Ciara-Camile Roque Velasco (born September 1, 1985) is a Filipino-American singer and was one of the finalists on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series, American Idol. She is one-fourth Irish, one-fourth Spanish, and half Filipino.[1]

Early life

Born in Makati City, Philippines, Camile Velasco's family later moved to Haiku, Maui—located in the islands of Hawaii. Prior to American Idol, Velasco was a struggling songwriter/composer who worked at her parents' IHOP Restaurant in Kahului.[1] She has since released a single with Universal/Motown, headlined events in California, Hawaii, and elsewhere, and is currently working with Up Above Records to complete an album.

American Idol 3 contestant

In 2003, Velasco auditioned for American Idol in Honolulu, Oahu and was unanimously accepted by the judges for her rendition of the chorus and bridge of Ready or Not—a Delfonics-sampled classic by the Fugees. Simon Cowell remarked that ���you���re actually very good,��� assuring Velasco that she had ���no need to be nervous.��� Randy Jackson added that, ���I love the sound of your voice. I love the kind of dark kinda quality of it.��� Finally, Paula Abdul stated that ���you have a real interesting tone. You���re a beautiful, beautiful girl.��� She encouraged Velasco not to be afraid to ���let go��� and to ���know and own the fact that you���re really good.���

In the Hollywood round, Velasco sang several songs solo and performed "You Can't Hurry Love" in a group. She was eventually advanced to the Top 32, in the second group of semifinalists. After her stirring performance of Brian McKnight's "One Last Cry," Simon Cowell stated that "you are probably the best out of the group tonight." Before she left the stage, Randy Jackson requested that she infuse more of her hip-hop style into her next performance, and Velasco jovially replied, "I'll do it, baby."

Ryan Cayabyab (born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab but known as Mr. C) is a Filipino musician and was the Executive and Artistic Director of the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was also a resident judge for the only season of Philippine Idol in 2006.

His works range from commissioned full-length ballets, theater musicals, choral pieces, a Mass set to unaccompanied chorus, and orchestral pieces, to commercial recordings of popular music, film scores and television specials.

Cayayab's current project includes the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS), a group of seven young adult singers comparable to his prior group Smokey Mountain in the early '90s. After FreemantleMedia decided not to renew the Philippine Idol franchise, Cayabyab transferred to rival show Pinoy Dream Academy (season 2), replacing Jim Paredes as the show's headmaster. PDA 2 started on June 14, 2008.

Credentials

As music, director, conductor and accompanist, he has performed with leading Philippine music personalities at Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center in New York City; Carnegie Hall (both the Main and Recital halls) in New York; the Kennedy Center and the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.; the Shrine in Los Angeles; the Orpheum in Vancouver; even at the Circus Maximus of the Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.

He has traveled, as music director in most of the Southeast Asian cities, in the cities of Australia as well as in Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Japan and the United States. He has worked in the same shows with Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, as well as conducted the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra for special performances of American jazz singer Diane Schuur and pianist Jim Chappel.

He has performed as music director in command performances for King Hasan II in Rabat, Morocco, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain in Manila, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia in Tangiers, Queen Beatrix at the Noordeinde Palace in The Netherlands, and U.S. President Bill Clinton in Boston, Massachusetts.

In Manila, he has conducted the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for a concert of Philippine and American contemporary music; and the Manila Chamber Orchestra for a concert of his original works.

Ryan Cayabyab is a laureate of the Onassis International Cultural Competitions (2nd Prize), having won for original music composition for dance (2001).

He is a TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee for contemporary Filipino music in 1978. He won the Grand Prize award at the first Metro Manila Popular Music Festival for the song "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika".

As of 2006, he has won three international Grand Prix awards for his compositions; in the First Seoul Song Festival, in the Voice of Asia Song Festival in the former U.S.S.R., and in the Tokyo Music Festival. He has won the Jingle of the Year award from the Philippine advertising industry as well as Bronze Awardee at the New York Film and Television Awards. He has won a total of ten best movie score awards from the various film award-giving bodies.