TV turned YouTube singers into stars

TV turned YouTube singers into stars

They might be popular singers on YouTube but it still took appearances on a more traditional medium - American television - to help boost their singing careers.

Taiwanese-American singer Nate Tao's popularity soared when he took part in the recent season of American Idol, while Filipino singer Zendee picked up a lot more fans when she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres show.

Both singers were in Singapore to perform at the MediaCorp Radio Awards last Friday.

Tao, 25, made it only to the Top 40 round of American Idol this year but the experience of being on the show was priceless. He said: "It was a huge validation. Even people who don't know much about music know American Idol so just appearing on the television show was great.

"For me, it was like going through a personal journey. Putting yourself in front of the famous judges and hearing their opinion, it was great and it helped me believe in myself."

One of the show's judges, R&B star Mariah Carey, praised Tao's "beautiful voice", while another judge, pop/hip-hop star Nicki Minaj, was impressed with his "charisma and unique tone".

For Zendee, whose full name is Zendee Rose Tenerefe, being on popular talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show last October was her "biggest break".

She said: "A lot of singers are discovered on the internet but how many can say they've been on a television show that is popular all over the world?"

The 22-year-old from General Santos City was first noticed when a stranger filmed her belting out American R&B singer Jennifer Holliday's And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going at a karaoke machine in a Manila shopping centre.

The clip, uploaded on YouTube last July, went viral and has attracted close to three million views.

"Before appearing on Ellen, I was known as the random girl singing at the mall but after the show, when people see me they go, 'Oh my God, she's Zendee who was on Ellen'."

Like Tao, she has signed on with major record label Warner Music and released her debut album, I Believe. Besides six original songs, it also has three covers including Carey's Love Takes Time.

Tao, who was from northern Virginia but is now based in Los Angeles, has a Singapore connection.

The five songs in his self-titled debut EP were written together with Singaporean collaborator Tat Tong, who recorded the tracks at his studio here.

They had studied at different colleges in New York and were introduced by a mutual friend.

"We've been working on-and-off together since then. I did some demo work for him and it seemed logical to work together again when it came to putting out my new music so I flew to Singapore in January this year to work on the EP."

Tao and Zendee's performances at the radio awards were not the first time they were doing a show together.

Both were in Singapore in June as part of the Under The Stars - The YouTube Sensations gig at The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel, Resorts World Sentosa.

Zendee recalls fondly: "That was an amazing show and I made friends with the other YouTube stars from around the world. We still keep in touch via WhatsApp and e-mail but the funny thing is, among the rest, I felt closest to Nate. So it was a pleasant surprise when I found out that I got to sing with him again here in Singapore."

Nate Tao's self-titled EP and Zendee's album I Believe are out in stores.


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