If you’ve never heard of him, Marcelito Pomoy is a singer from the Philippines who is known for his unique vocal range. It allows him to sing as both a tenor and a soprano. Marcelito was born on the 22nd of September 1984, in Imus, which is in the Cavite province in the Philippines. He had a difficult start in life.
His father was sent to prison when Marcelito was just a young boy. Shortly afterwards, his mother left him and his younger sibling and went to the capital, Manila. Both his parents later had new families, and a police officer adopted Marcelito. As he was growing up, Marcelito took odd jobs to make ends meet.
It was at one of these jobs that he began singing to himself as a way of entertaining himself through monotonous tasks. On a whim, he tried altering his voice as he sang and so discovered his ability to sing in two styles. On discovering this talent, he started entering singing competitions, and when he was 25 years old, he decided to audition for Pilipinas’ Got Talent.
He made it through the initial rounds, semi-finals and then progressed to the finals, where he sang the Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli hit The Prayer. His performance was extremely unique in that his talent allowed him to sing both male and female parts! He won and became the champion of season 2. On a personal note, he was able to reunite with his family during this time.
His win led to a regular presenting job on ASAP, one of the highest-rated entertainment shows in the Philippines. He also released his first album called “Duet Yourself” in the same year. His singing voice is truly a marvel to behold; check out his performance on America’s Got Talent: The Champions.
Marcelito continued to work as a singer and presenter and released a second album, Split, in 2013. Then, in September 2018, he was invited to perform on a radio station in Manila. Initially, he reprised his performance of The Prayer and was later invited back to perform the Jennifer Rush hit The Power of Love. This performance was destined to change Marcelito’s life.
Ellen DeGeneres heard his performance and invited him and his wife to America to appear on her show. Marcelito chose to perform two songs, The Prayer and Beauty and the Beast. Both of these songs had previously been recorded by Celine Dion, who he confessed was his favourite singer. Ellen very kindly arranged for Marcelito and his wife to go to Las Vegas to see her in concert and meet her in person.
Over the next two years, he continued to perform at festivals and in concerts. In 2020, because he had won Pilipinas’ Got Talent, he was invited to compete in America’s Got Talent: The Champions. He gave several very strong performances, and the judges appeared blown away the first time they heard him sing. He ended up finishing fourth overall. He has a following on YouTube and Instagram, but he has a very popular Facebook page with over 660,000 followers.
In 2014, Marcelito married Joan Paraiso from Calauag in the Philippines. A few years later, they were blessed with a daughter named Marcella. They now live in Joan’s home town, Calauag, and Marcelito tries to use his fame to improve the lives of residents with a range of philanthropic projects. He has donated to education projects and built homes for people in the city. He also owns hardware shops in the area. He continues to sing, however, and he remains one of the Philippines’ most famous sons.
If you want to see more from this unique talent, you can follow him on Instagram to stay up-to-date with his latest work.