For Bunny, Iñaki, and Sen, recently expelled from Pinoy Dream Academy, along with Poy, an honorary scholar, life goes on. They may not have made it to Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2’s Top 6 but that doesn’t stop them from pursuing their dreams.
Bunny
Bunny, who wished she’d be the grand winner, is happy that she is now reunited with her daughter and husband. She is also glad that finally her cyst in her throat had been removed and is now undergoing therapy. “No matter how long that will take, I will willingly go through so that I can go back to singing,” she says.
She discovered that she had a cyst in her throat that greatly affected her singing inside the Academy.
“I have gone through a lot, and this is just the beginning for me, my husband and my daughter,” she adds.
Chivas, her husband, who was with her in the Academy had been expelled earlier than she was because of his episodic collapses.
Life became harder without her husband by her side in the Academy, but she never gave up the fight.
“I really want to thank them and I hope that they continue supporting me outside the Academy. I’m really doing everything that I can to make them happy and hopefully, the removal of my cyst would be the start of better performances dedicated to them,” she says.
Iñaki
Iñaki, nephew of ’80s rock icon Juan Miguel Salvador, is taking things one at a time. Already, the young man is being deluged with offers to perform here and there. But now that he is still tied down to the Academy’s supervision, he has to weigh things over. He may not have ended up in the Top 6, but he is very thankful for the amount of exposure he got through his stay in the Academy.
While others see him an arrogant rich kid, others think he’s a strong-willed young man who knows what he wants in life.
Now that he’s back in the outside world, Iñaki is aware of the negative things some people say about him. He admits that he may have done a couple of stuff that came off as irritating or even offensive to others but he’s also humble enough to own them up and apologize to those who think they were offended.
“I hope that the people would give me another chance to prove that contrary to what some think, I am actually a good person,” he says.
Is there anything he regrets doing or not doing inside the Academy?
“I regret the things I did that have offended anyone or hurt their feelings in any way,” he says, sincerity evident in his eyes.
What are his plans after PDA?
“I want to pursue my singing career. Maybe come up with an album or venture into songwriting. I want to work with my friends, like Christian Bautista and Sam Concepcion, and of course my idol Gary V,” says the young man who is very much into theater.
Sen
Many couldn’t believe Sen, a cancer survivor, who Media Performance Mentor Joey Reyes called “The Saint” had been expelled.
He was a strong favorite to last through to the finals.
Sen won the followers of the nightly Pinoy Dream Academy with his good looks, affable personality, and a talent that was nearly taken away from him in a car crash. The accident was a blessing in disguise for Hansen as it gave doctors the window to see that he had thyroid cancer.
The prognosis was devastating. He couldn’t use his voice to sing, not ever. Yet, persistence and perseverance became his best friends. After successfully battling cancer, he came home to his mother’s native country to start a career as a singer.
He auditioned to be a scholar on the first season of Pinoy Dream Academy but unfortunately, he didn’t make it. When the Academy’s door opened for a new batch of scholars, Sen tried his luck once more.
What made him audition again?
“I have always been a fighter. I was inflicted with cancer and I fought it. I came home to the Philippines to fulfill my dreams and there’s no way a rejection is going to hold me back. I didn’t make it before but it doesn’t mean that I can’t make it the second time around,” he says.
Was he aware of the risks?
“Very much, actually. I knew I was risking getting another rejection but I still did it anyway. My efforts paid off and I was able to get in this time,” he says with a smile.
Was he disappointed when he was expelled?
“Of course I was disappointed. I was really close to getting in to the Top 6 but I got voted out. Nonetheless, I don’t believe that getting expelled makes me less of a performer. What I believe is that my getting expelled is just a start of good things to come. As long as I continue working hard, I know that I’ll be able to achieve my dreams,” he says.
Poy
Among the four, Poy is the only one who was not able to snag a spot in this season’s Top 16. She was one of the four wildcards who vied for the chance to get into the Academy. Unfortunately, she failed to get the text votes needed for her to become an official scholar.
To her and her fans’ delight, she was given the opportunity to enter the Academy as an honorary scholar tasked to clinch the star scholar title thrice. Each star scholar award was equivalent to a prize money of P50,000 and had she fulfilled her assignment as an honorary scholar, she could’ve decided whether to take home P150,000 or carry on as a regular scholar and battle it out with the rest for this season’s Grand Star Dreamer title. Although she was consistently in the Top 3 each week, Poy failed to win the star scholar award.
Was she disappointed when she failed to carry out her assignment?
“No. In my opinion, I was able to fulfill my job as an honorary scholar. In my four-week stay, I consistently made it to the Top 3 and that’s worth everything for me,” she said. She also added that she is really happy that she was able to help bring out the best in the other scholars as her presence made them work harder.
What does she plan to do after her stint on PDA?
“Strike while the iron is hot! I will surely grab any opportunity that comes my way,” she said, beaming.
Who does she want to win this season?
“In terms of vocal ability, I think it’s a toss between Laarni and Bugoy,” she replied.
As different as Bunny, Iñaki, Sen, and Poy are perceived by people, one thing’s for sure: they all have made impressions that will never be easily forgotten. They are four individuals who dared to fulfill their dreams inside the Academy. Even though they didn’t clinch spots in this season’s Top 6, they have successfully endeared themselves to the viewers who are eagerly waiting for the next step that they are going to make.
