Pinoy reality stars who represent!

MANILA, Philippines - Jessica Sanchez was quick to become a household name — huge thanks to American Idol fame. The young frontrunner deserves all the recognition and praise she’s been getting as of late but there’s a handful of other unsung (no pun intended) heroes who have rightfully earned everybody’s admiration (ours most especially). They’ve not only emerged ahead of the pack (spoiler alert!) but have also been very vocal about being proudly Filipino in their respective reality competition shows.

Paul Qui

Born in Manila but raised most of his life in the US, 31-year-old Paul never had plans of working in a professional kitchen. However, his partying lifestyle forced him to be a waiter in restaurants to earn money (to “party some more,” he says). The daily rush and creative license restaurant kitchens promise eventually lured him into taking culinary studies and become a bona fide chef. He got his kitchen cred working as executive chef for Uchiko. Last year, he got invited to join Bravo TV’s Emmy-winning Top Chef, where he prepared our adobo (Quail Adobo with Ginger Rice and Green Mango Salsa), dominated throughout the series, and beat other up-and-coming chefs to become the season winner. Apart from earning this title, he also received James Beard Award nominations and is in the running to become Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Chef for 2012. Respect is surely being paid where it’s due!

Catch Paul slice and dice his way to the finals in Top Chef: Season 9 only on beTV (formerly AXN Beyond).

Sara Jimenez

It’s been a long time coming for acclaimed artist Sara Jimenez. Before reaching the finals of the Sarah Jessica Parker-produced show Work of Art, the Filipina-Canadian had been playing with a variety of media and tools from ink and watercolor to installations and sculpture. She is well trained, to say the least, having studied at a number of institutions including Parsons and the New York’s School of Visual Arts. All that training has consequently made Sara more mature and worthy of being featured in art exhibitions such as the “EstroGenius Visual Art Exhibit,” “Live Love Live Art Exhibit,” “Space Womb,” a group show called “Salon,” and of course, the reality competition show, which pitted her against other aspiring artists.

Catch Sara and her thought-provoking masterpieces in Work of Art: Season 2 on the Velvet Channel.

Cheesa Laureta

There’s another Fil-Am singing sensation who deserves our mad props. Honolulu native Cheesa Laureta, a contestant on The Voice, was chosen by Cee Lo Green during the blind auditions after doing a soulful rendition of If I Were A Boy. She then out-sang fellow contestant Angie Johnson when they did a duet of Total Eclipse of the Heart during the battle round. What won it for her was her powerful voice, articulation and her ability to bring her personality to singing, the judges said. Born and raised in Hawaii by parents from Manila and Cebu, 21-year-old Cheesa has been performing ever since she was a kid. She even auditioned for American Idol along with brother Troy. However, they were both cut from the competition early on. Obviously, AI’s loss is The Voice’s gain as Cheesa leaves quite an impression each time she steps on stage.

Catch Cheesa belt it out and throw more musical punches on The Voice: Season 2 on AXN.

Sally Camacho

We first met Sally in Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen where she collaborated with Top Chef alum Marcel to come up with desserts that trigger excessive salivation. She played second fiddle then; this time, in Top Chef: Just Desserts, she trumps other renowned pastry chefs and becomes the last woman standing. Before the show, she worked at The Four Seasons, Bradley Ogden, The Wynn Resort and at Wolfgang Puck’s WP24. Along the way, Sally has competed and won prestigious awards in the Valrhona C3 Competition in France and the Culinary Olympics in Germany. Needless to say, life has been nothing but sweet for the California-raised Filipina.

Catch Sally create her sinful sweets in Top Chef: Just Desserts – Season 2 on 2nd Avenue.

Tadd Gadduang and Marko Germar

Apart from being able to carry a tune, Filipinos are also known to dance pretty well. The dance group Philippine All-Stars is proof of that, winning twice in the World Hip-Hop Dance Championships. Now, there’s Tadd and Marko who have been showing everyone that Pinoys can surely swing and sway.

Tadd, 26, is a breakdancer from Daly City, California’s “little Manila.” Dancing started simply as a hobby but the passion soon grew on him, leading “Tadd-pole” as friends call him, to train at the Center Stage School of Dance and the Rhythm Dance Center, both in Marietta, Georgia. Marko, 23, on the other hand, has always been interested in dance. He once worked in a dance studio in exchange for lessons since he couldn’t afford it. In 2008, he moved from Guam to LA, hoping to jumpstart his career. He ended up as a dancer in Disneyland.

Both Fil-Ams proved to be a force to be reckoned with, becoming the last guys to remain in the competition. They lost to crowd favorite Melanie Moore; nevertheless, they have done more than enough to cement their promising dance careers.

Catch Tadd and Marko move and groove to the final four of So You Think You Can Dance: Season 8 on AXN.