Laguna native Apple Delleva emerged as the champion of the McJim Dreams Get Real Season 2 Grand Finals which was held on Monday, November 9, 2015 at the Music Museum in Greenhills San Juan.

After launching the careers of notable OPM acts like the vocal trio JBK, pop-rock band Fifth Dynamics, and soulful singer Neo Domingo, McJim continues to advocate for fresh new Filipino talents by giving aspiring artists the opportunity to kick-start their own musical journeys via the second season of “Dreams Get Real” talent search.

From ten strong contenders, three standout acts were chosen by the producers to move to the final round of the competition. They are Laguna native Apple Delleva, and both Rizal natives Zsarina Concepcion and Carmela Ravanilla. Another three contestants were chosen by the public to complete the final six and they are Micah Llona from Taguig, Trix Casauay from Caloocan, and Erickson Malabanan from Batangas.

The six finalists gave their best performance during the finals night on Monday in front of a jam-packed Music Museum. But the last singer standing was Apple Delleva, a Communications student of University of Perpetual Help in Las Pinas. The 19-year-old was considered the biggest threat in the competition and she confirmed this by beating the other five grand finalists for the title.

Watch Apple’s winning performance below, a cover of Yeng Constantino’s “Ikaw”:

Being the grand champion of “Dreams Get Real: The Search for the Next OPM Star,” Apple takes home P100,000 cash prize from McJim Classic Leather, a full album and music video grant, artist marketing support, and a talent management contract.

Watch the nerve-wracking announcement here:

Aside from the performances of the six finalists, the audience were also treated with special numbers from Neo Domingo, Boys! Boys! Boys! and 1:43.

Neo Domingo:

1:43:

Follow Apple’s musical journey and get updated with McJim Dreams Get Real talent search by liking the official McJim classic leather facebook page at www.facebook.com/OfficialMcJIM.

Get to know more about the six finalists of McJim Dreams Get Real Season 2:

Trix Casauay

The 20-year-old singer Casauay is a 4th year B.S. Architecture student of National University (NU). She is the lead singer of a band that sings alternative rock, RnB, and pop music. The eclectic singer lists her father as her main musical inspiration, while Beyonce, Jonalyn Viray, and Up Dharma Down are her idols. Although she’s busy with her studies, Casauay has managed to join singing competitions—even snagging a few awards that include The Voice of NU; NU Pop Song Writing Competition; 3rd place in the Caloocan Singing Idol; and as Hall of Famer in NU’s Battle of the Bands, a recognition she won with her band Archetype.

Zsarina Concepcion

Concepcion is currently a 3rd year Tourism student at the La Salle College in Antipolo. The 18-year-old singer, who feels gratified whenever she performs, discloses that she sings mostly pop, classical, and OPM songs. The youngest contestant in the competition, Concepcion lists Charice Pempengco and Morissette Amon as her local idols, while Whitney Houston and Beyonce are her foreign musical inspirations. Concepcion is no stranger to local amateur singing competitions and has garnered awards in several of them, including LaSalle X Factor, The Voice of Boardwalk, and Rising Star Philippines Best Performer.

Apple Delleva

Delleva, a 19-year-old Communications student of University of Perpetual Help in Las Piñas, is a power belter who usually sings ballad and pop songs—and names Whitney Houston, Sarah Geronimo, Regine Velasquez, and her mom as her musical influences. Deleva quite expectedly aspires to be a professional and famous singer someday—a lofty goal that surely within reach. Her array of awards, after all, come from numerous singing competitions here and abroad. One that stands out was the Karaoke World Championships 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden. Deleva was also a semi-finalist at GMA 7’s popular show, “Bet Sa Kantahan”.

Micah Llona

Llona, a lounge singer at Midas Hotel and a freelance singer who performs at different events, doesn’t want to be identified with just one genre, saying that she mostly loves RnB, soul, pop, jazz, and classical music. The 22-year-old singer likewise displays an entrepreneurial spirit, engaging in online selling on her free times.

Erickson Malabanan

Malabanan, a 23-year-old home-based web specialist and a former ground crew of an international airline, considers himself as a RnB, pop, and ballad singer. The singer cites Martin Nievera as his main musical inspiration, while Josh Groban and Chris Brown are his global idols. Malabanan, who is relatively new to performances on big stages, represented Balayan, Batangas, in the historic National Music Competitions for Young Artists back in 2004.

Carmella Ravanilla

One of the youngest contestants in the competition is 19-year-old Ravanilla, who is currently taking Leisure and Tourism Management in Miriam College. This native of Taytay, Rizal, considers herself as an acoustic and RnB singer. Ravanilla aspires to raise the bar for herself by becoming a total performer—just like her musical inspirations Sarah Geronimo, Yeng Constantino, Kyla, and KZ Tandingan. A veteran of various amateur singing competitions that she has been joining since she was a child, Ravanilla counts as her triumphs the top prize for Rizal Idol Season 2; the first prize for PLDT Singing Idol; a finals spot in ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star in 2006; and a championship crown in Philippine Children’s Power.

Here are the performances of the other finalists:

Carmela Ravanilla takes on Kyla’s “Hanggang Ngayon”

Erickson Malabanan covers Ariel Rivera’s “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin”

Micah Llona covers KZ Tandingan’s “Mahal Mo O Mahal Ako”:

Tricia Mae Casauay covers Sitti Navarro’s “Para Sa Akin”: