SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —The 26-year-old Yuli Mike Leonor turned emotional after he was named champion of the “MOR Global Pop Icon Korea”, which was held last September 30 at theDong Sung High School Auditorium in Hyehwa-dong, in Seoul, South Korea.
His voice went above the other nine finalists who vied for the title after garnering a total score of 84 percent from the panel of judges, with his performance of the song “Sila” by the OPM band SUD that he dedicated to his fellow overseas Filipinos.
The pride of Roxas City, in Capiz, Philippines took home a trophy, a cash prize of USD 1,000, and will fly to Manila for the “MOR Global Pop Icon” grand finals.
Still overwhelmed with his win, Yuli said: “Until now I’m still in a hangover after my recent MOR Global Pop Icon in Korea win. Pinapasalamatan ko si God at aking mga kaibigan na sumuporta sa akin sa competition na ito (Until now I’m still in a hangover after my recent MOR Global Pop Icon in Korea win. I thank God and my friends who supported me in this competition).”
The panel of judges who carefully assessed the performance of each finalist were Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Generika Drugstore Jay Ferrer; Administrative Officer and Attaché of the Philippine Embassy in South Korea Maria Luisa Ramos; and MOR 101.9 Station Manager Mars Ocampo.
Meantime, it was Froilan Tabing who won the hearts of the crowd and took home the TFC People’s Choice award, after he garnered the most number of votes during the voting done over facebook.com/TFCKoreaOfficial from September 9 to September 23.
“Thank you so much for choosing me to win the TFC People’s Choice award. Sobrang over overwhelming talaga ang award na ito. Thank you po sa mga bumoto and sa TFC (Thank you so much for choosing me to win the TFC People’s Choice award. I’m so overwhelmed. Thank you for everyone who voted me and to TFC),” said Froilan.
Aside from the outstanding performances of the ten finalists, the crowd was also entertained by ABS-CBN stars Enchong Dee and Angeline Quinto, and MOR 101.9’s DJ Jhai Ho and DJ Eva Ronda who hosted the event.
The Chinito Heartthrob had the stage on fire with his smooth dance moves and song performances in tune of the songs “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars and “Ligaya” by Eraserheads. On the other hand, the Philippines’ Queen of Teleserye Theme Songs gave a heartfelt rendition of the song “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, and a powerful performance of the Aegis songs “Luha” and “Halik”.
“MOR Global Pop Icon Korea”, was made possible by MOR 101.9, the official FM radio station of ABS-CBN in Mega Manila, and The Filipino Channel, the flagship brand of ABS-CBN’s subsidiary, ABS-CBN Global which aims to empower and discover the talent of the overseas Filipinos.
The search is not yet over—watch out for the next “MOR Global Pop Icon” competitions happening locally and overseas.
For more updates about upcoming TFC events, facebook.com/TFCKoreaOfficial. Connect with fellow global Kapamilyas and follow @KapamilyaTFC and KapamilyaGlobalPR on Twitter and Instagram. Also visit MOR 101.9 website, mor1019.com, and follow their social media accounts: facebook.com/mor1019, twitter.com/mor1019, and instagram.com/mor1019forlife.
