MikeLigalig.com

Even before Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco made names for themselves in the 2004 American Idol, a full-blooded Filipino already bagged the much-coveted title in another country.

It was in December 2003, several months ahead of Trias and Velasco's entry into the final 10, when Christian Mendoza was named Denmark's very own Idol.

Born to pure Filipino parents, Christian then just 17 years old, wowed Danish audiences by garnering 57 percent of the votes in the final showdown in Copenhagen. Christian was an early favorite among viewers. He rose from hundreds of Idol hopefuls through his renditions of Michael Bolton's “When a Man Loves a Woman,” Whitney Houston's “The Greatest Love of All” and even the popular Danish song “Smuk Sorn Et Stjerneskud.”

For the finals, he sang “Mystery to Me,” a mandatory piece which also became his first single released in Denmark.

With his victory, Christian is the first and only legitimate Filipino “Idol,” joining the ranks of winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and (in United States), Will Young (in United Kingdom), Guy Sebastian (in Australia) and Kurt Nielsen (in Norway), among others.

Christian's love for singing began at the tender age of 5, when he sang gospel songs in a Baptist Church in the Philippines. This won for both silver and bronze medals in the community. At the age of 6, he told his mom that he wanted to be a pop star when he grows up. This dream became a reality when he was 14 years old relocated to Denmark to join his parents.

Since his victory, life was never the same for this talented Filipino. He has become a legitimate European singing star. In November 2004, he released his debut album Can't Break Me in Denmark featuring the R&B hit “It's All About You.” In the Philippines, the album is distributed by BMG Records.

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