Rocky Rosabal, McDonald’s CDO crew wins Global 1st Runner-Up Award in Voice of McDonald’s Season 5 finals held recently during McDonald’s Worldwide Convention in Orlando, Florida last May 1.
With the song "Faithfully", young talent from Cagayan de Oro, Rocky Rosabal, won in The Voice of McDonald’s Season 5, a global singing competition exclusively for over 1.8 million McDonald’s employees all around the world.
Rocky shared his feeling and stories to the media guests during the homecoming celebration at the Greenbelt McDonald’s in Makati City last Friday, May 9, 2014.
Rocky never imagined his humble job as a crew member would lead him to sing before thousands of people in an international singing competition.
Behind the kitchen, from holding cooking wares and mops at McDonald’s CDO Divisoria branch,hides a budding international singing competition winner.
“Before, I performed at acoustic bars in CDO but most of the time, there were no customers. No one usually watched me,” Rocky said. “(But) with 15,000 people watching me that night, ibang iba yung feeling,” he recalled.
The McDonald’s CDO crew member made McDonald’s Philippines and his hometown proud with his heartfelt performance of “Faithfully”, popularized by the band Journey, in front of a crowd of more than 15,000 strong.
Aside from being first runner up, Rocky was also hailed as ‘Fan Favorite’ in a public online voting contest, winning him a cash prize of USD5,000.
Voice of McDonald’s is arguably the largest global singing competition of its kind. Fifty-eight thousand McDonald's crew and managers entered local competitions in 63 countries this season, which culminated in a grand competition judged by music industry heavy weights David Foster, Ken Hertz and Skylar Grey.
McDonald’s Philippines CEO and President Kenneth Yang said, “A large part of McDonald’s success is attributed to our people. Our crew members and managers work tirelessly to provide the best service to millions of Filipinos, thus we are dedicated in investing heavily on their training and offering them opportunities to help them grow as individuals.”
“The entire McDonald’s Philippines system congratulates Rocky for his success in the competition and once again showing the world how hardworking, driven and talented our local crew is. Voice of McDonald’s is truly a great way to set the spotlight on the people who make McDonald’s magic happen every day in our restaurants”, Yang added
Other countries represented during the Finals were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Ukraine, Israel, United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada and Australia.
The Road to the Global Finals
Rocky describes his Voice of McDonald’s experience as “life-changing,” from his regional audition in Davao City to the star-studded grand finals in Florida.
During the local Voice of McDonald’s search, Rocky emerged from a pool of 500 restaurant crew and managers to make it to the top 12 finalists to become the Philippines’ Voice of McDonalds Local Grand Winner. The Local Finals was held at the SMX Convention Centre and aired in ABS CBN and Studio 23.
Classical singer Lucila Ospitia from Colombia was this season’s grand winner, while Ashlae Nelms from Illinois, USA and Patrick Reis from Switzerland won third and fourth place respectively.
Rocky admits that a lot of preparation and practice was done for the regional competition. After undergoing extensive training from prominent voice and performance coaches to working with professional music arrangers, his efforts were met with a spot in the Grand Finals.
Global Company, Golden Opportunities
Voice of McDonald’s global finalists win a once-in-a-lifetime experience through travel and interaction with McDonald’s employees from all over the world, as well as prizes that not only further fuel their passion for their craft but aid them financially as well.
McDonald’s continues and will remain committed to developing their people through training opportunities and unique employee engagement programs—solidifying why McDonald’s is a fun and great place to work.
McDonald's Philippines have always supported the competition and strongly encourage their employees to join because that is a great way to recognize their talents and reward their hard work.
For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com.ph.