Despite being a scion of one of the most influential political clans in Cavite, singer-beauty queen Dia Mate is apparently not keen on staying in the shadows of her relatives who hold important positions both in the local and the national government, as she opts to pursue music and be part of the entertainment industry.
Apart from making music and being the reigning queen of Reina Hispanoamericana 2025, she has also been showcasing her promising skills in singing, dancing, and impersonating through her stint in “Your Face Sounds Familiar Season 4,” which she just recently won via her spot-on performance of the classic Christmas song “Santa Baby” as Kylie Minogue.
As we look forward to seeing her next performance and how she’s going to pull it off, ABS-CBN Studios had the chance to catch up with her through an exclusive interview, wherein she talked about her experiences so far in the said talent competition.
On being part of “Your Face Sounds Familiar Season 4”
While she's expected to be always confident and fierce as a beauty queen and a musician, Dia confessed that she initially had doubts about joining “Your Face Sounds Familiar” for she was uncertain if she could impersonate other artists. But since it was her pageant manager, Arnold Vegafria, who suggested that she joins, she still gave it a chance and eventually found herself loving it.
“In the beginning I felt na parang, ‘Yes, I sing [and] make my own music, but am I fit enough to impersonate other people?’ I love impersonating people for fun but not seriously. I’ve never joined a contest. Bakit ako papasok dito? Baka hindi ako magaling,” she related.
But all her doubts subsequently diminished after meeting the producers and the coaches when she auditioned. She went on to love the environment and enjoy the audition process, wherein she did impersonations of Amy Winehouse, Sitti, Billie Eilish, and Dua Lipa. The talent scouts went on to admire her performance, so she was offered to be part of the show, and she enthusiastically accepted it!
“I want to grow not only as a person but also as an artist to develop my singing skills [and] my dancing skills and to see what I can do and discover what I haven’t done yet,” she told ABS-CBN Studios. “Maganda ‘yong ‘Your Face [Sounds Familiar]’ sa growth ko as an artist and, especially sa confidence ko kasi iba ‘yong performing live in front of a studio audience versus in front of a crowd that is there to see you. Kasi when you’re performing in front of a studio audience, iba ‘yong pressure, especially in front of judges.”
The Singing Reina confessed that this is her first time joining a talent competition as huge as this program and working alongside seasoned professionals, which she considers a really different ball game. Since this is really something new for her and she feels being pushed to be better and be as good as her colleagues, she has been enjoying her experience so far.
So, as part of her preparations for her “Your Face Sounds Familiar” gig and her every icon, she imparted undergoing voice lessons, listening to and practicing the songs of each icon that was given to her, and making sure that she’s mentally prepared since it’s a different arena from beauty pageants and showbiz.
“It’s really about being able to compartmentalize my expectations and my feelings and working on myself talaga, making sure that I can be the best performer that I can be in the show,” she uttered.
On her edge as an artist and beauty queen
Not a lot of people may know it, but prior to being a beauty queen and representing the Philippines in the Reina Hispanoamericana 2025, Dia was already an artist. This makes her compare herself to the fictional character Hannah Montana, remarkably played by Hollywood star Miley Cyrus in a cable channel program.
Even though these are quite different worlds, it’s nice for her to be able to merge the two since she’s recognized as a beauty queen and an artist on the show, as well as to fully show her personality to everybody.
“As a beauty queen minsan kailangang i-subdue ang personality mo nang kaunti, kailangan very regal ka palagi. As an artist, you can be whoever you want. You can be as extravagant as you want. And it’s nice to be able to merge the two, especially on the show, to show people who I am and to show them what I can do,” she shared.
When asked if she considers her being beauty queen and artist as her advantage among the other artists, she quipped, “When you are a beauty queen and a musician, parang it’s both in a sense na you really have to be confident, and you have to make people believe that you believe in yourself and you know what you are doing. So, I guess, when you are an impersonator, you have to make people believe that you are able to copy this person, so it helps with the confidence, it helps with motivation and the drive and the discipline, as well.”
On her upcoming “Battle of One Icon” vs Rufa Mae Quinto
As she would have wanted to steal icon Amy Winehouse from celebrity performer Jarlo Base since she regards the late singer as one of her favorite artists, Dia thought of just letting Jarlo do it because he hadn’t done a gender switch yet, and she’s among those who wanted to see how he’s going to carry it out.
Nonetheless, she’s looking forward to her transformation to Jennifer Lopez and go head-to-head with her “bestie,” Rufa Mae Quinto, for the second “Battle of One Icon” that we’re about to witness in Week 7. She conveyed how actually excited she is about it since they share the same dressing room every taping, so she wants it to be just fun and for people to be entertained by their respective performances instead of seeing it as a competition. Even though they’re rivals, she actually roots for Rufa Mae to win, since she has a resemblance to and the energy of J.Lo.
With regard to the icons and performances she wishes to do next, she said that she rather not get her favorite artists since it really adds pressure to her, just like what happened when she got Billie Eilish. She confessed to not being satisfied with her performance and getting a bit demotivated when she received a very low score for it. “So, I don’t wanna think about having my dream artist. I just wanna create my dream performance with each artist that I get,” she conveyed.
Dia capped the interview with a heartfelt message for everyone supporting her and the show. She stated, “Sa mga Ka-Familiars and sa mga fans ko, whom I call “Diamantes,” I just wanna say thank you to them for really supporting me and being there with me throughout this whole journey kasi it’s not easy, and I really wouldn’t be here without the people supporting me from Day 1. So, thank you, and I have so much gratitude for all of you.”
Are you as excited as us to see her transformation as Jennifer Lopez and upcoming “battle” with Rufa Mae Quinto? Well, you better not miss the next episodes of “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” weekend nights at 7:15PM on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and iWant.
*Photo credit to Dia Mate IG