Pinay OFW wins 'X-Factor Israel'

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipina working in Israel as a caregiver emerged on top in hit television music competition X-Factor Israel, being declared winner Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

Rose Fostanes, 47, rendered her version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" in the finals of the show's first season, whihc was broadcasted from Jerusalem.

Fostanes had been capturing the judges' and the audiences' hearts through the past episodes with her booming voice coming forth from her diminutive figure.

"To all the Filipinos and Israelis who supported me, thank you so much," she said.

She was said to embody the face thousands of overseas Filipinos in the Western Asian country earning a living for their families back home from menial tasks.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Fostanes said that she arrived in Israel as a nobody but the show made her a national phenomenon.

"It's a big change in my life because before nobody recognized me, nobody knew me. But now everybody, I think everybody in Israel knows my name. And it is very funny," she said.

Read: Pinay caregiver in 'X-Factor Israel' captures viewers' hearts