The voted-off ‘American Idol’ contestant eyes career in RP showbiz

Ramiele Malubay, the Filipino-American contender in the season 7 of the US reality TV singing tilt “American Idol,” cried buckets of tears when booted out from competition Wednesday (Thursday morning in RP). But the pint-sized singer with the powerhouse voice admitted that her going home that night didn’t come as that much of a shock and surprise.

“No. I felt like it was my time, not to think negative or anything. It was just a feeling I had the whole day. I felt awkward. I don’t usually feel like that. It’s not pleasant, let me tell you,” the 20-year-old, 4’11 Florida native said in her exit video interview for “American Idol.”

When told that her exit was odd and ironic since the judges were more complimentary toward her this week, performing Dolly Parton’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,” than in previous weeks, she said, “Well, I thought at least I was moving and I was smiling. [But] I feel like the audience probably didn’t like my song. Not everyone was going to like it. I knew that going into it.”

Ramiele, who usually does the crying every time a contestant gets eliminated, found herself surrounded by the remaining contestants, all appearing genuinely sad about her being voted off. Even the acerbic judge Simon Cowell offered his shoulder for her to weep on.

She explained, “I was everyone’s little sister. Even David Archuleta. Even though I’m older than him, he was always coming up to me and patting me on the head. I’m like, ‘What are you doing, kid?’”

Ramiele, who had been vocal about her aspirations to become the first Asian “American Idol,” admitted to feeling some added pressure to make those pronouncements come true. “A little bit of pressure just to see, you know, the fan base would grow and stuff. It was real flattering, it was real exciting, but then again I was, like, I had to do well not only for myself and my parents, but for people of the same race, the people supporting me. And I got as far as I could, and I hope no one is disappointed.”

She was also asked about the her upcoming plans, but Ramiele, who juggled nursing studies and part-time work as a sushi waitress pre-AI days, is not heading back to the sushi restaurant. “Love sushi, but no thanks.”

One thing she’d like to do however was coming home to the Philippines and maybe embarking on a career in the country’s entertainment biz like Jasmine Trias. “I definitely want to go back home because, I mean, it’s home to me. I want to see what I can do over there. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have something over there. Following in her footsteps, she left a lot for me to follow, so I’m really grateful for her being the first Filipino-American Idol to go beyond the show and do big things,” said Ramiele, who was born in Saudi Arabia to Filipino parents and spent most of her early years in the Philippines. The girl’s still even fluent in Tagalog, which she showed off during one of the early episodes.

In sum, “American Idol” proved to be quite the learning experience for Ramiele. “It’s pretty much taken over my whole life, but it’s a good thing. Like, it’s actually the first big thing that’s happened in my life, and it’s been a good experience. It’s exposure. It’s a future. I’m really grateful for the judges to get me as far as I did to let America judge.”