Marlisa Punzalan

Marlisa Ann Punzalan was born on 1 October 1999 in Sydney to Lito and Andrea Punzalan. Her parents emigrated to Australia from the Philippines before she and her older brother Martin were born. She began singing at the age of three. In 2013, Punzalan auditioned for the seventh series of Australia's Got Talent but did not make it past the audition rounds, and also attempted to audition for the first series of The Voice Kids, but exceeded the age limit by one month. Before entering the sixth season of The X Factor Australia in 2014, Punzalan was a student at Mercy Catholic College in Chatswood and a regular performer at charity events, eisteddfods and RSL competitions.

Career 2014: The X Factor Australia In 2014, Punzalan successfully auditioned for the sixth season of The X Factor Australia, singing "Yesterday" by The Beatles. She received a standing ovation and four yesses from all four judges and progressed to the super bootcamp round of the competition. Punzalan made it to the second bootcamp challenge, where she performed "Never Be the Same" by Jessica Mauboy to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. Keating later selected Punzalan, along with Sydnee Carter and Caitlyn Shadbolt, for the live finals—a series of eleven weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote.

After the eliminations of Carter in week five and Shadbolt in week nine, Punzalan became the last remaining contestant in Keating's category. During the semi-final week, she landed in the bottom two for the first time with Reigan Derry and performed John Farnham's version of The Beatles' "Help!" in the final showdown. After the judges' vote went to deadlock, it was revealed that Punzalan received the most public votes and was put through to the grand final.

Performances on The X Factor

In late 2014, Punzalan performed two concerts at Rooty Hill RSL Club to thank her local fans. In December 2014, Punzalan and other Australian singers recorded a cover version of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" under the name "Hope for Isla and Jude", and released it as a charity single to help raise funds for two siblings who suffer from the rare disease Sanfilippo syndrome. Their version debuted at number 79 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Her third single "Forever Young" was released on 6 November 2015. In 2017, it was speculated that Punzalan had been dropped by record company Sony Music. She is no longer listed as an artist on the company website.

2018-2021: Brave In June 2018, Marlisa released "Thank You", her first single in two and a half years, on the ABS-CBN Film Productions label.

In March 2019, Marlisa released her second studio album, titled Brave.

2022-present: cover EPs In 2022, Marlisa signed with Osetero Limited and has since released several cover EPs.

Artistry Aside from singing, Punzalan also plays the piano. She cites Eva Cassidy and Jessica Mauboy as her musical influences. NZ "Nothing Else Matters" 2014 87 "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 93 "Titanium" 96 "Yesterday" 67

Music videos +List of music videos Title Year Director(s) "Stand by You" 2014

Awards and nominations Year Type Award Result 2015 ARIA Music Awards Song of the Year ("Stand by You")