Filipino is Austria’s newest sensation and newsmaker

Filipino is Austria’s newest sensation and newsmaker

By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

(AUSTRIA) This Friday, Filipinos in Europe will unite to support a countryman who made it to the grand finals of a major televised musical competition in Austria, reported ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.

Not only did Vincent Bueno swoon his way to the finals on January 4, of the very grand "Musical! Die Show" [Musical! The Show] of ORF, the Austrian national broadcaster, but he has been on headlines of major newspapers and magazines here.

After Friday’s victory, Bueno’s schedule has tightened not only due to rehearsals but also because of press interviews. He is a crowd favorite with a strong chance of winning on the scheduled big night on January 11.

At 9:15 pm (4:15 am Manila), Bueno will compete against female finalists Eva Klikovics and Gudrun Ihninger for the much-coveted crown which includes a cash prize of 50,000 euros or three million pesos.

The 21-year-old Pinoy became an overnight sensation when he performed at the first elimination round on November 23, 2007, singing "Hair" from the Broadway musical of the same title.

Musical! Die Show, unlike other well-known singing competitions like the U.S. American Idol, is a broadway-style musical competition where contestants compete in acting and singing and get televotes, meaning televiewers can send their unlimited votes via SMS messages or phone-ins.

For Bueno, it wasn’t easy getting into the Magic Ten because he had to audition and vie against about 400 other hopefuls.

Some Pinoys at the time even doubted whether Bueno would live through the second round because he is Asian; there was much skepticism over whether he could get enough televotes.

But, even if he’s the only Asian among the ten contestants in the eliminations, Bueno got enough televotes, mainly from Europeans, to survive the first round.

His superb voice and regal gait on each performance every Friday night slowly convinced Pinoys that Bueno is a true star in the making.

Meanwhile, his European fans multiplied in number, week by week, allowing Bueno to breeze through the seventh and last round on January 4, thanks to the televotes which now included the majority of Pinoys in Austria.

His excellent style, which involves graceful body movements, perfect facial expressions and out-of-this-world gags, has won the hearts of Austrians.

In one performance, Bueno received a standing ovation, coupled with an unstoppable thunderous applause, from the studio crowd: he had dazzled them with his dancing, that included a backflip and a twisting breakdance move on stage, while belting "Singing in the Rain".

Bueno continued to sing and dance even as "rain"--real water--was poured onto him.

Even one of the jurors couldn’t help but comment that Bueno is practically, rather radically, changing theater shows by combining comprehensive performance with rock or punk.

Newspapers dub him as the "darling of the jury."

Jury member Nina Proll, a prominent actress and singer, commented that Bueno has everything that a musical actor needs while Doris Fuhrmann said that he is an absolute showman.

In fact, Bueno’s gigantic following now extends to Pinoys from all over Europe and even North America and the Philippines.

Bueno owes his following in no small measure to his uncle, an IT expert who used the power of the Internet to give maximum exposure to his nephew and score more supporters.

The uncle started uploading clips of Bueno’s performances at the Musical! Die Show on www.digitalpinoy.org, a non-profit Web site for Filipinos in Austria where he is the webmaster.

Although the show is only televised in Austria and Germany, visitors to DigitalPinoy from all over the world are able to watch Bueno’s winning performances and be mesmerized by his natural talent.

Some fans have also posted his performances at www.youtube.com.

Bueno’s victories in the first two rounds even made news on two episodes of ABS-CBN’s Balitang Europe.

But who can blame Bueno for fast becoming that great symbol of the Filipino dream?

He finished his Bachelor of Arts in music and theater arts at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music in 2006 with excellent grades.

While still a student, his talent was already very obvious, earning for him offers to perform in theatrical shows.

His most significant act as a performing artist was at "The King & I" where he played as the son of the King. The role of the King was played by renowned Austrian TV moderator, theater performer and singer Alfons Haider, who also happens to be the moderator at the Musical! Die Show.

His mother Cora, who works as a nurse in Vienna, already noticed the early musical beginnings of Bueno.

"Nasa tiyan pa lang siya parang nararamdaman ko nang nagsasayaw sa loob si Vinz. Tapos noong maliit pa lang siya, kahit naglalakad lang sa kalsada, akala mo sumasayaw na," she said.

(Even when Vinz was inside me I felt like he was dancing inside me. And when he was small he look like he was dancing even when he was just walking.)

But it seems that Bueno has it in his blood because his father, Tony, is a "musician of all trades" being a vocalist and also a master at the electric guitar.

Tony performed at high-society night clubs in Vienna for more than twenty years and has been the biggest influence on Bueno.

While other homes with kids have toys that scatter about, the Bueno household is cluttered with electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and other musical instruments so that little "Vinz" was already exposed to music ever since he can remember.

Even without formal training, Bueno already memorized the guitar chords when he was seven years old and at the age of ten, was already a whiz at the keyboard and started composing songs. (Listen to Bueno’s original compositions on: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=115694931)

He also plays the piano as well as the percussion/drums.

He formed his own dance group Streetmachines composed of five boys at age 14. This is where he perfected his dance movements which always featured tumblings and back flips.

What used to be a peer gig became serious business when the Streetmachines started receiving invitations to perform at Pinoy gatherings until finally, Pinoy business entrepreneurs and members of the community sponsored Bueno and his mates to produce their own concert and dance contests.

With his new-found fame, Bueno remains soft-spoken, humble and just a normal son, nephew and friend.

He is just thankful to have made it to the Big Three.

In fact, whatever the outcome is on Friday, Bueno is planning to treat the Filipino community to a "salo-salo" as a sort of a Thanksgiving party to all who supported him.

Like any parent, Bueno’s father can only be very proud and confident.

"I knew it from the start na balang araw eh magiging star itong batang ito dahil bata pa lang siya bilib na ako sa talent niya," Tony said.

(I knew it from the start that one day this child is going to be a star because I believed in his talent even when he was a child.)

As for Bueno, he only has one big promise to his fans: "Ich werde alles geben"! [I will give my best!]

SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=104962