The 19-year-old Villanueva earned the spot after stunning the judges with his rendition of Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do," which he sang while playing the piano.
"You're a singer, you're a musician, you're a talent," Australian singer Dannii Minogue told him. "I turned around and not only were people standing up, there were people crying as well. It's a beautiful love song and you conveyed that so well."
For his part, American rock singer Chris Isaak, Villanueva's mentor, added: "I'm really happy that you took the hard way and not the easy way 'cause I offered you and said, 'you don't have to play the piano.' You could just sing. ...I'm proud of you."
In the competition's semi-finals, Villanueva will be facing off with singing duo Jess & Matt, Louise Adams, and Big T (Tangaroa Te Tai). Mahalia Simpson, meanwhile, was eliminated.
Villanueva's feat capped off a mixed week for Filipinos in international singing competitions. Filipino artist Seann Miley Moore ended his "The X Factor UK" journey last Sunday, while Pinay group 4th Power was declared safe.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
