A friend’s suggestion that she compete started Jerrica Santos’ journey to win third place in the female category of the World Karaoke Championships held in Killarney, Ireland last Sept. 8 to 10. “It was amazing... I was just too happy as I didn’t know what to expect,” Santos told Philippine Asian News Today (PNT) by phone. The 23-year-old Biology graduate from UBC who plans to take up Optometry in the U.S. next year told PNT she was so “proud to represent Canada at the competition. I also met the Philippine contestant who was in the Top 5 and we were just like family.”
Her mom and dad were with her in Ireland to witness the event Santos, a singer songwriter and member of the Metropolis Glee Club, took first place in the British Columbian and Canadian karaoke championships this year, securing her a spot in the international competition. “It was the end of my journey. It was all worth it and I felt like it was such an accomplishment,” she told The Surrey Now after her win.
MeandMic.com, a Facebookstyle group for karaoke singers, flew Santos to Ireland for the final where some 46 singers, from approximately 25 countries, rounded out the international competition. She said there were a lot of different musical styles on stage.
“Some contestants were from India, South Korea, China, they sang traditional songs from their countries in their language. That was completely different.” “Some people say, ‘Oh, it’s just karaoke,’ but it’s kind of like American Idol anyways. I looked at is another way of getting my name out there.” She currently has an album out and some of her music can be heard at www. getrightmusic. net.
