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Artist
Maureen "Mau" Marcelo (born May 13, 1980) is a Filipina singer who rose to prominence as the winner of the first season of Philippine Idol in 2006. For a time she went by the stage name Samantha Brown. Hailing from Lucena City, Marcelo started singing at age 7. By her 20s, she was a veteran of singing competitions, including the Star for a Night singer-search that was won by Sarah Geronimo. On Philippine Idol, Marcelo was dubbed the "Soul Idol" and "the black belter" for her powerful R&B-style vocals. On the Wildcard show of the said contest, judge Ryan Cayabyab quoted her as a world class talent. As part of her Philippine Idol prize, Marcelo won a recording deal with Sony-BMG. Her forthcoming album under that label will feature "Try It on My Own (Whitney Houston)", her final performance song from the competition. Marcelo's other recordings include two tracks on the Philippine Idol: The Final 12 CD: "Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin" (a solo) and "Kaleidoscope World" (the group song featuring the top 12 finalists). Prior to Philippine Idol, Marcelo had also recorded, as "Samantha Brown", a self-titled album of ten original songs composed by her stepsister's husband. After winning the title, Marcelo's debut performance as the first Philippine Idol was on ABC-5's Shall We Dance: Christmas with the Champions special (taped December 11, aired December 16, 2006) where she reprised her winning song. On December 20, 2006, she gave a command performance at Malacañang for the Christmas p