‘American Idol’: Malaya Watson Still In The Game, Filipino Fans Relieved
‘American Idol’ took viewers for a wild ride during last night’s episode when fan favorite Malaya Watson almost got booted out of the singing contest.
Most affected were Filipino fans who have been rooting for Malaya Watson since day one.
Watson, who is half-Filipino, half-American, performed a beautiful rendition of Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars but fell short of what was expected of her by the judges of ‘American Idol’.
As a result, the 16 year old singer was demoted as bottom performer but was fortunate enough not to be eliminated from the show.
Filipino fans took to Twitter both their disappointment and relief over the ‘American Idol’ favorite.
Star World Philippines, Fox International Channel’s southeast Asian subsidiary, tweeted:
Oh no! Malaya is in the bottom three! Huhuhu! #AmericanIdol13
— StarWorldPhilippines (@StarWorld_PH) February 28, 2014
Entertainment Editor of Manila Standard Today @isahvred tweeted:
Glad that Malaya Watson is safe. Will be back next week, or else the Filipinos will have no reason to watch #AmericanIdol
— Isah V. Red (@isahvred) February 28, 2014
Other Filipino users, like @lalalaLovemee remained calm and just tweeted encouraging words for the singer:
Watching the American idol. (: Go Malaya Watson. (:
— Trisha Garcia (@lalalaLovemeee) February 28, 2014
ABS-CBN News reported Thursday that after Watson’s performance, ‘American Idol’ judge Harry Connick Jr. said he considers the singer a contender, adding that the Fil-Am ‘American Idol’ contestant reminded him of extremely passionate musicians he met while he was in an art school in New Orleans.
Judge J-Lo said she appreciated the stage presence of the young contestant, saying that she was an “A+”.
However, on the other end of the two judges’ praises were harsh criticisms of the singer’s performance.
Connick Jr. said that Watson’s lack of confidence was a significant hit on an otherwise wonderful performance, saying that the American Idol candidate appeared a “little bit nervous” to him during the night’s performance.
J-Lo added that another song could have helped Malaya with a better performance.
Keith Urban was less critical with the aspiring singer, saying that her energy was contagious but her performance wasn’t on the top.
It was a nerve-wrecking moment for fans of Malaya when she and Kristen O’Conner were left to stand off after Nobilette, another bottom performer was saved first from the bottom three.
O’ Conner ended up losing her spot in ‘American Idol’. Her removal wasn’t a surprise to many viewers who thought her performance was not enough to secure her a spot on the Top 12. The singer told People that a part of her was already expecting to be kicked out of ‘American Idol’.
In an interview with Filipino news channel GMA, Watson revealed that her first name, Malaya, stands for “Freedom” in Filipino. She confirmed to the Philippine press that she joined ‘American Idol’ to also represent Filipinos in the hit singing contest.
Season 13 of ‘American Idol’ debuted January, introducing actor and singer Harry Connick Jr. as its newest judge, alongside old-timers’ Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban.
[Image from Malaya’s twitter]
