Rooting for my Philippine Idol: Jan Kurt Nieto

Alan and I aren’t absolute diehards of American Idol here, but we try to catch it when we can.  After seeing several seasons unfold, we have gotten a good sense of the competition, the “trends”, and we are continually surprised at how much talent there is out there.  Of course there are the ambitious ones who try to defy the odds and go on sheer guts.  You have to hand it to them — they dared to dream big.

It wasn’t any surprise that someone snagged the Philippine Idol franchise in Manila, but it was a surprise that it was ABC5.  When the final pool was announced, I was so surprised to find out that someone I knew from way back had made it to the final 12.  Was that Jan Kurt Nieto?  Yes it was.

I first saw Jan when he was a blossoming teener, and knew right then and there that he showed a lot of promise.  Talented and a real charmer even when he was a gangly teenager, Jan could carry a tune and wow the party crowds at his Mom’s and Dad’s bashes back in Filinvest.  I was so amazed to actually see him take to the stage with his rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. 

Experience here tells us that all who make it to the top 12 are stars in their own right, but not everyone has the so-called packaging to become a star. In fact the last two seasons, the favored and most talented who stood out ended up leaving the magic circle before the finals.  Jan is surely getting there.. a tune at a time.