name	David Archuleta
background	solo_singer
birth name	David James Archuleta
birth date	December 28, 1990
birth place	Miami, Florida
origin	Murray, Utah, United States
occupation	Singer-songwriter, actor
genre	Pop
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar
years active	2003–present
label	Jive (2008–2011)Ivory Records (2011–present)
website	www.davidarchuleta.com }}

David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer-songwriter. At ten years old he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, Archuleta became the Junior Vocal Champion on ''Star Search 2''. In 2007, at sixteen years old, he became one of the youngest contestants on the seventh season of ''American Idol''. In May 2008 he finished as the runner-up, receiving 44 percent of over 97 million votes.

In August 2008 Archuleta released "Crush," the first single from his self-titled debut album. The album, released three months later, debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart; it has sold over 750,000 copies in the U.S., and over 900,000 worldwide. In October 2010 he released a third album, ''The Other Side of Down'' featuring lead single "Something 'Bout Love". In 2011, Archuleta announced he is taking a two-year hiatus to be a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As of February 2012, Archuleta has sold 1,108,000 albums and 3,327,000 tracks in the United States.

Early life[link]

Archuleta was born in Miami, Florida, to Jeff Archuleta and Lupe Marie Mayorga. His mother is a salsa singer and dancer from Honduras and his father is a jazz musician of Spanish-Basque descent; he speaks a little bit of Spanish and aspires to learn more. Archuleta has four siblings. His family moved to the Sandy, Utah, suburb of Salt Lake City when he was six. He now lives in Murray where he attended Murray High School. He is a former Boy Scout and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Archuleta started singing at the age of six, inspired by a ''Les Misérables'' video. "That musical is what started all of this", he said. He started performing publicly at age ten when he participated in the Utah Talent Competition, singing "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton; he received a standing ovation and won the Child Division.

Music career[link]

2003–06: Star Search and musical beginnings[link]

In 2003, when he was twelve years old, Archuleta sang on several episodes of the television show ''Star Search''. He ended up as the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2, Losing the Junior Grand Champion title to Tiffany Evans. On one episode, he sang against then-11-year-old Alexandréa Lushington, who became a "top 20" semi-finalist on ''American Idol'' alongside Archuleta. Around the second year of being on ''Star Search'' he started focusing on the lyrics, "I didn't even pay attention to the lyrics when I was 12, 13". and the episode led to appearances on CBS's ''The Early Show''. The year after ''Star Search'', he found out he had partial vocal paralysis but declined risky surgery and has said he feels he is almost fully recovered.

2007–08: American Idol and ''David Archuleta''[link]

Archuleta received his ticket to the Hollywood final auditions at the San Diego tryouts – held at Qualcomm Stadium at the end of July 2007 – with a performance of John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change" with judge Randy Jackson spontaneously joining in to sing the background "waiting" in the song. He was sixteen during the Hollywood auditions and attended school while a part of ''American Idol's'' seventh season. His parents were there because he was a minor. Archuleta also took advantage of the decision to allow contestants to play musical instruments when he accompanied himself on piano for his performances of "Crazy", "Another Day in Paradise", and "Angels".

During the 1970s themed week Archuleta sang the John Lennon song "Imagine", omitting the earlier verses in favor of the last one. ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist Ann Powers speculated that he wanted to avoid singing "no religion too" because of his faith. "As a Mormon, he's unlikely to espouse the song's agnostic ideal," she wrote. However, he did sing the entire song on ''Good Things Utah'' when he was thirteen. When asked by judge Randy Jackson why he didn't sing the first verse, Archuleta said the third verse was his favorite because it has "a great message."

After his performance of "We Can Work It Out", which judge Simon Cowell called "a mess", ''Entertainment Tonight'' reported that Archuleta was feeling pressure from his father, Jeff Archuleta, who "reportedly yelled at" his son after a recording session the previous night. Jeff Archuleta, in an interview with ''Us Weekly'', denied the claim. A May 2008 Associated Press article reported that Jeff Archuleta had his son add a lyric from the Sean Kingston song "Beautiful Girls" into an interpretation of "Stand by Me" (from which "Beautiful Girls" samples its bass line), increasing the costs for licensing, and that this had resulted in Jeff Archuleta being banned from ''American Idol'' backstage rehearsals. Archuleta defended his father calling him "a great guy" who keeps him grounded.

During the Top 7 results show, the contestants were split into two groups. In one group was Syesha Mercado, Brooke White, and Kristy Lee Cook. In the other group was David Cook, Carly Smithson, and Jason Castro. Archuleta was the only one not sorted into a group. He was declared safe after the groups were formed, then was asked to choose the group he thought was safe. He refused, and sat down on the floor of the stage, much like Melinda Doolittle had done the previous season.

In the finale he sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "In This Moment" and "Imagine". Judge Simon Cowell declared that Archuleta won the evening and even David Cook, who ultimately won, thought Archuleta would win: "I have to concede it, the kid came out all three songs and nailed it", said Cook. In the final tally, Archuleta received 44 percent of the votes. During the finale show, identical commercials featuring Archuleta and fellow finalist Cook mimicked the Tom Cruise scene from ''Risky Business'' where he dances in his underwear playing an air guitar; they were promoting the game franchise ''Guitar Hero''.

Archuleta's first appearances on music ranking charts were with the three songs he performed in the ''American Idol'' finale; "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "In This Moment", and "Imagine", debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the week of June 7, 2008. "Imagine" entered at number 36 (giving Archuleta his first top forty hit), "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" at number 58, and "In This Moment" entered at number 60. That same week he had three songs on ''Billboard'''s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart as well, where his versions of "Longer", "Think of Me", and "Angels" debuted at number 15, number 19, and number 24 respectively. In July 2008 ''So You Think You Can Dance'', a dance competition reality show, Archuleta's cover of "Imagine" by John Lennon was the featured music for contestants Katee Shean and William Wingfield with their pas de deux performance.

Archuleta signed with Jive Records in June 2008. His self-titled album, ''David Archuleta'', was released in November 2008. His first single "Crush" was released in August 2008 on Z100, a New York radio station. On August 12 "Crush" became available on iTunes. It debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, beaten only by Rihanna's "Disturbia". It was the best chart debut in more than 18 months. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the track sold 166,000 downloads in the first week in the United States. It has sold 1.92 million digital copies in the US. Along with ''American Idol'' winner David Cook, Archuleta placed second on ''Forbes''' list of "Breakout Stars of 2008". The two co-presented an award at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards in August 2008. Archuleta also received the Teen Choice Award surfboard for "Most Fanatic Fans".

2009–present: ''Christmas from the Heart'', ''The Other Side of Down'', and ''Forevermore''[link]

Since the release of his debut album, Archuleta has released three new songs: "Let's Talk About Love (The Build-A-Bear theme song)," "Save the Day (released only in Japan as a bonus track in his album)," and "Zero Gravity." In February, it was announced that Archuleta will be touring the United Kingdom supporting British band McFly on their "Up Close...And This Time It's Personal" tour. The tour began on April 21, 2009 and continued until May. Archuleta became the opening act for Demi Lovato's tour which began June 21, 2009.

On April 22, 2009, Archuleta returned to the ''American Idol'' stage in its eighth season and performed the third single from his debut album, "Touch My Hand". On April 30, 2009 he made his first UK television appearance, on the ''Paul O'Grady Show'', performing "Crush" and chatting about his album, which was released there in May. In May, Archuleta and fellow American Idol David Cook, visited the Philippines. Two days later he made live appearances on two of GMA-7's shows, ''Sis'' and ''Eat Bulaga''. He also confirmed that month that he was working on two new albums, his sophomore pop album and a Christmas album. In August 2009, Archuleta won three Teen Choice Awards for Breakout Artist, Love Song, and the Music Tour category with Demi Lovato. In September he won the Year in Music – Rising Male Star award at the ALMA Awards and performed a cover of the standard "Contigo en la Distancia".

Archuleta's acting debut was when he appeared as himself for his acting debut on Nickelodeon's show ''iCarly'' titled "iRocked the Vote". The episode aired February 7, 2009. He had also made a special guest appearance in Season 3 of the Disney Channel show ''Hannah Montana'' In the episode "Promma Mia" as himself and he sang a duet: "I Wanna Know You" with Miley Cyrus who plays the title character; the song was featured on the soundtrack, ''Hannah Montana 3''.

On May 16, 2009, Archuleta and David Cook performed in the Mall of Asia: Concert Grounds for their Back-to-Back Concert in Manila, Philippines. On June 1, 2010, Archuleta released ''Chords of Strength: A Memoir of Soul, Song, and the Power of Perseverance'', a memoir which refers to "the partial vocal paralysis he suffered in 2004 but has now fully recovered from". He went on a book signing tour beginning in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The book was a bestseller.

Archuleta came back to the ''American Idol'' stage on April 7, 2010 on the show's ninth season and performed John Lennon's "Imagine", which David had performed previously in the Top 20 Week when he was a contestant on the show. After his performance, he mentioned that he was working on his third studio album.

Archuleta sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "Stand by Me" at the 30th anniversary of the annual A Capitol Fourth concert in Washington, D.C. on the Fourth of July. The show was aired on PBS at 8pm EST live and tape delay PT.

Archuleta sang live at the Tejano Music Awards covering Selena's songs, ''Como La Flor'' and No Me Queda Más at the event as a tribute on July 11, 2010.

In an interview with AOL's ''Something Pitchy'', Archuleta revealed that the release of his next album is planned for Fall 2010 (he did mention a late September release, but then went back to the Fall). On June 24, 2010 Jive Records announced that his new single would be released on DavidArchuleta.com on July 13, and iTunes on July 20. However, on June 30, 2010 the full version of "Something 'Bout Love" became available to play on his website. His album ''The Other Side of Down'' was released on October 5, 2010.

On October 7, 2010, it was announced that David Archuleta would be the guest star at the annual Christmas concert of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Archuleta was scheduled to sing in performances on December 16–19.

On February 18, 2011 it was announced by Jive Records that David Archuleta had been released from his contract with them. It was also announced on February 17, 2011 that Archuleta left his management Wright Entertainment Group. Archuleta intends to spend time working on writing original material.

On July 2, 2011, Archuleta joined Brad Paisley to perform at the Stadium of Fire, where he performed the national anthem in addition to his five song set. From July 16 to 26, 2011, Archuleta toured Asia, performing in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh), and Malaysia.

In early 2012, Archuleta signed a contract with TV5 Kapatid Network to shoot a primetime mini series in the Philippines titled ''Nandito Ako'' ''()'', which was broadcast in February and March of 2012. An Original Pilipino Music album was released in March 26, 2012 in the Philippines, titled ''Forevermore.'' This album contains covers of classic Filipino songs, including "Nandito Ako" (an Ogie Alcasid original), "Forevermore" (a ''Side A'' original), and "Rainbow" by South Border.

At the conclusion of the December 19, 2011 show of the My Kind of Christmas Tour, Archuleta announced his intention to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years. He stated that he would return to music upon the completion of his mission. Archuleta, who has reportedly been assigned to Chile, entered the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center on March 28, 2012.

Philanthropy[link]

Along with Do Something and the Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation, Archuleta is involved with helping willing teenagers make a difference in others' lives with disaster relief. He is also one of several teen celebrities taking part in DoSomething.org's Teens for Jeans charity initiative, which donates denim to homeless teenagers nationwide. In January 2010, Haiti was hit with a major earthquake. On Jan 22, 2010 Archuleta joined other celebrities for a 2-hour fundraising telethon where he answered phones, and even stayed longer afterward to keep answering the phones.

In January 2011, Archuleta travelled to Chennai, India with Rising Star Outreach, a non-profit charity giving children from leper colonies a first-class education and a chance at a future in India.

Archuleta was one of the many Latino singers who participated in ''Somos El Mundo'', the Spanish version of "We Are The World 25 for Haiti". The song and video premiered on the ''Cristina Show'' in March 2010, funds raised benefit Haiti relief.

In support of ChildFund, Archuleta partnered with the charity for his My Kind of Christmas Tour in an effort to increase awareness and recruit new sponsors for children in need worldwide.

Musical influences[link]

Archuleta's mother is from Honduras, and much of the music he listened to as a child was Latin-influenced, including watching his mom sing at events with her sisters. She also "was big on dancing" according to Archuleta, and would "make" him dance to traditional music with his older sister. He also listened to jazz music, he said, from his father's collection as well as gospel, pop, rock and "soulful music." In a later interview, he revealed that his father was a jazz musician. Archuleta also said he enjoys Broadway musicals.

On his ''American Idol'' "Fast Facts" page, Archuleta cited his musical influences as Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin and Bryan Adams. Like Elliott Yamin and another singer he admires, John Mayer, Archuleta tries to infuse his pop selections with a soulful vibe. In a ''Seventeen'' interview he cites Sara Bareilles as a clever singer-songwriter whom he looks up to.

Discography[link]

''David Archuleta'' (2008)

''Christmas from the Heart'' (2009)

''The Other Side of Down'' (2010)

''Forevermore'' (Philippines release) (2012)

Filmography[link]

Television
Year	Film	Role	! Notes
2008	''American Idol''	Himself	Runner Up
	''iCarly''	Himself	''Season 2 - Episode 12: ''iRocked the Vote''
''Hannah Montana''	Himself	Season 3 – Episode 14: ''Promma Mia''
2012		Josh Bradley	Lead rolePhilippine television role

Tours[link]

;As main act

American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 (2008)

David Archuleta Live In Concert (2009)

Christmas from the Heart Tour (2009)

The Other Side of Down Asian Tour (2011)

My Kind of Christmas Tour (2011)

;As supporting act

McFly Up Close and This Time It's Personal Tour (2009)

Demi Lovato Summer Tour 2009 (2009)

Awards and nominations[link]

rowspan="2"

Year !! Presenter !! Award !! Result
rowspan="2"	2008	Teen Choice Awards	Most Fanatic Fans
Best Smile (Post Show)
rowspan="5"	2009	Teen Choice Awards	Breakout Artist
Music: Love Song (for "Crush")
MYX Music Awards	Favorite International Music Video - Crush
rowspan="4"	2010	Teen Choice Awards ||	Fanatic Fans
American Idol Album
rowspan="2"	J-14 Teen Icon Awards	Iconic Fan Favorite
Iconic Tweeter
	2011	Barkada Choice Awards ||	Teen Icon

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Official website

David Archuleta at YouTube

Video and audio clips from Archuleta's official website prior to 2006.

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Miami, Florida Category:People from Murray, Utah Category:Musicians from Utah Category:American child singers Category:American male singers Category:American people of Honduran descent Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:American Idol participants Category:American pop keyboardists Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American tenors Category:Idol series runners-up Category:Jive Records artists Category:People associated with the Boy Scouts of America

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name	Lea Salonga-Chien
birth date	February 22, 1971
birth place	Angeles City, Philippines
birth name	Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga
spouse	Robert Charles Chien (2004–present)
years active	1978–present
occupation	singer, actress
voicetype	Mezzo soprano
website	http://www.leasalonga.com/
tonyawards	Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical1991 ''Miss Saigon''
laurenceolivierawards	Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical1990 ''Miss Saigon''
dramadeskaward	Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Musical1991 ''Miss Saigon''
outercriticssicrlceaward	Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical1991 ''Miss Saigon''
theatreworldaward	Theatre World Award for Best Actress in a Musical1991 ''Miss Saigon'' }}

Lea Salonga-Chien (born February 22, 1971) is a mezzo-soprano singer, actress, and Disney Legend from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical ''Miss Saigon'', for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.

She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in the musical ''Les Misérables'' on Broadway. She also provided the singing voice of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in ''Aladdin'' (1992), and Fa Mulan in ''Mulan'' (1998) and ''Mulan II'' (2004). Salonga was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with the company.

Career [link]

1978–1988 [link]

Salonga made her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical ''The King and I'' by Repertory Philippines. She became the lead star of ''Annie'' and joined other productions such as ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', ''Fiddler on the Roof'', ''The Rose Tattoo'', ''The Sound of Music'', ''The Goodbye Girl'', ''Paper Moon'' and ''The Fantasticks''.

She began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, ''Small Voice'', which received a gold certification. A song on the album, the duet "Happiness", marked her first recording collaboration with her younger brother Gerard Salonga, who would, years later, work with her as musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings. Her second album, ''Lea'', was released in 1988.

In addition to performing in musical theater and recordings, Salonga hosted her own musical television show, ''Love, Lea'', and was a member of the cast of German Moreno's teen variety show ''That's Entertainment''. She acted in films, which included the family-oriented ''Tropang Bulilit'', ''Like Father, Like Son'', ''Ninja Kids'', ''Captain Barbell'', and ''Pik Pak Boom''. She also opened for international acts such as Menudo and Stevie Wonder in their concerts in Manila in 1985 and in 1988, respectively.

As a young performer, Lea Salonga received a Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award nomination (the Philippine equivalent of an Oscar nomination) for Best Child Actress. and three wins from the ''Aliw'' (literally, "entertainment") ''Awards'' as Best Child Performer.

1989–1992 [link]

Salonga was selected to play Kim in the musical ''Miss Saigon'' in 1989. Unable to find a strong enough East Asian actress/singer in the United Kingdom, the producers scoured many countries looking for the lead role of this major British production. For her audition, the 17-year-old Salonga chose to sing Boublil and Schönberg's "On My Own" from ''Les Misérables'' and was later asked to sing "Sun and Moon" to test the compatibility of her voice quality with the songs in the musical. The members of the panel were impressed with Salonga's rendition of the songs, noting that from Salonga's very first note, they already knew they had a potential Kim. Salonga competed with childhood friend and fellow Repertory Philippines performer Monique Wilson as they were tested with songs from the musical, which included "Too Much for One Heart", a number replaced by the duet "Please" just before the musical opened. Salonga was offered the lead role, with Wilson as her understudy (who was given the role of the bar girl named Mimi).

For her performance as Kim, Salonga won the ''Olivier'' for ''Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical'' for the 1989–1990 season. From its original London home, ''Miss Saigon'' moved to Broadway in April 1991. Salonga subsequently won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Theatre World Awards for the same role. Between 1993 and 1996, she was asked periodically to play Kim on Broadway to boost ticket sales. In 1999, she was invited back to London to close the musical, and in 2001, at the age of 29 and after doing the Manila run of the musical, Salonga returned to Broadway to close the Broadway production.

In 1990, Salonga performed in a homecoming concert in Manila entitled ''A Miss Called Lea''. She also received a ''Presidential Award of Merit'' from Philippine president Corazon Aquino.

1993–1996 [link]

In 1993, upon completion of her initial stint as Kim on Broadway, Salonga played the role of street waif Éponine in the Broadway production of ''Les Misérables'', and later flew to Los Angeles to perform the song "A Whole New World" of Disney's ''Aladdin'' with Brad Kane at the 65th Annual Academy Awards, where the song won an Oscar. That same year, she released her self-titled international debut album with Atlantic Records, which had modest sales in the USA but went platinum in the Philippines and sold 3 million copies worldwide.

In 1994, Salonga played in various musical theater productions in the Philippines and Singapore. She starred as Sandy in ''Grease'', as Sonia Walsk in ''They're Playing Our Song'', and as The Witch in ''Into The Woods''.

Back in the U.S. in 1995, Salonga played the role of Geri Riordan, an 18-year-old adopted Vietnamese American child in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie ''Redwood Curtain'', which starred John Lithgow and Jeff Daniels. She then flew back to the Philippines to star with Filipino matinée idol Aga Muhlach in the critically acclaimed film ''Sana Maulit Muli'', which gave her a second Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award nomination, this time for Best Actress. She accepted an invitation from Sir Cameron Mackintosh to play the role of Éponine in his 10th anniversary production called ''Les Miserables in Concert'' at London's Royal Albert Hall. Salonga performed along with Colm Wilkinson, Michael Ball, Judy Kuhn, and Philip Quast.

In 1996, Salonga was in ''Les Misérables'' once again. She played Éponine in the London production of the musical, then continued on to do the role in the musical's U.S. national tour in Hawaii.

1997–2003 [link]

From 1997 to 2000, Salonga did recordings and concerts in the Philippines and another engagement in London, in addition to her periodic returns to Miss Saigon in London and on Broadway. In 1997, she released ''I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing'' (recordings from her childhood days) to gold sales in the Philippines. That recording was followed by ''Lea... In Love'' in 1998 and ''By Heart'' in 2000, with both albums reaching multiple platinum status in the Philippines. In addition to the release of these albums, she participated in the tribute concert to Sir Cameron Mackintosh in London called "Hey Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh", where she did numbers from several of his musicals. She also performed in four concerts: ''The Homecoming Concert'', ''The Millennium Concert'', ''The Best of Manila'' and ''Songs from the Screen'' – the last two being benefit shows. Salonga returned to Manila in ''Miss Saigon'', staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines at the end of 2000.

After ''Miss Saigon''s closing on Broadway in 2001, Salonga recreated the role of Lien Hughes originally played by Ming-Na Wen in the soap opera ''As the World Turns''. After completing her contract that year, she was asked to return to the role in 2003. She guested on Russell Watson's ''The Voice'' concert, narrated for the television special ''My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States'', and appeared on the Christmas episode of the TV medical drama ''ER'', playing the role of a patient with lymphoma.

In 2002, Salonga returned to Broadway to play the role of a Chinese immigrant in a reinterpretation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Flower Drum Song'' opposite Jose Llana. This was after the reinvented musical had a run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2001 with Salonga playing the lead role and with the show garnering multiple wins and nominations, including Lead Actress in a Musical for Salonga, from the Theatre Los Angeles Ovation Awards. The show, given a brand new libretto and considered one of the 10 best plays on Broadway in 2002 by ''Time'' magazine, garnered Tony Award nominations for ''Best Book'', ''Best Costume Designer'', and ''Best Choreographer'', and earned nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama League, the Astaire Awards, and Broadway.com's Audience Awards and Broadwayworld.com's Fans' Choice Awards as well. The Salonga-led Broadway revival cast album was also a top contender at the 2003 Grammy Awards for ''Best Musical Show Album''. While Salonga's performance was received positively by theater critics such as Matthew Murray, Heather Cross, Patrick Purdon, and John Simon, among others, she was not nominated at the Tony Awards for her brief stint on Broadway that season, although she did get nominations for ''Distinguished Performance'' from the Drama League, for ''Favorite Lead Actress in a Broadway Musical'' from Broadway.com's Audience Awards, and for ''Best Lead Actress in a Musical'' from Broadwayworld.com's Fans' Choice Awards. Between the 2001 Los Angeles and 2002 Broadway productions of ''Flower Drum Song'', she performed in a non-musical theatrical production for the first time, playing the role of Catherine in the stage play ''Proof'' in Manila. This was followed by a major concert, ''The Broadway Concert'', at the Philippine International Convention Center. She also sang with Harry Connick, Peter Gallagher, and Michelle Lee in a tribute number for Richard Rodgers at the 56th Tony Awards.

In 2003, Salonga did her first "all-Filipino" concert in Manila called ''Songs from Home'', which later won a second ''Aliw Award'' as ''Entertainer of the Year''; she also won the previous year. Upon her return to the U.S., she performed in several shows at the Mohegan Sun in Montville, Connecticut. This was followed by a Christmas concert in the Philippines called ''Home for Christmas'' at the end of the year, which was nominated for the 18th ''Aliw Awards'', and performances at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, New Jersey the following year, in 2004. Later that year, she played Lizzie in the Manila production of the musical ''Baby'', which earned her another nomination from the ''Aliw Awards''.

2004–2007 [link]

In 2005, Salonga played her first US concert tour in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, and Chicago. Concert dates in Washington, D.C. and Norfolk, Virginia followed. Later that year, Salonga performed with a 26-piece ensemble to a sold-out crowd at the Isaac Stern Hall in Carnegie Hall for the benefit of Diverse City Theater Company. Between her concerts, the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) bestowed her with the Golden Artist Award at the 53rd FAMAS Awards in honor of her international achievements. She performed during the grand opening of Hong Kong's Disneyland and recorded two songs on tenor Daniel Rodriguez's ''In the Presence'' CD. That same year, Salonga did voice work for Disney's English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's ''My Neighbor Totoro'' as Mrs. Kusakabe. Salonga's other Disney film credits include the singing voice of Princess Jasmine for ''Aladdin'' in 1992 and Fa Mulan for ''Mulan'' and ''Mulan II'' in 1998 and in 2004, respectively.

In 2006, at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, Salonga concluded the closing ceremony with the song "Triumph of The One" before an audience of 50,000 people at the Khalifa Stadium.

In 2007, Salonga released her first studio album in seven years called ''Inspired'', which has been certified platinum, and finished another stint in the musical ''Les Misérables'' on Broadway, this time as Fantine. She was scheduled to appear in a number of musical events scheduled in different countries until 2008.

Salonga received the ''Order of Lakandula Award'' from Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in recognition of her excellence in her craft and for using her talents to benefit Philippine society. It was also announced that she would return to Broadway in the musical ''Les Misérables'', replacing Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine on March 6. Her tenure started, however, on March 2, four days earlier than planned. Her casting on the show has been credited with boosting the musical's ticket sales on Broadway. On September 27, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was in New York, watched Salonga in her new role in the musical, whose cast that night included Filipino Americans Adam Jacobs as Marius and Ali Ewoldt as Cosette. Her contract with the musical ended on October 21, 2007 and she was succeeded by Broadway's original Cosette Judy Kuhn. For her performances in this revival, Salonga received rave reviews and made it again to the short list of Broadway.com's Audience Award favorites—this time for ''Best Replacement'' for her new role as Fantine. During her stint on Broadway this season, she appeared on Broadway on Broadway 2007 and Stars in the Alley 2007, spoke at the Broadway Artists Alliance Summer Intensives, guested on the Broadway musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and participated in Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS' ''12th Annual Nothing Like A Dame'' event to benefit the women's health initiative of The Actors Fund. Right after doing ''Les Misérables'', she performed in two events: at the US Military Academy Band's concert in West Point where she sang four songs and an encore and in her own concert at the Tarrytown Music Hall in New York.

As of November 2007, a number of performances were scheduled for the rest of the year and for 2008, including a Christmas presentation in Manila, concerts in other parts of the Philippines and in California, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Guam and Broadway Asia Entertainment's international tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella'', where she plays the lead.

2008–present [link]

On 3 July 2008, Salonga became a columnist in the ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' with her column "Backstory" (Entertainment section), "Introducing: Lea Salonga, writer". She performed in "Global Pop" at the Music Center on July 11, 2008. It was presented by The Blue Ribbon a group founded by Dorothy Chandler in 1968. Backed by an orchestra of 19 musicians, Salonga received a standing ovation for her solo concert on July 11 at Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall. Salonga also performed part of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "There's Music in You", as preview of her coming show ''Cinderella'' at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on July 29. That same year she received a special citation from Awit Awards, the Philippines' version of Grammys.

From late July 2008 to mid-2009, Salonga played the title role in the 30-week Asian tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Cinderella'', opening in Manila and continuing to China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. According to Billboard.com, Salonga was scheduled to perform in Nevada, Washington, California, Indiana, New York, Hawaii and more in 2009 and was also asked to dance the Filipino novelty dances "Ocho-ocho" and "Spaghetti".

In July 2009, Salonga agreed to advertise the Avon Products line of anti-aging skin care products Anew Rejuvenate in the Philippines.

Also in the same month, Salonga was invited to sing at the 95th Anniversary Special of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC). She was given a standing ovation after her first song, which was an original composition by the Church arranged by Ryan Cayabyab.

At the Requiem Mass for former President Corazon Aquino on 5 August 2009, Salonga sang the patriotic ''Bayan Ko'' as the recessional before Aquino's casket was brought out of Manila Cathedral.

Salonga celebrated 20 years of ''Miss Saigon'' by performing in a concert called "Lea Salonga...Your Songs", at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Plenary Hall on December 11 and 12, 2009. She conducted an online poll via www.LEAyoursongs.com where fans could request songs they wanted to hear. The concert had crooner Richard Poon, the award-winning dance group Philippine All Stars and Concert Comedy Queen Ai-Ai de las Alas as special guests. "Lea Salonga...Your Songs" was under the musical direction of her brother, Gerard Salonga along with the FILharmoniKA.

From 23 July to 22 August 2010, Salonga played the role of Grizabella in the Manila run of the Asia-Pacific tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''Cats'' at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She returned to ''Les Misérables'' on October 3 in the 25th Anniversary Concert of ''Les Misérables'' as Fantine, fifteen years after appearing in the 10th Anniversary as Eponine.

In 2010, Salonga joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices, Avon's first ever global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. Instantly, she become part of Miss Universe history because of her winning final question which won by Miss Angola Leila Lopes.

Salonga was honoured as a Disney Legend on 19 August 2011.

She was chosen to serve as one of the judges in the 60th Miss Universe 2011 Beauty Pageant in São Paulo, Brazil on 12 September 2011.

Salonga will star in the Broadway-bound musical, ''Allegiance'', at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from 6 September – 20 October 2012.

Education and personal life [link]

Lea Salonga is the daughter of Feliciano Genuino Salonga and Ligaya Alcantara Imutan and spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles City before moving to Manila. She is the aunt of ABC Family's '' Pretty Little Liars '' star Shay Mitchell . She is not related to former Senator Jovito Salonga. She has a brother named Gerard Salonga who is an orchestral conductor.

She studied and finished her secondary education in 1988 at the O. B. Montessori Center in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, where she was a Bergamo 1 Student and an active participant in school productions. She also attended the University of the Philippines College of Music's extension program aimed at training musically talented children in music and stage movement. A college freshman at the Ateneo de Manila University when she auditioned for ''Miss Saigon'', she later took two courses at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus while in between jobs in New York.

On January 10, 2004, Salonga married Robert Charles Chien, a Chinese-Japanese managing director of an entertainment software company in Los Angeles, California, whom she met while doing ''Flower Drum Song''. They have a daughter, Nicole Beverly, who was born on May 16, 2006, named after Salonga's late mother-in-law, Beverly. She is also an avid video game enthusiast, and has mentioned her love for the hobby in several of her print articles.

On October 15, 2010, Lea Salonga was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Discography [link]

''Small Voice'' (1981)

''Lea'' (1988)

''Miss Saigon (Original London Cast)'' (1990)

''The King And I (Hollywood Studio Cast)'' (1992)

''Little Tramp – The Musical'' (1992)

''Aladdin (soundtrack)'' (1992)

''Lea Salonga'' (1993)

''Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert'' (1995)

''Hey Mr. Producer: The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh'' (1997)

''I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing'' (1997)

''Mulan (soundtrack)'' (1998)

''By Heart'' (1999)

''Lea... In Love'' (1999)

''Lea Salonga Live Vol. 1'' (2000)

''Lea Salonga Live Vol. 2'' (2000)

''Lea Salonga: The Christmas Album'' (2000)

''Making Tracks'' (2001)

''Songs from The Screen'' (2001)

''The Broadway Concert'' (2002)

''Flower Drum Song'' (2002)

''100% Lea Gives Her Best'' (2003)

''Songs from Home: Live Concert Recording'' (2004)

''Mulan II'' (2005)

''The Ultimate OPM Collection'' (2007)

''Inspired'' (2007)

''Shelldon'' (2008)

''The Journey So Far - Recorded Live at Cafe Carlyle'' (2011)

Filmography [link]

''Tropang Bulilit'' (1981)

''Like Father, Like Son'' (1985)

''Captain Barbel'' (1986)

''Ninja Kids'' (1986)

''Pik Pak Boom'' (1989)

''Dear Diary'' (1989)

''The heat is on in Saigon'' (1989) – the making of Miss Saigon

''Aladdin'' (1992) – singing voice of Princess Jasmine

''Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal'' (1992) – Sandy

''Sana Maulit Muli'' (1995) – Agnes

''Redwood Curtain'' (1995) – Geri Riorden

''Les Misérables: The 10th Anniversary Concert'' (1995) – Éponine

''Mulan'' (1998) – singing voice of Fa Mulan

''As the World Turns'' (2001) – Lien Hughes (also reprised role in 2003)

''My Neighbor Totoro'' (2004) – voice of Mrs. Kusakabe in the Disney English language version

''Mulan II'' (2004) – singing voice of Fa Mulan

''Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams'' (2007) – singing voice of Princess Jasmine

''Les Misérables: The 25th Anniversary Concert'' (2010) – Fantine

References [link]

See also[link]

Kuh Ledesma

George Canseco

Pilita Corrales

Martin Nievera

Gary Valenciano

External links [link]

Lea Salonga at the Disney Legends Website

FAO Goodwill Ambassador website

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Category:Filipino musical theatre actors Category:Filipino child actors Category:Filipino female singers Category:Filipino Roman Catholics Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:People from Manila Category:People from Pampanga Category:Kapampangan people Category:Recipients of the Order of Lakandula Category:1971 births Category:Living people

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