A compilation of Marlisa's performance from before her time on The X Factor. Marlisa Ann Punzalan (born 1 October 1999), known by her mononym Marlisa, is an Australian singer who won the sixth series of The X Factor Australia in 2014. She became the youngest contestant to win the show at age 15. Punzalan subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and released her debut single "Stand By You", which debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Marlisa Ann Punzalan was born on 1 October 1999 in Sydney to Lito and Andrea Punzalan. Her parents immigrated to Australia from the Philippines before she and her brother Martin were born Punzalan lives at Glendenning, New South Wales. She began singing at the age of three. In 2013, Punzalan auditioned for the seventh series of Australia's Got Talent but did not make it past the audition rounds, and also attempted to audition for the first series of The Voice Kids, but exceeded the age limit by one month. Before entering The X Factor Australia in 2014, Punzalan was a student at Mercy Catholic College in Chatswood and a regular performer at charity events, eisteddfods and RSL competitions. In 2014, Punzalan successfully auditioned for the sixth series of The X Factor Australia, singing "Yesterday" by The Beatles. She received a standing ovation and four yeses from all four judges and progressed to the super bootcamp round of the competition. For the first bootcamp challenge, Punzalan was placed into a group with three other contestants from the Under 25 Girls category to perform a song together for the judges.[10] Punzalan made it to the second bootcamp challenge, where she performed "Never Be the Same" by Jessica Mauboy to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. She then progressed to the home visits round in New York City and performed "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders in front of her mentor Ronan Keating and guest mentor John Legend. Keating later selected Punzalan, along with Sydnee Carter and Caitlyn Shadbolt, for the live finals—a series of eleven weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote. After the eliminations of Carter in week five and Shadbolt in week nine, Punzalan became the last remaining contestant in Keating's category. During the semi-final week, she landed in the bottom two for the first time with Reigan Derry and performed John Farnham's version of The Beatles' "Help!" in the final showdown. After the judges' vote went to deadlock, it was revealed that Punzalan received the most public votes and was put through to the grand final. During the grand final decider show on 20 October 2014, Punzalan was announced as the winner of the sixth series, becoming the first contestant from the Under 25 Girls category to win. After winning The X Factor, Punzalan's debut and winner's single "Stand By You" was made available to download on the iTunes Store. She also received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. Four days after release, "Stand By You" debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales exceeding 35,000 copies Punzalan's self-titled debut album, Marlisa, was released on 7 November 2014 and features studio recordings of selected songs she performed on The X Factor. Punzalan will be the supporting act for Guy Sebastian's Madness Tour in 2015.

• published: 15 Nov 2014
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