Viral Filipino Girl Singing In Mall Becomes A Star On ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
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In 2012, a YouTube user posted a video of a “random girl” belting her heart out doing a karaoke version of “And I’m Telling You.” The video went viral and everyone wanted to know the identity of the girl. The girl, Zendee Tenerefe, found her claim to fame singing at the mall and was later invited to perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Zendee Tenerefe Went Viral Before Appearing On ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
Zendee was in a store in a mall in the Philipines where she often went to sing and get people’s attention. On the day that the now-viral video was taken, she decided to sing “And I’m Telling You.” At the time, her family had been living in a fire station at night time. Since it was a working fire station, the family could not live there during the day. Zendee would spend her time singing at the mall instead.
She promised her family that if she ever became famous, she would help them out financially. The 21-year-old was offered a local recording contract after the video went viral. This launched her career as a local celebrity after the video garnered millions of views.
SEE ALSO: WATCH 12-YEAR-OLD FILIPINO SINGER MAKE AMERICAN TELEVISION DEBUT ON ‘THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW’
For her big performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Zendee sang “And I’m Telling You,” the song that made her famous. After the performance, Ellen gifted her with an iPad so she could listen to music any time she wants.
We have seen so many Filipino talents dominate the stages of talent competitions, talk shows and more over the years. Check out the video below to find out how some other Filipino acts rose to stardom and where they are now.
Where Is She Now?
After becoming a huge success on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Zendee released her debut album called I Believe in 2013. She was signed to Warner Music Philippines. In 2015, Zendee was performing a weekly gig at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City. Zendee also performed as the opening act for artist Jason Mraz.
Now, Zendee has a booming TikTok career. She currently has 8.5 million followers on the platform and posts content frequently. This includes song covers, advice, comedic videos, dance routines and so much more. Zendee landed in the third spot on the list of the Top 10 Filipino TikTok stars in 2020. She posted a duet video of the viral song “Driver’s License” with Rhap Salazar. He also rose to fame after his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Zendee runs a very successful YouTube channel with 436,000 subscribers. She posts gaming videos, song covers and volgs. One of her most popular videos with over 5.2 million views is an Air Supply Medley by Ibarra Music.
SEE ALSO: 4-YEAR-OLD FILIPINO MINI BRUNO MARS WENT VIRAL — WHERE IS KAI LANGER NOW?
Zendee has gone on quite the journey to become a social media sensation. We can’t wait to see what she does next.
