It is a fact that Filipino singers are some of the best in the world. Musicians from other parts of the world are mesmerized by the kind of singers this small country from the Asia-Pacific region—composed of more than 7,000 islands—can produce.
When the producers of the musical play Miss Saigon failed to find a worthy Asian singer-actress in the United Kingdom, they scoured other countries to find the girl who would play the lead role of Kim for their West End production. They landed on Philippine soil and discovered an incredible pool of superb performers and Lea Salonga stood out among them. Lea's international career opened the doors for other Filipinos to perform abroad.
Even before and after Lea's conquest of the West End and Broadway, there have been other Filipino performers who proved their worth in different musical genres. The newest addition to that elite list is Vienna-based Vincent Bueno.
PINOY SUPERSTAR IN AUSTRIA. Vincent, a full-blooded Filipino born and raised in Vienna, Austria, was the grand winner in Musical! The Show—a reality-based talent competition in Austria much like the American Idol. But instead of pop songs, the contestants perform scenes from some of the world-renowned musicals.
The only Asian among the 10 contestants who made it on the show, Vincent finally beat two Austrians—Eva Klikovics and Gudrun Ihninger—in a landslide win. But before making it on the show, Vincent had to undergo rigorous auditions along with other 400 hopefuls.
Throughout the duration of the show, Vincent performed the following musical numbers: "Hair" from the musical of the same title, "Music of the Night" (Phantom of the Opera), "I Wanna Be Like You" (The Jungle Book), "Superstar" (Jesus Christ Superstar), "Why God Why?" (Miss Saigon), "Singin' in the Rain" from the musical of the same title, and the German version of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" from Mary Poppins.
During the finals, Vincent did "Greased Lightning" from Grease and an encore of "Music of The Night." In the final face-off, he sang a duet with Eva Klikovics, the "Boote in der Nacht" from Elisabeth.
Vincent's versatility as a performer wowed the judges and all of Europe.
After being declared Grand Champion, Vincent shouted "Philippines!" three times—signifying his pride as a Filipino. Indeed, that was one of the proudest moments for Filipinos captured on worldwide television.
What's more significant is that Vincent is the first Asian—or first Filipino for that matter—to win in a show like Musical!
Vincent's quest in Musical! The Show in Austria was able to reach the Philippines through news programs, newspapers, and, of course, the Internet. In fact, PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) was one of the first to break the news of Vincent's victory.
VINCENT'S FILIPINO ROOTS. It was also through the Net that PEP was able to contact Vincent for an online interview after a series of emails. Thanks to his uncle, King Bueno (who is also the Webmaster of digitalpinoy.org, a site that serves Filipinos living in Europe), we managed to interview Vincent online despite his very hectic schedule.
Vinz, as he is fondly called by his family and friends, turned 21 last December 10. His parents, Tony and Cora Bueno, met in Austria and started a family there.
Although Vinz was born and raised in Vienna, he doesn't ever forget his Filipino roots, especially since he is surrounded by almost 70 members of his family—all based in Austria who instilled in him all the positive Filipino values. With his family and relatives surrounding him, Vinz grew up full of love and affection.
Despite all the Deutsch that they speak in Austria, Vincent speaks Tagalog fluently.
