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kilala nyo ba si Sharon Chavez?

ang dating singer ng Smokey mountain na dating grupo ni Geneva Cruz, well there's a good news about her. when american idol went to las vegas to held it audition, isa sya sa mga nakapasang makasali sa American Idol. she sung SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU... sana suportahan din sya ng mga kababayan nating nasa america gaya ng pagsuporta nila kay jasmine at camille



Ex-Smokey Mountain Zhar may be the next American Idol


By IVY LISA F. MENDOZA


Following in the footsteps of Fil-Am Jasmine Trias and Camille Velasco, another Filipina may yet break into the greatest talent show on earth that is the "American Idol.’’


Ex-Smokey Mountain member Zhar Santos walked into the audition room wearing a sexy, white dress and giant hoop earrings, shyly introduced herself as the 27-year old Sharon Galvez who works as a waitress in Las Vegas, but confidently belted out a soulful ‘’Saving All My Love For You.’’ Her rendition left the four judges speechless but obviously mesmerized.

"You hit all the right notes,’’ exclaims the unbelieving Loggins. Paula Abdul, on the other hand, closed her eyes for a while as if to relish the powerful voice wafting in the audition room. For a moment, the usually sharp Cowell faltered when upon learning that Sharon was a waitress asked ‘’What are you going to drink?’’ instead of ‘’What are you going to sing?’’

Sharon’s audition stint came as a much needed breaker for the jurors - the ascerbic Simon Cowell, ‘’cool dawg’’ Randy Jackson, sweet Paula Abdul and guest judge Kenny Loggins - who were already feeling restless, tired and disappointed over the long series of talentless hopefuls who suspiciously auditioned not to hop to the next round but just to be seen on TV and claim their lifetime’s five minutes of fame.

In the end, Sharon ended up as one of the only 23, out of the 9000 plus auditioners in the Las Vegas leg of the American Idol.

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN ALUMNUS

Proud mentor Ryan Cayabyab, who discovered and trained Zhar in 1991, broke the news to Manila Bulletin Entertainment that Sharon Galvez and Zhar Santos are indeed one and the same talent.

‘’ABC-5 called me and confirmed if Sharon was indeed Zhar of the Smokey Mountain but I was not sure because I have not seen the show that day. I called her co-member James Coronel who has her number in Las Vegas. We just wanted to confirm if she is using the last name Galvez now,’’ Cayabyab shares adding that Zhar got married soon after leaving the group in

Zhar, was out of the house when James called. But the message on her answering machine confirmed that she was indeed Sharon Galvez.

‘’Sharon is a very optimistic person. I never saw her sad or angry, that’s why I know she will prevail in everything that she does,’’ Cayabyab says. "Malakas ang kutob ko na kaya niya ito."

Sharon auditioned to become a member of Smokey Mountain in 1991. Cayabyab instantly took a liking for this diminutive girl with a very powerful voice. She went on to become a member of the second batch of Smokey Mountain with James Coronel, Chedi Vergara and Jayson Angangan. Together, they recorded four albums under BMG Records (Pilipinas), one of which they recorded and released in Japan. Zhar did most of the solo parts in the songs included in the multi-platinum album titled ‘’Paraiso.’’

‘’We are so happy to hear the good news. We are among the first ones who believed in her talent and we are so proud of her,’’ says Rudy Tee, newly-appointed managing director for SonyBMG Philippines. All the four albums of Smokey Mountain had been compiled into one greatest hits collection called ‘’Smokiest Hits’’ released also under BMG Records.

Cayabyab furthers: ‘’She is a product of the school of hard knocks. As far as I remember, her father left the family when she was 11. At 12, her mom left for the United States to work and she and her two siblings were left to fend for themselves. But Sharon, the middle child, is a hard worker and she has always been a survivor who had gone through a lot in life.’’

Before Sharon walked into the room, the camera panned on her small entourage of supporters including her son. Breezing through the audition and coming out victoriously, Sharon was again met by a sweet kiss from her son.

"I’m sure she will be able to carry on. Let’s hope that she will be lucky to reach the finals. I am confident that she will make it because in all the time that we were together, her voice was solid and never faltered,’’ Mr. C remarks.

LOL I think I heard my dad talking about an filipina singer in Las Vegas who got through in American Idol. Was she an waitress in Las Vegas?

Sharon Galvez?

Yup thats her, LOL I have got to start watching AI more often.

I heared her surname is Galvez

Thank you for stating the obvious Ek-ek.