Five men who learned to speak Tagalog while serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently used their language skills to compete on a Filipino singing competition show.
The show, “I Love OPM” ("I Love Original Pilipino Music"), premiered Feb. 13. The contestants, none of whom are Filipino, are called Touristars, and they advance through different rounds of the competition, called Gates, by singing music from the original Filipino music genre.
Five of the show's participants served missions in the Philippines.
Sumner Mahaffey, a member of the Hey Joe Show social media group, served as a missionary in the Philippines Cebu Mission. During one performance on "I Love OPM," he sang “Simpleng Tulad Mo,” and during another he sang “Pag-ibig.” Mahaffey did not pass through Gate 2 on the show.
Reece Rostedt served in the Philippines Cauayan Mission, according to Mahaffey. On the show, he performed “Narda” to pass through Gate 1. For Gate 2, he translated an Owl City song, “In Christ Alone,” into Tagalog and performed it on the show. Rostedt told the judges he chose the song because he wanted to share his testimony of Christ. Following his performance, the judges said they could feel Rostedt’s faith. He did not make it through Gate 2.
Nelson Leausa served in the Philippines Angeles Mission. His introduction video for the show focused on his mission. During auditions, he performed “Bakit Pa Ba.” Leausa told the Deseret News he did not make it through Gate 2.
Dwaine Woolley performed on "I Love OPM" with a group known as DBD. The three-man group performed “Magda.” Woolley also served his mission in the Philippines, according to his Facebook page. His group made it through Gate 1 and has not yet competed to pass through Gate 2.
Naisa Lasalosi served in the Philippines Cebu Mission, according to his Facebook page. On the show, he sang “Ikot-Ikot Lang” and “Halik.” During the March 8 episode, Lasalosi passed through Gate 2, and he continues to compete on the show.
The show airs on the ABS-CBN network.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include Reece Rostedt.
Lindsey Williams writes for the the Faith and Family sections of DeseretNews.com