RIYADH, 7 May 2006 — Jasmine Mae Abrenica and Kimverlie Molina, both from the Eastern Region, were adjudged winners in the TFC Popstar Saudi Arabia singing contest at the Philippine Embassy on Friday night.
Abrenica and Molina, both students of the Philippine School in Dammam, will represent the Kingdom in the TFC Popstar showdown of champions in Dubai on June 2.
Abrenica was coached by Fitzgerald Solar, owner of Solar Studio in Alkhobar. Molina’s coach was her father, Dr. Ronnie Molina, of the FilPop group.
They will compete with the country winners from Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, who will also have two representatives each.
Arturo Los Baños, of ABS-CBN Global’s senior manager for sales and marketing for the Middle East, said that of the eight contestants in the grand showdown, four are teenagers, including two from Saudi Arabia, and one each from Bahrain and Kuwait.
The UAE contestants are professional band members in Dubai, he said. One male service crew in Kuwait and a housewife in Bahrain are also among the finalists.
The grand champion will receive, among others, a house and lot in the Philippines worth more than 1 million pesos, plus airline tickets, a cash prize and home electronics products.
TFC is the flagship product of ABS-CBN Global, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.
The search was sponsored by Western Union, Speedcash, Pepsi Cola, LG Appliances, Giordano, Hundred Isles, Sarawat Superstores, Lucky Me (Al Bahar Est.), Qatar Airways, Gerico Canlapan Photography, DCF Forwarders, Megastar, Canon, IPSJ, Peking Restaurant, Elite International School, Riyadh Palace Hotel, Al Yusr Installment International, Mr. & Mrs. Virdi Bagahansol, Ms. Almira Mendoza-Sta. Cruz of Yibreen, Mr. & Mrs. Ricardo “Adbulrahman” Cetro, and Jerry & Jean Smith.