AT&T's Pinoy endorser

This guy didn't pass the American Idol 2008 auditions. But he sure made an impression.

Ronaldo Lapuz is a 45 year old Nevada-based Filipino who wrote the song "We Are Brothers" and auditioned with this song for American Idol 2008. Simon Cowell was entertained by him, even remarking that his song could be a hit. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul joined him on the platform as he sang those repetitive lines of "I am your brother, your best friend forever, Singing the songs, The music that you love... Brothers til the end of time, Together or not You’re always in my heart, You hurt your feelings And you will rain on mine... I love you brother!" Add to that, Ryan Seacrest from outside also came in and joined the trio dancing on the platform! What a sight it was!

And now he performed on stage for millions of viewers across the globe with his original composition and his extravagant costume during the American Idol season finale! His performance was crazy! He went out of tune, out of rhythm, and from a music major perspective, it was horrible! But it was so entertaining that for the second time, Randy, Paula, and Ryan joined him on the stage to sing "We Are Brothers!" It was his moment of glory!

Despite being labeled as the Pinoy William Hung (who did a rather gutsy "She Bangs" in the past American Idol season), I didn't feel embarrassed at all when I saw this guy perform during the American Idol season finale. When I heard about William Hung, I felt bad for the guy because #1) He was too ambitious hahaha; #2) his voice is irritating; #3) he was too stiff. But I have to admire him for his guts. Ronaldo Lapuz is different. #1) His voice is tolerable (but he goes out of tune once in a while); #2) He is very humble (He even thanked Simon for allowing him to sing to the world and spread his message of Peace); #3) He is original! And he also has lots of guts!

So much guts that AT&T has even asked him to endorse their product! Here are his videos: