MiG is back to rock you!

He’s suffered a few setbacks in his life, but MiG Ayesa is not the type to give up. The former third placer on the reality show Rockstar: INXS in 2005 went on to successfully venture into musical theater, most recently taking on the role of rocker Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages and starring as the Bohemian rebel Galileo Figaro in the 10th anniversary World Arena Tour of We Will Rock You, a musical inspired by the hits of the iconic rock band Queen which popularized the song of the same title and a few others, including Bohemian Rhapsody and We Are the Champions.

Although musical theater isn’t something he planned for, MiG has accepted the direction in which life has taken him. He’s not unhappy with how things turned out after Rockstar: INXS. He did have expectations and recorded an album that unfortunately didn’t get the push he was hoping it would, but it’s not the end of the world.

MiG’s dream of becoming an international rock star — which was the whole point of his joining Rockstar: INXS eight years ago — remains alive. He doesn’t regret a single moment he spent on the show; he wishes only that its producer Mark Burnett (also producer of The Voice) knew more about making the most of the celebrity status of the performers he created. At the time, Burnett was doing his first reality show and didn’t have a clue how to do it.

That’s all water under the bridge now, but looking back, MiG wishes things could’ve been different. Still, he’s glad that he gets to do things like Rock of Ages where he can keep the rockstar dream going. “For me, even though I feel like if I never succeeded to be a rockstar, (by doing Rock of Ages) I am pretending to be a rockstar eight times a week, and what could be better than that?”

He is currently working on his third album. It will be his second release under his own label, Sputnik Records. Had Decca, which produced his first album, not dropped the ball in terms of promotions and publication, and had there not been other problems (including legal ones involving INXS and their former manager), maybe things would have turned out differently. But if that had happened, he would not also be here in the Philippines doing Rock of Ages. So it’s not all bad.

“I ended up being a Hollywood statistic because of legal battles and I think it is more common than known. But ultimately, being part of Rockstar: INXS opened a lot of doors for me and it kept me going with a lot of projects. People recognized me and knew my work,” says MiG.

That work has taken him practically all over the world. He is based in New York, but has traveled to London, the Philippines and so many other places. Sadly, that took a toll on his marriage, and he and his wife separated. It is one of the setbacks that MiG was talking about, which is sad, but which he learned to accept. He and his wife were together for 10 years before she came home one day and surprised him with the announcement that she wanted to end their marriage.

“It came as a big surprise and a big shock to me that my wife just came home one day and decided, ‘I don’t think I love you anymore. I’ll leave you.’ Boom, just like that,” says MiG, who spent most of 2012 in a funk because of what happened. “I didn’t realize how bad I was. I think back at how I was at this time last year, and I was miserable. I was really going through a bad depression. Now that I realize that life goes on, I’m really happy right now.”

Coming to Manila to do Rock of Ages the first time (this will actually be the second run in the Philippines, and will last until July 28) helped him put the pieces of his life back together again. “Manila was the beginning of my comeback,” smiles the 43-year-old rock star and theater actor. “(Now) I just have to move on. Keep on singing, keep on truckin’, as they say.”

MiG is excited to be starring in Rock of Ages. It is actually his fourth time to do it after the US tour, Broadway and the first Manila run. Being back in Manila gives him the opportunity to re-connect with friends and family here, and that’s always something he looks forward to.

The excitement is written all over his face. “For me, this is a holiday — a working holiday,” he says. “I get back to the Philippines; I get to meet up with some really great friends, my family here. It’s an excuse for me to just come and have a good time. It’s what this is all about.”