Mau Does Some Soul-Searching

Being criticized for her dark looks is nothing new to Mau Marcelo. When she was a kid, her classmates would tease her about it and there were times that she didn’t want to go to school because she felt bad about herself. At the same time, Mau also began joining local singing contests in her native Lucena. Everytime Mau would win a trophy for her singing, this would give her a boost and develop her self esteem. As Mau joined every singing tilt that her mom can possibly bring her to Mau’s self-confidence grew and she also learned to embrace and accept herself and her looks. One of her mottos in life is “black is beautiful.”

As a singing contest veteran, Mau has been able to develop her voice really well and she has her mom to thank for the singing styles that she has learned to develop. For singing contest afficionados, Mau is best remembered as the singer that teenage pop singer Sarah Geronimo bested in a national singing tilt that launched her to stardom. Being the fighter that she is, Mau did not just fade out from the singing scene. She went back to her old life in Lucena and continued her singing career by performing with her local band. But when the announcement to the Philippine Idol auditions came, Mau was again beckoned to try her luck. With more than two hundred trophies behind her, Mau was hopeful if not confident that she would do well in this competition. Already besting hundreds before reaching the level of auditions at the PICC, Mau became contestant number 1646. When she finally met Mr. C, Mamita and Kiko she dazzled them with her voice as she sang her version of “Laging Naroon Ka.” Mr.C’s comments then were quite telling of what Mau faced in the Philippine Idol competition. Mr. C said that people usually go for those who looked slim and fair in color but in looking for a new singing icon Mr. C saw the talent in Mau and said to her, “let’s prove them wrong.”

At the semi-finals, Mau didn’t make it during the girls performance night but she did quite well during the Wildcard weekend. By this time, surrounded by other singers who had the looks and the moves, Mau’s self-confidence was slowly ebbing away. Especially when the judges would say that they were looking for the total package wherein they were not just looking for a singer but also one who looked and moved like one. It was during this time that Mau said her controversial comment that Philippine Idol is a singing competition and not a beauty contest. Many idol fans felt for her but many were also turned off by her seeming negative attitude. Eventually, Mau made it to the Top 12 during the wildcard round. But this was at the expense of her self-esteem which was by now being shattered into shreds.

It was time for Mau who was being dubbed as the soul idol for her soulful voice, to do some soul searching herself. Should she go on with the competition or should she just quit and leave? How much more can she take of people criticizing her? Her childhood memories of people taunting her were coming back all of a sudden. She had actually put aside her father’s petition for her to come to the US. Mau’s father is African American. She had a long talk with her dad with what she was going through in the competition. Her dad told her that she can continue if she wants but also said that he didn’t like seeing her getting hurt. So Mau decided to face the music once again.

Solid Maureenians

Mau was getting so much praises for her singing but was also being commented on because of the way she looks and her attitude. Mau crying on national television was evidence that she has really beginning to lose it. Loyal fans of Mau were worried that their favorite idol would soon get the boot so they decided to come to her rescue and put things in their own hands. This team of Maureenians composed of advertising people and stylists, introduced themselves to Mau and gave her a make-over. They taught her how to walk and how to dress herself better. They all did this without any fee and all they wanted was to see Mau give a stellar performance every week. Mau gets teary-eyed as she recounts this experience. She is quite thankful that they all came to her at the time that they did because they gave her back her self-confidence and the motivation to give her best every time she goes onstage at the Philippine Idol Theater at the SM Megamall. Knowing that there were really people who were rooting for her, Mau made sure that she did not disappoint them.

Marcelo Family

Born on May 13, 1980, Maureen Flores Marcelo describes her family as outgoing. She has three siblings, Michael, Jeffrey and Susan. She attended the Quezon National High School and for college she went to Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation. In school she also excelled academically. Her favorite subject is English and says her worst is math. But for someone who doesn’t like math. Mau even managed to win third place in a math quiz bee. Along with her parents, Mau says that she is the performer in the family. She actually gets her sense of humor from them and they always see the funnier side of things. Having had no formal singing training apart from joining singing contests left and right, Mau considers her talent in singing has something that is God-given.

Winning for the first time

Mau first experienced singing in front of a big crowd when she was in grade 1 during her school’s foundation day. She won and this was also her first experience at winning anything. Mau says that the first song that she learned to sing was “Somewhere Out There.” Winning is always an exhilarating experience and Mau continues to feel that every week that she does not get booted out of the Philippine Idol competition. Mau’s dreams of stardom and becoming a millionaire are slowly becoming a reality as she is now part of the Big 3 who will fight it out for the title of Philippine Idol this weekend at the Big Dome.

The Other Side of Mau

According to her friends and family, mau is really a funny and happy person to be wih. As a friend, she is faithful and kind. Another fact not known to many is that Mau has composed a lot of her own songs and one of her goals in life is to be able to perform them and even have a CD album of her own compositions. Mau comes from a simple family and with her big dreams she also wants her family and friends to share in it. always preparing herself for the worst outcome, Mau says that she will continue singing even after her experience with Philippine Idol. But she has definitely learned a lot in this competition. Despite the many tears that she has shed, she says that she does not regret joining and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Being a true fighter, Mau is considered by her many loyal fans as their own singing idol and for them she is already a winner no matter what happens at the big dome. Mau’s fans have truly come through for her in the competition and she hopes that she does not disappoint them. She is strictly following her south beach diet and has lost some pounds already. And with the constant support of her fans she is quite ready to face the crowd of ten thousand at the Araneta come Saturday.