Cyrus Villanueva makes it to 'X Factor Australia' top 12

MANILA - Filipino-Australian singer Cyrus Villanueva is moving on to the live shows of "The X Factor Australia," it was revealed Thursday.

Villanueva, an 18-year-old student, continued his winning streak when he presented to the judges a breathy and sensual rendition of Bob Marley's "Is This Love."

It was enough to convince American rock musician Chris Isaak --Villanueva's mentor -- to retain the teen as part of his team, alongside Jimmy Davis and Big T (Tangaroa Te Tai).


Villanueva first caught the attention of Australian and Filipino viewers alike when he chose to cover The Weeknd's "Earned It" for his audition piece.

He then put on an amazing stripped-down version of Robyn's "Dancing On My Own," which earned him a slot in the five-seat musical chair challenge of the competition.

Villanueva is just the latest Filipino talent to make rounds in "The X Factor," following the similar success of Filipino acts Neneth Lyons and 4th Power in the UK version.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bob Marley

It's the king of reggae music Birthday this Sunday Feb 6 and if he was alive, He would have turned 66 years old. Bob Marley was born on 6th February 1945 in the village of Nine Mile in St Ann Parish, in Jamaica.

To commemorate the occasion, San Francisco based rap jazz fusion ensemble COPUS did produced a video Natty Dread that features music by COPUS together with some unreleased photos of Bob Marley and the Wailers taken by COPUS spoken word artist Royal Kent.