

Theatre

Filmography

Television

As Herself As Actress

Awards and Recognitions

Contemporaries

Carla Humphries Madeleine Lauren Humphries (born May 20, 1988), known professionally as Madeleine Humphries and formerly as Carla Humphries is an American-born Filipino actress and commercial model. Humphries is best known for her roles as Rita Arguelles in the ...

Bryan Termulo Bryan Bryll Cruz Termulo (born March 8, 1988) is a Filipino actor and award winning singer-songwriter, who was the runner-up in ''Pinoy Pop Superstar'' Year 3. He is best known for singing the theme song of Filipino TV series Walang Hanggan en ...

Jan Nieto Jan Kurt Anthony Pasion Nieto (born June 13, 1981)
Philippine Idol official website, Contestants sectio ...

Gian Magdangal Giancarlo "Gian" Alzate Magdangal
Philippine Idol features section (; born November 18, 1981

References

External links

Aicelle Santos Online

Aicelle Multimedia at YouTube
* *https://www.gmanetwork.com/sparkle/artists/aicellesantos {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Aicelle 1985 births Living people Filipino women pop singers Singers from Metro Manila Participants in Philippine reality television series Filipino dance musicians Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila alumni Contraltos Filipino musical theatre actresses GMA Network personalities GMA Music artists Filipino television variety show hosts