By RAMIL DIGAL GULLE
abs-cbnNEWS.com

The family of Filipina singer Madonna Decena is saddened by news that she has dropped out in the semi-final round of the British talent show "Britain's Got Talent". At the same time, they remain thankful for the publicity  that Madonna has gained and hope it results in a better career for her.

Madonna's father Rey talked to abs-cbnNEWS.com about how their family felt upon learning about what happened in the semi-finals:

"Nalungkot. Sana nakapasok siya ng finals man lang sana. Konswelo lang dito yung mileage sa media na nakuha niya. naging popular siya dahil doon. Sa train daw nga may mga nagpapa-picture na kasama siya. Nakilala siya dahil doon at sa youtube. Pero sana nakapunta ng finals para from there another exposure.

"Para sa amin, you win some, you lose some. Happy kami sa achievement niya, nakagawa siya ng pangalan doon. She made us very happy and proud. Good example din siya sa mga OFWs doon naging inspiration siya sa kanila. Sana mag-flourish pa ang career niya. Naging popular at minahal siya ng Filipino community doon."

(We were sad. We hoped she would reach the finals at least. It's good that she received some media exposure. She told us that people on the train ask to have their picture taken with her. She's popular because of YouTube. We're happy about her achievement, she made a name for herself over there. She became well-known and well-loved in the Filipino community.)

Rey said that Madonna's daughters Ysl and Yra, who were her inspiration for each performance on the show, also felt bad about the semi-final results.

"Hinayang sila pero di naman sila ganun ka-seryoso tulad namin," he said. (They felt bad about the loss but they didn't take it as seriously as the grown-ups.)

Heart and soul
Decena has been diqualified from the final round of BGT after not getting the needed number of votes from viewers of the show.

Judges Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden were impressed enough by Decena's performance of "The Greatest Love of All" to say she deserved to reach the final round.

"I don't think that you're necessarily the best singer in the competition but not of them sing quite with the emotion that you did tonight... I think  you did your two little girls proud tonight," Morgan told Decena.

In a pre-taped interview presented before Madonna went onstage to sing, she said, "I was quite worried because people might think I'm begging for sympathy for the judges to let me in. But not all of the people in Britain would know how it is to live in the Philippines. It's really hard. Even with a college degree you can't survive with just like one job. Having to support your parents, and your brothers, is another story. So I just have to make a sacrifice."

Later, after Decena's performance, Holden told the Filipina, "I believe in you, Madonna. Your story isn't a begging story. You deserve to be in the final. You sing with great heart and great soul. I feel every note that your singing. Don't worry about crying. You've made me weep buckets every blinking week."

Holden was moved to tears upon after Decena performed her BGT audition piece "I'll Always Love You". Holden told Decena, "You were singing that for your babies weren't you?" Holden had learned that Decena left the Philippines in order to provide a better future for her daughters.

Decena works as a singer in the UK in order to send her earnings to her children, parents and siblings who are all in the Philippines.

Single mother
In a previous interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com, Decena said that she worked as a vocalist in different showbands, sang in various clubs, worked at a fast food and took on several other jobs in the Philippines but could never earn enough to support her children, her parents and her brothers.

She found work as a singer in the UK but thought that by joining the competition, she would be able to share her talent to a wider audience and better her singing career.

The third judge--and BGT's creator--Simon Cowell however was less than enthusiastic about Decena's semi-final performance. He told Decena,"Madonna, I love you, I absolutely love your story, but unfortunately--unfortunately, your voice in that performance in my opinion is not good enough to win Britain's Got Talent."

At that point boos and jeers directed at Cowell's comments erupted from the audience.

Cowell explained further, "It's not Britain's Saddest Story, it is Britain's Got Talent. And I would be patronizing you if I was to say, 'that was an incredible vocal performance' because it was not."

On Wednesday, half-British, half-Filipino singer Charlie Green--the 11-year-old who impressed judges with his renditions of American pop classics like Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" was also voted out of the semis.

In an earlier interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com, Decena said that she was prepared for any eventuality in the talent search and said she will remain hopeful and thankful no matter how things turned out. She said she wasn't after personal glory of success in her pursuit of a victory in BGT but only wants to finally be able to earn enough so she could be with her kids.

"So ako, handa sa mangyayari. Okay lang kahit matalo. Kasi alam kong naabot ko na rin yung purpose ko ba't ako sumali. Manalo, matalo, madami nakarinig sa aking kumanta at alam kong mas madaming trabaho ang makukuha ko para makaipon para sa mga anak ko. Ultimately makasama ko na sila kasi kaya ko na silang supportahan," Decena said.