WATCH Filipino Music Duo’s Emotional Ballad Move Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen/youTube Reading Time: 3 minutes
Aldrich Talonding and James Bucong, a Filipino singing duo from General Santos City were invited to The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2013. She had seen a viral video of them performing the emotional ballad “Dance With My Father” and knew she had to have them on the show. Check out their interview and stunning talk show performance down below.
Aldrich Talonding and James Bucong Performed On ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
During their appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Aldrich spoke about what the song “Dance With My Father” truly means to him. His father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after the video was posted. His father later passed away, and the song took on a whole new meaning about losing his father.
Aldrich and James also became local celebrities in the Philipines. Aldrich, 14, hilariously said that people recognize him in the malls and restrooms while James, 18, was receiving a lot of love from the ladies. The duo then performed the song live for Ellen who was blown away. It was a rendition that would make anyone have goosebumps and you could literally hear a pin drop. The audience was up on their feet, with some members even shedding a view tears.
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After the performance, Ellen gifted Aldrich a guitar and a piano because he always wanted to learn how to play. She also gave him a $10,000 check for him and his family. Their original “Dance With My Father” cover on YouTube now has over 10 million views.
Where Are They Now?
Aldrich and James continued to post covers on their popular YouTube channel after appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In 2018, Mariah Carey watched a cover of James and Aldrich performing her song “Hero.” Mariah said that she would be using some of Aldrich’s vocal techniques in her own performances and loved how they put their own spin on it. To have the queen of R&B say that about you is a huge honor.
The duo posted one last video together in 2018 before their YouTube channel became inactive for two years. They did a cover of “Lead Me To The Cross” by Hillsong and had fans in the comments section wondering when they were going to post more content together.
Aldrich posted an update for their fans in 2020. He announced that he was creating his own YouTube channel and was not quitting music. The joint channel will not be posting any more content of the duo performing together.
Now, Aldrich posts his own song covers on a separate YouTube channel of his own. The channel features worship and praise songs as Aldrich has devoted his life to spread ministry.
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Though Aldrich seems to be pursuing more of a solo career now, we will never forget the Filipino singing duo that stole our hearts on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
