Rachelle Ann Go (born August 31, 1986), she rose to prominence after winning the second season of the reality show Star For A Night renamed as Search For A Star, hosted by recording artist Regine Velasquez. She has since gone to have established a very successful recording career and is hailed as The Ultimate Champion.
Early life and career
Rachelle was born in Manila, Philippines and is of Chinese descent. Fondly called Shin or Shin-Shin by her friends, Rachelle’s interest in singing started at a very young age. Her father predicted even before she turned a year old that she was destined to be a singer. As a child, she showed signs of having a flair and passion for music. When she turned six, she underwent vocal training and lessons and, by the time she was nine, she participated in her very first amateur singing competition and won the first prize, belting out Jennifer Holliday’s “And I Am Telling You,” in spite of being the youngest contender.
She became a veteran of singing competitions and has consistently won several contests. Her television debut on “Eat Bulaga!,” a hit noon-time variety show, happened when she was just eleven. She competed in the show’s contest “Birit Baby” where young aspirants belt out vocally challenging songs. She ended up receiving the runner-up award but was highly praised for her take on a Céline Dion classic, “All By Myself”.
In 2003, along with a thousand hopefuls, Rachelle auditioned for the second season of the Philippines’ leading talent search, Search for a Star. Rachelle breezed through the preliminary rounds and found herself among the top twelve contenders vying for the coveted recording prize during the finale. On March 13, 2004 Rachelle was announced as the second grand champion, following Sarah Geronimo, singing her rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Through the Rain”.
Several weeks from winning, she collaborated with Philippine rap group Salbakuta for a cover of the Laura Branigan 1980s hit Gloria; she then released it as a CD single.
In July 2004, Rachelle released her self-titled debut album with the singles “Love Of My Life” and a remake of “Don’t Cry Out Loud”. It also includes her own cover version of Selena’s “Dreaming of You”. She was then part of the Night Of The Champions U.S. Tour opposite Sarah Geronimo and Erik Santos. She then released a duet with Christian Bautista entitled “You And Me (We Wanted It All)”. She is also a talent of VIVA Entertainment Group and is part of ABS-CBN, The Kapamilya Network’. She was involved in variety shows such as ASAP and ASAP Fanatic.
During November 2004, Rachelle represented the Philippines in the Shanghai Music Festival where she won the silver prize and the Best Song award for her LP album track “From The Start”, which she later released as a single. In 2005, she was named the Most Promising Female Singer by the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation, a prestigious award giving body recongnizing the year’s best. On April 29 2005, she earned top-billing on her very first major solo concert hailed as Rachelle Ann Go, The Ultimate Champion. Rachelle delivered an exceptional performance and the concert has received massive accolades and rave reviews.
It was Rachelle’s breakaway feat from just being part of the Champions Circle. In here she instituted her mark as a solo recording and performing artist. One of the most notable points of the show was Rachelle’s take on Regine Velasquez’s R2K Concert airborne act, where she was suspended in mid-air as she opened her show. Later that summer Rachelle reunited with her fellow champions for what was to be their last ensemble concert performance to date. The show entitled Pinoy Idols: Return Of The Champions is a series of shows in the United States. The two-month tour featured Rachelle with contemporaries Sarah Geronimo, Christian Bautista, Mark Bautista, Frenchie Dy and other winners of reality singing competitions.
On November 2005, Rachelle released her second album I Care under VIVA Records. She currently hosts the second season of the reality show Search For The Star In A million alongside her fellow champs Erik Santos, Sheryn Regis, and Mark Bautista.
Rachelle created a big buzz when she underwent plastic surgery for her I Care album. Rachelle’s win has thrusted her into the life of a public persona almost instantly. Fame has somewhat kept her from leading a private life. Rachelle had her shares of controversies and rumors like many other artists.
She has been strongly chastised by critics for her inability to make a name for herself. Her frequent mimicry of artists like Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Regine Velasquez in her singing style was prevalent early in her start as a singing champion. She was panned as another product of the cliché pop-idol machinery and who would ultimately dissolve from the industry. But Rachelle and her management were on the verge of building up an invincible career for her.
She was placed on regular stints on TV shows as host, singer, and actress, joined fellow champions for concerts and tours in the Philippines and abroad and finally, establish her mark as a solo artist via her albums and concerts. This strategy in due course has worked very well for Rachelle. In no time, she was a household name and a recognizable artist among fans and critics alike.
Her sometimes sly and provocative image separates her from the stereotype teeny-bopper pop star. It was very evident that Rachelle was a diva on the rise both in style and voice. Rachelle has also been pitted against Sarah Geronimo, who during her start has already achieved phenomenal success in singing, movies, television and commercial endorsements. She had a tough act to follow, yet she managed to carve a totally different, yet all-the-while equally successful path as Geronimo did, proof that Rachelle had broken away from the shadows of her predecessor.
Both singers remained good friends and have created a lasting friendship. Her personal life was also a feast for many writers and press people. Rachelle was linked to several male celebrities of her generation and was rumored to be sharing close relationships with them. But she denied any truth of going out with artists like Mark Bautista, Erik Santos Jed Madela, Luis Manzano, and John Prats. But Rachelle has publicly admitted that she shares a very close relationship to fellow singer and balladeer Christian Bautista whom she constantly and exclusively dates.
Even though both singers have denied any truth to the gossip that both of them are already committed to each other, they stated that were on the path of getting to know one another. Finally, after courting her for about 2 years, Christian and Rachelle appeared on The Buzz to clear the issues between them, and admitted that they are officially a couple as boyfriend and girlfriend. She also finally stated, on national television (also worldwide via TFC), “I love you” to Christian. Christian is Rachelle Ann’s first boyfriend.
Rachelle Ann Go has also admitted in a noon-time showbiz show The Buzz that she underwent rhinoplasty to enhance her image for her second album, “I Care”.
