After six months and 13 rounds of waiting, “Your Face Sounds Familiar” has finally hailed its latest and sixth grand winner—the talented musical pair JM Dela Cerna and Marielle Montellano, popularly known as “JMielle”!
Bringing us back to Jessica Sanchez and Jennifer Holliday’s unforgettable, mind-blowing duet of “And I Am Telling You” in the grand finale of “American Idol Season 11” in 2012, wherein the Filipina-American singer finished as runner-up, the “Birit Duo” really did a great job recreating that powerful performance in the first episode of the much-awaited three-part “Grand Showdown” broadcast last April 5.
As he took on his fourth gender-switch act, JM proved once more that he can strikingly embody a female artist not just with how she looks physically but also how she performs or sounds like. Marielle, on the other hand, delivered a captivating impersonation of Jessica despite the differences in their genre and vocal range.
Thus, JMielle received not just a standing ovation from the jury—comprised of original jurors Ogie Alcasid and Gary Valenciano, voice and movement mentors Klarisse de Guzman and Nyoy Volante, and guest jurors Erik Santos and Karla Estrada—but rave comments from them, too.
Klarisse commended JMielle’s performance as a true representation of “bakulawan” for its overwhelming power. Ogie added that it was “lumalagablab” because it was overflowing with passion, emotion, and energy, fueled not only by both their strong and dynamic vocals and deep commitment to their craft. Meanwhile, Gary lightheartedly teased the duo about an offstage tiff between them, pointing out JM’s intense mood as he stepped onstage.
Due to the palpable chemistry they displayed throughout their journey on the show—which became a source of playful teasing—JMielle earned the “Bakit Di Na Lang Totohanin Ang Lahat?” special award from their “Your Face Sounds Familiar” family.
Since the final rankings were determined by a combined scoring system—50% based on accumulated scores from rounds 1 to 12 and 50% from the jury’s evaluation of the final performances—it really didn’t come as a surprise that JMielle was hailed the winner considering that they were the among the consistent top scorers throughout the entire Season 4.
JM and Marielle were indeed both overcome by emotion upon being announced as the grand winners, with their fellow celebrity performers jumping for joy as they joined the pair in celebrating their well-deserved triumph. They took home a trophy and a P1 million cash prize.
In his victory speech, JM initially thanked “YFSF” for putting their full trust in him and Marielle, as well as to the jury for all the advice they’d given them in their every performance. He then expressed his utmost gratitude to their fellow celebrity performers, whom they felt fortunate to work with throughout the journey, and finally to their loyal supporters for their unwavering love and support.
As the total tally of scores of the celebrity performers was disclosed, it was revealed that the “Birit Duo” led the roster with an impressive 94%, followed closely by Alexa Ilacad with 93.5%. Jason Dy secured 86.5%, while Akira Morishita of BGYO garnered 73.8%. Jarlo Base received 65.8%; Rufa Mae Quinto scored 61.7%; while Dia Mate earned 49.2%.
The show wrapped up with JM and Marielle belting out their powerful and unforgettable winning performance anew and embracing each other by the end of their performance.
Congratulations, JMielle! Let’s relive their winning moments during the “Your Face Sounds Familiar: The Grand Showdown” via the photos in this gallery!