A Young Fil-Am’s Journey In Hitting The  Charts

Photo Courtesy of JBDiaz Photography

Dreaming to become a STAR is no joke. Doing it, is even harder. Putting your heart into it, is devastating when you don’t know what your chances are. Reaching for that star  means hard work, sleepless nights, pimples, nice wardrobe, pleasing personality, branded makeup, being nice to everybody and saying yes to every invitation.  What else does it take to reach the top? Patience is the most important quality in an aspiring singer. This is not only because she may have to rehearse the same thing again and again, but also because in the initial stages of her career, she might have to face rejection several times, and sometimes, even if she gets a chance to display her talent, everything might just not go her way. This is what this beautiful young 15 year old Filipino-Guatemalan-American singer from Pleasanton, CA is persevering at this moment. She aims that one day she will be living in her dreams, and she is patiently inching her way to it.

Photo courtesy of Nilo Bartolome

MADELYN LOVE BARTOLOME, known as Maddie B. on stage, and is fondly called Matsi by her parents, was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 26, 1998. Her father is Nilo Bartolome, who’s a Filipino-American working for Omni Cable and her mother is Evelyn Bartolome, who’s Guatemalan-American works for a Vitamin company called Shaklee. She has a 5 year old brother named DJ and a 6 year old sister named Katelyn. At age 2 her family moved to San Francisco, CA and is now settled in Pleasanton, CA.

So who is Maddie B.? Well, she’s a very young singer from the Bay Area who strives to be on the top, whom by age 4 has already started her career by singing in front of her family and friends. This was the time when her parents realized that she has a singing voice. At the age of 8, she was asked to render a song for her  God Mother’s Wedding where she  sang the song “Breathe” by Faith Hill. This was her first time singing with a live band. Then she was asked to sing again at another Wedding Reception, and this time she sang “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift also accompanied by a band. From then on,  she started getting invitations from community parties to big Filipino events and Bay Area gatherings.

Many people are born singers. It is God’s gift to some, who eventually become great legends. But one can only develop a voice by rehearsing under the able guidance of a renowned music teacher. Maddie B. is a gifted young singer and dancer, and she recognizes the importance of enhancing her singing and stage skills where choosing the right voice teacher is not a process that they took lightly, since they know that her emotional wellbeing and physical health will be at stake when she takes her sessions. Her Dad Nilo who is also her manager has chosen Kelly Burge to be her vocal Instructor. At the same time, Maddie’s Uncle, Nel Tellez coaches her from vocals to piano, even arranging her tracks in her songs up to directing her music.

On December of 2010, Maddie B. co-starred in The Holiday Musical of “Siddhartha – The Bright Path” at the Marsh Theater in San Francisco. Although it was Maddie’s very first Musical, she landed the female lead role of Chandra, a modern day teenager that finds Enlightenment. The Play opened on Dec 10th and continued strong through Jan 9th 2011, and received great reviews from Leslie Katz of the San Francisco Examiner, Paul Kilduff of the SFGate.com and SF Weekly.

Her influences stemmed from Christina Aguilera to Alicia Keys, and Miley Cyrus to Taylor Swift, but her most favorite singer is Katy Perry. How amazing that she enjoys performing songs of Bruno Mars and Katy Perry because she can feel free to show her dance moves while singing it.

With Maddie B., it’s not only about singing on stage, because she’s also busy studying. She’s now on her 10th Grade at the Amador Valley High School where she’s also active in the drama program.

Singing is a great career opportunity for her because she’s passionate about it. However, being passionate is not quite enough, as she has to be extremely talented to carve out a niche for herself in the glorious music industry. The competition is immense, to say the least, and it will become very difficult for her to survive if she does not possess an X factor, that is to say that nowadays, singers need to be good performers as well to be able to climb the stairs of the hall of fame. Maddie B. has the X factor aside from the talent. It is true that a successful singing career promises a lot of name, fame, glory and money, and it is not surprising that Maddie B. wants to make a place for herself in this industry. She has the potential, she has the drive, she has the chance!

October 20, 2013, Maddie B. siging at the Power ng Pinoy Live show in Seafood City Milpitas, CA
Photo courtesy of Power ng Pinoy Team

For Maddie B., hard work, patience, perseverance, and creativity are the qualities she posses. She is original and has a style of her own, that is different from others. She’s known for her way of presenting herself before the audience. Her energetic moves make the audience participate and dance with her.

“I want to get to where I want to be,” says Maddie B., “Go as far as possible” she goes on, “I want to be famous,” are her words when asked about her plans and wishes for her career.

Maddie B. stays very humble and is so grateful to the people around her who has always been supporting her career and would like to give special mention of the following people: Dean Arcillas of Fan TV, Henry Chu, Daniel Del Rosario of The Fuse,  Jinni Bartolome,  Pistahan Festival Committee, Angie Louie, Randy Taylor-Weber, Lenny “Linus” Douglas, Squinkla, DL da Arsun, Nel Tellez, Kelly Burge, Shannon Day, Joey Camins and Lisa Quoresimo. Without them, her dream of singing to the world will just remain to be a dream. Little by little the doors are now open for her and everything is becoming a reality.

On Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 6 pm, just about two days before Thanksgiving Day, will be the launching of Maddie B.’s new song and music video. “I CAN’T STOP FALLING” which is written and produced by Randy Taylor-Weber and “IN THE CLUB” which was also written and produced by Randy Taylor-Weber featuring Squinkla will be launched at this event. The song “In The Club” also has a music video which was directed by Drex Lee. This will be held at the Hana Zen at Pier 39 and it’s Free Admission.

As I was writing this article about Maddie B., her songs were being played over and over on the radio stations in the Bay Area, Santa Rosa, Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Wisconsin. I just can’t stop playing it myself because of the energetic beat which makes you want to dance.

Keep wishing for what you believe in….. are the words she lives by.

You may follow Maddie B. on Facebook by searching Maddie B. Fan Page and you can also listen to her songs in youtube.com.

(For more information about Maddie B., you may contact the author at  elizarica@powerngpinoy.tv or you may visit us at www.PowerngPinoy.tv.)