Bella Santiago
Birth nameResciebelle Barrios Santiago
Also known asResciebelle Santiago
Born (1989-12-01) 1 December 1989
Dasmariñas, Philippines
OriginBucharest, Romania
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2016–present
LabelsCat Music

Resciebelle "Bella" Barrios Santiago (born 1 December 1989) is a Filipino singer. Santiago first received recognition in Romania in 2016, after becoming a finalist on season six of Românii au talent, Romania's version of Got Talent. She later received widespread attention after winning season eight of X Factor Romania in 2018.

Santiago has attempted to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions. She placed fourth in Selecția Națională 2018 with the song "Auzi cum bate", a collaboration with Romanian band Jukebox, and competed in Selecția Națională 2019 as a solo artist with the song "Army of Love", placing third.

Early life

Santiago was born in Dasmariñas, Philippines, and began singing at age 12. She was raised by her grandmother, after her father died when she was a year old and her mother left the Philippines to earn money for the family. At age 15, she began performing at local bars in Manila, and later participated in the Filipino televised singing competitions Pinoy Pop Superstar and Tawag ng Tanghalan. Prior to relocating to Romania, Santiago had worked in Malaysia and Taiwan.[1][2]

Career

2016–present: Românii au talent, X Factor, and breakthrough

In 2016, Santiago auditioned for season six of Românii au talent. She ultimately reached the finals of the competition, but lost to Laura Bretan. After the competition, she was signed to Romanian record label Cat Music.[1] Her debut single "Unpredictable" was released the following year, produced by Romanian singer and producer Smiley. In 2017, she began collaborating with Romanian band Jukebox. Together, they released three singles together: "Vocea ta", "Auzi cum bate", and "Sugar Gumalaw". "Auzi cum bate" was later selected to compete in Selecția Națională 2018, the Romanian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.[3] Santiago and Jukebox advanced from the second semi-final held in Timișoara, and later competed in the final held in Bucharest on 25 February 2018.[4][5] They ultimately placed fourth.[6]

Later in 2018, Santiago auditioned for season eight of X Factor Romania. She advanced past her initial audition, and was mentored by Romanian singer Delia Matache during the course of the show. Santiago ultimately was crowned the winner of the competition on 23 December 2018.[7] In January 2019, Romanian singer Dan Bittman announced his withdrawal from Selecția Națională 2019 due to scheduling conflicts, and the Romanian broadcaster Romanian Television (TVR) announced that two wildcard entries would replace him in the competition.[8][9] A week later, Santiago was announced as one of the two wildcards with the song "Army of Love".[10] Santiago competed in the first semi-final on 27 January 2019, advancing to the final after winning the jury vote.[11] She competed in the final on 17 February 2019, and placed third behind Ester Peony.[12]

Santiago competed in the 14th season of Te cunosc de undeva! (translation: I know you from somewhere!), the Romanian version of the talent show, Your Face Sounds Familiar.[13] She won the season, gaining 87 points in the finale.

Personal life

Santiago moved to Bucharest in 2016, in order to be with her Romanian boyfriend Nicolae Ionuț Grigorie. They had previously met while both were living in Malaysia. Santiago and Grigorie married in December 2018.[14][15] Santiago has one daughter from a previous relationship; neither her nor her daughter are in contact with the father.[16]

Discography

Title Year Album
"Unpredictable" 2017 Non-album singles
"Vocea ta"
(with Jukebox)		 2018
"Auzi cum bate"
(with Jukebox)
"Sugar Gumalaw"
(with Jukebox)
"Army of Love" 2019

References

  1. 1 2 Gabrillo, James (17 August 2016). "Resciebelle Santiago signs with Romanian record company". The National.
  2. ↑ Cepeda, Cody (24 September 2018). "Filipino blows judges away in 'The X Factor Romania' with Beyoncé-like performance". Inquirer.net.
  3. ↑ "The jury of Eurovision România has decided the semi-finalists of the National Selection". TVR.ro. TVR. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Jukebox feat Bella Santiago, RAFAEL & Friends şi MIHAI au câştigat a doua semifinală Eurovision România" [Jukebox feat. Bella Santiago, Rafael & Friends, and MIHAI have won the second Eurovision Romania semi-final]. TVR.ro (in Romanian). TVR. 28 January 2018. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Weaver, Jessica (28 January 2018). "Romania: Here are the semi-final 2 results of Selecția Națională 2018". ESCToday.com. ESC Today. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Agadellis, Stratos (25 February 2018). "Romania: The Humans win Selecția Națională 2018 and are off to Lisbon!". ESCToday.
  7. ↑ "Filipineza Bella Santiago este câştigătoarea "X Factor" 2018 şi a premiului în valoare de 100.000 de euro" (in Romanian). news.ro. 24 December 2018.
  8. ↑ Juhász, Ervin (2 January 2019). "Dan Bittman withdraws from Selectia Nationala 2019!". ESC Bubble. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "TVR acorda doua wild carduri pentru finala Eurovision Romania" [TVR gives two wildcards for the national final] (in Romanian). TVR. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Luukela, Sami (12 January 2019). "Romania: Bella Santiago and Linda Teodosiu get the wild cards". ESCXtra. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Avelino, Gerry (27 January 2019). "Romania: Six finalists qualify from Selectia Nationala Semi-Final 1". Eurovoix.
  12. ↑ Herbert, Emily (17 February 2019). "Romania: Ester Peony Selected for Eurovision Song Contest 2019". Eurovoix.
  13. ↑ "Competitors of season 14 I know you from somewhere". Afaae. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  14. ↑ Mărăcine, Adelina (6 December 2018). "Filipineza Bella Santiago, concurentă în show-ul 'X Factor', s-a căsătorit. Cum arată în rochie de mireasă" (in Romanian). Adevărul.
  15. ↑ Simionescu, Anca (22 May 2016). "Cine este FILIPINEZA INCENDIARĂ de la "Românii au talent" și cu ce se ocupă când se duce ACASĂ" (in Romanian). Evenimentul zilei.
  16. ↑ "Bella Santiago – filipineza care a cucerit România, în finala X Factor. Cântă și plânge după fetița ei" (in Romanian). Viva!. 18 December 2018.
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