'X Factor' final six reveal their biggest battles

For the final six, being the next multimedia superstar and winning “The X Factor Philippines” are not just a battle of charisma, stage presence, and unique vocal prowess but also a personal battle to overcome their lifelong struggles that might have driven them off course from realizing their dreams of making it in the music industry.

Jeric Medina from Paranaque has been battling weight problems since he was a kid. He may be living a privileged life but he grew up insecure about his physique. This drove him to commit to losing weight through exercise and diet and eventually lost more than 70 lbs. With his new physique, he was more confident to pursue his longtime dream of becoming a singer.

His teammate Gabriel Maturan of Dapitan City is fighting a different battle in his life as he has long struggled to have a complete family. Growing up, Gabriel has had three men he considered fathers, one of whom was a Danish national. That was why he lived and became a working student in Denmark. When his mom and his second stepfather parted ways, they returned to the country and lived in Zamboanga Del Norte, where he found his third dad. Will he make his fathers proud by becoming the grand winner?

Kedebon Colim of Cebu faces a tough battle in the competition. Aside from struggling with poverty, Kedebon is also in a constant battle to prove himself to the viewing public that he deserves to be in the final six. Despite the insults thrown at him, Kedebon respects people’s opinions and just does his best every week. This is no surprise to his family and friends because Kedebon has always been strong and hardworking. In fact, he even worked as an internet café attendant and construction worker at the same time just to help in his family’s finances.

Just like Kedebon, Allen Sta. Maria is also fighting poverty. The youngest finalist from Nueva Ecija would join various amateur singing contests and get gigs as a singer to support her studies and buy stuff for herself like clothes and shoes. Allen never became champion in the many singing contests she joined. Will her fate change in “The X Factor Philippines?”

KZ Tandingan of Digos City is determined to win the competition. KZ has always loved singing so much that she would belt out songs just about everywhere. Unfortunately, she encountered throat problems that affected her singing voice. She can no longer belt out high notes like before and thus suffered from low self-esteem. But with the help of her family, she was able to find her love for music once more and searched for a unique singing style with her band. Now that she is in the “X Factor,” KZ is ready to give it all to prove that the country’s music industry is not just for belters and smooth-skinned, pretty artists.

Carrying the banner of the Groups category is all-male group Daddy’s home composed of Allan Silonga, Herbert Silonga, Eric Dacanay, and Jerome Icatar. All professionals and aged above 31, Daddy’s Home is in a fight against time as their shot at making it in the industry tends to be shorter than the rest of the younger contenders. Aside from the competition, they also face conflicting priorities since they have families to provide for. Making it this far, Daddy’s Home threats their families as inspiration to win the competition and finally achieve their goal of penetrating the mainstream scene.

Who among them will become the country’s next big multimedia superstar? Whose ‘x factor’ will win over viewers and judge-mentors hearts?

Be sure to save your favorites from elimination. Vote after their performances by every Saturday by texting XFJERIC/GAB/KED/ALLEN/KZ/DAD and send it to 2331 for Globe and Sun subscribers and 231 for Smart and Talk ‘n Text subscribers.

Don’t miss the country’s biggest and grandest musical event of the year, “The X Factor Philippines,” with KC Concepcion as host, airing every Saturday, after “MMK,” and every Sunday, after “Sarah G Live” on ABS-CBN. Follow the show’s official Twitter account at @thexfactorphil and like its official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/XFactorPhOfficial.