Roxie pursues her Hollywood Dream

A lot of Filipino artists dream of a career in Hollywood. Recently, Roxie Barcelo came one step closer when she made it to the final 15 of Hollywood Dream, an American Idol-style talent search being aired on ABC 5.

If she makes it, Roxie will fly to Hollywood with two movies, a Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) license worth $4000 and a chance to build a Hollywood career.

The man behind Hollywood Dream is Romeo Joven, head of the Hollywood-based Next Generation Productions. "He directs plays, movies and theater productions there. He noticed that in Hollywood, there are so many Japanese, Chinese and Korean actors. They’re not (as) good (as Filipinos) in English, but they’re there. So he thought, ‘Why not Filipino talents?’ and put up this search so he can bring local talents to Hollywood."

Roxie, who was born and raised in the US even hosted The Kid Club on ESPN when she was 10. Little did she expect to pursue her showbiz career and possibly make it to Hollywood. In a chic outfit by Freeway, Roxie showed up in one of the auditions where she was made to memorize monologues, pose for pictorials; go through interviews and even have a makeover. "It was terrifying but exciting as well," shares Roxie who impressed the judges with their high standards and was retained in a narrowed-down group of 12 contenders.

At 20, she is the youngest of the finalists, who include Raymond Bagatsing, Pinky Amador, Baron Geisler, Rafael Rosell and Juddha Paolo, all of whom, like Roxie, had to audition for the show.

"I see this as a wonderful experience," she says. "It’s really an honor for me, especially since I’m competing against so many other good actors and actresses."

But making the Final 15 of Hollywood Dream is just one of the reasons Roxie has to celebrate these days. Her career has picked up steam with the release of Perfect Love, the latest single from her self-titled album under Universal Records.

Talking about her album reminds Roxie of the late Bella Tan, head of Universal Records. It was Bella who brought Roxie into the Universal fold, presenting her with a recording contract on her 18th birthday in January 2003 at New World Renaissance Hotel. Bella, who lost her battle against cancer recently, was part of Roxie’s 18 Treasures ceremony. Unknown to Roxie or her parents, the "treasure" that Bella brought was a recording contract!

By April that same year, Roxie had signed the contract and began recording her album. "I couldn’t believe it," she says. "This was something I’d been dreaming of since I was eight.

On the concert front, Roxie has been busy touring the country with Gary Valenciano as part of his national tour. Roxie was a hit in the first seven shows of the tour, which included Batangas, Tacloban, General Santos, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Bacolod, where almost 25,000 people showed up.

Roxie says she’s been learning a lot just being on the same stage as Gary. "He’s really the perfect performer," she gushes. "His energy and talent are amazing. I’ve never heard him hit a flat note. I’ve also never seen anyone so totally love what he’s doing."

School is another thing keeping Roxie busy. She is in her last year of Communication Arts studies at Miriam College, and has started her practicum at RX93.1 "I’m in Communication Arts, so I had my eye on RX for the longest time," says Roxie. In the program, she will learn practically everything there is to know about radio work, from the production aspect to actual DJ-ing.

She has also been busy with her services for the Philippine National Red Cross Youth. She is a star volunteer and "image model" of this humanitarian organization. She was one of the delegates to represent the Philippines along with Rep. Miguel Zubiri in Japan last November.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to balance all these with schooling and extra-curricular activities, but Roxie says she doesn’t mind, since she’s having fun. She’s enjoying being on ASAP Fanatic, the youth-oriented variety show where she is a semi-regular. Roxie was introduced on the show about two months ago. She appears on it every other Sunday. "Fanatic is really fun," she says. "It’s a nice and funky show that’s all about youthfulness, creativity, style and having fun, and I’m proud to be a part of it."