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Marlisa Ann Punzalan (born 1 October 1999), also known simply as Marlisa, is an Australian singer. She won the sixth season of '' The X Factor Australia'' in 2014, aged 15, the youngest contestant to have won the show. Punzalan subsequently received a recording contract with
Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. Prior to 1995, SMEA published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of So ...
and released her debut single " Stand by You", which debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
. This was followed by the release of her self-titled debut album '' Marlisa'', which debuted at number six the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold. "Stand by You" was nominated for the
ARIA Award for Song of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austr ...
in 2015.


Early life

Marlisa Ann Punzalan was born on 1 October 1999 in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
to Lito and Andrea Punzalan. Her parents emigrated to Australia from the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
before she and her older brother Martin were born. Punzalan lives at Gledenning,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. She began singing at the age of three. In 2013, Punzalan auditioned for the seventh series of ''
Australia's Got Talent ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television talent show. The show is based on the '' Got Talent'' series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell. The first six seasons aired on the Seven Network, from ...
'' but did not make it past the audition rounds, and also attempted to audition for the
first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
of ''
The Voice Kids ''The Voice Kids'' is a version of '' The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate. Versions The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants: : Franchise ...
'', but exceeded the age limit by one month. Before entering the sixth season of ''
The X Factor Australia ''The X Factor'' is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent. The first season of the show premiered on Network Ten on 6 February 2005. Ten dropped ''The X Factor'' after ...
'' in 2014, Punzalan was a student at Mercy Catholic College in Chatswood and a regular performer at charity events, eisteddfods and RSL competitions. After becoming the winner of the sixth series, Punzalan left high school to become
homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...
and focus on her music career.


Career


2014: ''The X Factor Australia''

In 2014, Punzalan successfully auditioned for the sixth season of ''The X Factor Australia'', singing " Yesterday" by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. She received a standing ovation and four yesses from all four judges and progressed to the super bootcamp round of the competition. For the first bootcamp challenge, Punzalan was placed into a group with three other contestants from the Girls category to perform a song together for the judges. Punzalan made it to the second bootcamp challenge, where she performed " Never Be the Same" by
Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (; born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the Australian Idol (season 4), fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and s ...
to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. She then progressed to the home visits round in New York City and performed "
I'll Stand by You "I'll Stand by You" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Pretenders from their sixth studio album, '' Last of the Independents'' (1994). The song was written by Chrissie Hynde and the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinbe ...
" by
The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...
in front of her mentor
Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and presenter. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop g ...
and guest mentor
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
. Keating later selected Punzalan, along with Sydnee Carter and Caitlyn Shadbolt, for the live finals—a series of eleven weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote. After the eliminations of Carter in week five and Shadbolt in week nine, Punzalan became the last remaining contestant in Keating's category. During the semi-final week, she landed in the bottom two for the first time with
Reigan Derry Reigan Elisse Derry (born 19 September 1988), also known mononymously as Reigan, is an Australian singer and songwriter. Derry rose to fame after placing eleventh on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2006. The following year, she becam ...
and performed
John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
's version of The Beatles' "
Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965 by Parlophone. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the sin ...
" in the final showdown. After the judges' vote went to deadlock, it was revealed that Punzalan received the most public votes and was put through to the grand final. During the grand final decider show on 20 October 2014, Punzalan was announced as the winner of the sixth season, becoming the first contestant from the Girls category to win.


Performances on ''The X Factor''


2014–2017: ''Marlisa''

After winning ''The X Factor'', Punzalan's debut and winner's single " Stand by You" was made available to download on the iTunes Store. She also received a recording contract with
Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. Prior to 1995, SMEA published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of So ...
. Four days after release, "Stand by You" debuted at number two on the
ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
. It was certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
for sales exceeding 70,000 copies. "Stand by You" also peaked at number seven on the Singapore Singles Chart and number 21 on the
New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...
. An official YouTube audio of "Stand by You" published on the same day of the winner announcement help garnered interest on the single which triggered the debut at number 29 on the
Billboard Twitter Real-Time The ''Billboard'' Twitter Real-Time charts were four interactive ''Billboard'' music magazine charts debuted on May 27, 2014. The charts ranked trending songs from popular and emerging artists based on how often they are mentioned in messages cal ...
Emerging Artists Chart. Punzalan's self-titled debut album, '' Marlisa'', was released on 7 November 2014 and features studio recordings of selected songs she performed on ''The X Factor''. It debuted at number six on the ARIA Albums Chart and number 11 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The album was certified gold by the ARIA for shipments of more than 35,000 units and was the 83rd best-selling album of 2014 in Australia. In late 2014, Punzalan performed two concerts at Rooty Hill RSL Club to thank her local fans. In December 2014, Punzalan and other Australian singers recorded a cover version of
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
's "
This Woman's Work "This Woman's Work" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was initially featured on the soundtrack of the American film '' She's Having a Baby'' (1988). The song was released as the second single from her ...
" under the name "Hope for Isla and Jude", and released it as a charity single to help raise funds for two siblings who suffer from the rare disease
Sanfilippo syndrome Sanfilippo syndrome, also known as mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III), is a rare lifelong genetic disease that mainly affects the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by a problem with how the body breaks down certain large sugar molecules ...
. Their version debuted at number 79 on the ARIA Singles Chart. To celebrate the Philippines' 117th
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
, Punzalan released a Filipino version of her second single "Unstoppable" in the Philippines on 12 June 2015. Her third single "Forever Young" was released on 6 November 2015. In 2017, it was speculated that Punzalan had been dropped by record company Sony Music. She is no longer listed as an artist on the company website.


2018-2021: ''Brave''

In June 2018, Marlisa released "Thank You", her first single in two and a half years, on the ABS-CBN Film Productions label. In March 2019, Marlisa released her second studio album, titled ''Brave''.


2022-present: cover EPs

In 2022, Marlisa signed with Osetero Limited and has since released several cover EPs.


Artistry

Aside from singing, Punzalan also plays the piano. She cites
Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and musician known for her interpretations of jazz, Folk music, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her f ...
and Jessica Mauboy as her musical influences.


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Singles


Other charted songs


Music videos


Awards and nominations


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Marlisa Punzalan's Journey – Audition to Grand Final
{{DEFAULTSORT:Punzalan, Marlisa 1999 births 21st-century Australian singers Australian people of Filipino descent Australian child singers The X Factor (Australian TV series) contestants The X Factor winners Singers from Sydney Living people 21st-century Australian women singers