“This is the greatest pa-birthday ever! Thank you po so much talaga!”
These were the joyful words of Alexa Ilacad upon receiving her trophy and P50,000 check after being declared the winner of the 11th round of “Your Face Sounds Familiar” during the March 1 episode, as her impeccable impersonation on Mexican singer-actress Thalia performing “Maria Mercedes” garnered the highest combined score of 37 from the judges and celebrity performers, sealing her victory.
On being the Week 11 winner
The “Gen Z Total Performer,” who just celebrated her 26th birthday last February 26, was indeed still over the moon when ABS-CBN Studios caught up with her right after the show. She enthused how she really didn’t expect to win this round—her second, by the way—which she described as “sobrang best birthday gift talaga.”
Alexa went on to iterate how much she admires Thalia, especially since “Maria Mercedes”—the telenovela starred in by her icon—has always been very close to her heart because it was her who played the younger version of the titular character in ABS-CBN's Philippine adaptation in 2013. “I just really wanted to give it my all. Hindi ko na inisip kung mananalo or whatever. My goal or purpose here is to just give a good performance regardless of kung magaya ko o hindi,” she said.
As she received the second highest total points from the jury along with all the three-point votes from her fellow celebrity performers, Alexa couldn’t contain her happiness and kilig that they all felt she deserved to win this time.
“Hindi ako makapaniwala talaga. Sobra akong kinikilig na they believed in me that much to give me their three points and pati na rin sa judges na their comments talaga, binabaon ko talaga lahat ng sinasabi nila everytime I perform,” she related.
According to Alexa, the jury’s remarks have become her source of strength and motivation for her whenever she steps on stage, especially during moments when she doubts herself. “But because of times like this na they feel like I’m the winner, I can’t help but feel like a winner na rin talaga,” she added.
When asked what she thought could have been her edge over the other artists, Alexa said that she really didn’t know and confessed that she actually imagined a different winner and a different ranking for this round. Although she was still in disbelief that they seemed to vote for her unanimously, she wasn’t complaining at all and really, really appreciated it so much. However, she later quipped that maybe wearing a red dress on her birthday had worked a little magic.
Preparations
Since she doesn’t speak Spanish at all—which posed as a huge challenge for her—Alexa disclosed that she actually focused more on learning, listening to, and memorizing the lyrics of the “Maria Mercedes” theme song for her performance. Thus, she wouldn’t be surprised if the song became one of her top songs in a popular music streaming app, given how many times she played it while practicing.
Besides, she also set aside her “hiya” or inhibitions to move like Thalia, since we all know that Latina performers like the Mexican singer-songwriter and actress have distinct snaps and grooves in their movements. Although she wasn’t sure if she nailed it, Alexa was certain that she gave it her all and simply enjoyed the performance.
“It was so fun! I feel like little Alexa would be proud kasi ‘yong 26-year-old Alexa ay na-fulfill talaga ang pagiging Maria Mercedes,” she conveyed.
Even with her growing experience in performing and months of impersonating on “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” Alexa admitted that she still felt intense nervousness—especially the pressure she put on herself. She also had the strong desire for it to be done, so all that she could think of during the preparations was that she couldn’t wait to get this over with.
Part of her performance that she wished to tweak
As ABS-CBN Studios quizzed Alexa if there was anything she would like to tweak in her seemingly flawless performance, she admitted there was actually a lot, as she’s the type who tends to be a perfectionist and her own harshest critic.
Like her fellow artists, she couldn’t help but compare her rehearsals to the live performance, noting that her practice runs always seemed better, especially as jitters crept in once they stepped into the “iconator.” She confessed that she’s never had a performance she could call truly perfect or feel completely satisfied with.
“But happy naman ako in some way kasi hindi nga madaling mag-Spanish. Ang biggest fear ko tonight ay may ma-mispronounce ako or mabulol ako or may mapagbaliktad ako. Kasi isang mali ko lang na word pwedeng mamali na ang lahat. Tapos ‘yong timing pa kailangang bantayan,” she imparted.
It was also an additional challenge for Alexa to not hear herself while performing, as she refused to wear in-ear monitors. Although the production gives them the option to use the device, Alexa divulged that she’s really not comfortable using them. Thus, this made it harder for her to hear herself and know if she was hitting everything she needed during the performance.
And for her “Maria Mercedes” number, she revealed that the ending was actually wrong, as the timing of her steps was “bitin” or slightly off. So, she was really thankful that the dancers were so sharp and in sync, helping make the performance shine despite the small hiccup.
Most challenging and most favorite part of her transformation
Although the saying goes, “practice makes perfect,” this didn’t entirely hold true for Alexa, especially when it came to repetitive rehearsals. She explained that she fears over-practicing—if that’s even a thing—because her ears might get tired of hearing the same song on repeat.
This actually happened to her when she did “Chinito” by Yeng Constantino in the eighth round, as she suddenly couldn’t remember the melody of the chorus just a few minutes before she stepped onstage.
“Also siguro ang ang pinakamahirap is actually doing it, getting it done, stepping out of that iconator, and doing your best. I’m so glad it’s done,” she said with relief.
Meanwhile, when asked about her favorite part of her Thalia impersonation, she enthused, “My look! I love the look. Sobrang Latina. I really love it.”
In fact, if she could rate the performance of the glam team behind her transformation—comprised by makeup artist Zhiedge, fashion stylist Mac Mendoza, and hair/wig stylist Ian Garcia—then she would have given them an “A+” or “10 out of 10.” The team’s work made her truly feel like Thalía, turning her performance into what she described as a real-life fantasy.
Difference of her first win to her latest victory
This is Alexa’s second time winning the weekly rounds of “Your Face Sounds Familiar.” Her first victory came in the fourth round, when she flawlessly recreated Britney Spears’ Video Music Awards 2001 performance of “I’m A Slave 4 U.”
While both wins brought her immense joy and fulfillment, Alexa noted a distinct difference in her motivation for each.
“I feel like my first win, it was for me, for myself. To prove to myself na, ‘Kaya mo, you deserve to be here. You’ve put in the work, and you deserve to reap what you sow.’ And the second win, I guess, is for the people who always say na they want me to win, who always support me and root for me. This is for them talaga.”
She continued, “As a performer, this win siguro is more of a relief kind of win din kasi syempre when you won once, the next is you wanna win again. Ako nga I wanna throw away that thinking kasi nakapanalo na nga ako. I’m really satisfied with that. Kung may sumunod man, I’d just be so grateful na lang. Parang cherry on top na lang talaga siya. I’m so happy kasi, ‘yon nga, sakto pa na birthday ko.”
Catch the amazing transformations of your favorite celebrity performers on “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” Saturdays and Sundays, 7:15PM on Kapamilya Channel sa ALLTV2, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) and iWant.