There are a lot of amazing singers around the world, some are performing on mainstream television and big stages, while some are – just wandering around malls?
Brave are those people who can nail a beautiful cover of “I Will Always Love You”.
The song was written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was a commercial success and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart twice.
Then Whitney Houston came along and recorded her version of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Her single spent a then-record-breaking 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hit 100 chart. Let’s see what this talented singer can do with it.
She’s known as Zendee, the girl who rose to stardom after this viral video.
Zendee Rose Japitana Tenerefe is a very talented singer from the Philippines and she’s already joined in countless singing competitions before being discovered because of this video.
As weird as it might seem, it was her luck to be discovered at SM Megamall in Ortigas—and all because of one karaoke machine. As the video begins, she approaches the machine wearing a Superman t-shirt and confidently chooses “I Will Always Love You.”
Whether you are a Whitney Houston fan or not, you know that more than powerful vocals, it also takes a lot of courage to sing this beautiful song.
Plenty of artists have already done outstanding covers, and it’s one of the best-selling singles of all time. Nonetheless, as the lyrics appear onscreen, little by little, we get introduced to Zendee’s powerhouse voice. It seems like everyone at the mall stopped for a moment. Everything froze in time, and you can only hear this girl’s amazing singing.
The video went viral after it got uploaded on YouTube back in 2012, and per the title of the video, Zendee is just a “random girl”.
That all came to an end when Ellen DeGeneres invited her to the show—that’s when she had her international debut, and she happily took the opportunity!
Zendee gained a massive following and was eventually signed as an artist by Warner Music Philippines.
The video was uploaded in 2012 and instantly went viral, accumulating 14 million YouTube views. Today, more than 80,000 people follow her on Instagram.
Zendee also appeared as the opening act in one of Jason Mraz’s concerts.
The singing lady came out with her debut album I Believe in 2013. Probably the most interesting cover she’s done so far is the “Habang Kayakap Ka,” the Filipino version of “Stairway to Heaven.”
Her simple story inspires not only aspiring singers but everyone who’s holding onto their own dreams.
Making it to the music industry is hard, but keeping your career is another thing.
Zendee knows that well, as she tried to break in numerous times before hitting her golden opportunity. Zendee first auditioned for the ABS-CBN talent and failed. After that, she participated in The X Factor Philippines competition but didn’t go far.
This brave Filipina singer never gave up and squeezed every drop of sweat that she has just to pursue her dreams.
We could all learn from her persistence. When you want something, fight for it as hard as you can. Zendee did and it finally paid off!
If you want to hear more of Zendee’s performances, her official YouTube channel is just a few clicks away.
The content is interesting and refreshing, and it’s clear she’s a naturally talented girl.
Some people who saw the video online even compared Zendee’s way of singing to Mariah Carey’s.
She’s indeed a gifted simple girl from the Philippines, we’re all glad that her talent was finally given the right venue.
Her story of perseverance truly inspires us to keep on aiming for our dreams. You’ll never know what will pop up online, it might be another singing sensation just like Zendee. So you better have your camera ready if you happen to stumble upon a great undiscovered talent, just like hers.
Press the play button below to watch Zendee’s viral video.
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