Dyscem Echivarre Mueldener
By Jhay-ar A. Book
MUSIC resides in every Filipino home. No birthday or fiesta is complete without the videoke. It is no surprise then why many Filipinos are making a name in the music industry locally and abroad. Include in the list Dyscem Echivarre Mueldener, whose voice has brought her to places beyond she imagined.
Dyscem, a Filipina who was married to a German, won first place in the Voice of McDonald’s (VOM) worldwide singing competition West Europe division and will compete as a global semi-finalist in the final rounds of the VOM. Born in Cebu City, Philippines, she now lives in Germany with her husband and four-year-old daughter.
Voice of McDonald’s, a singing contest showcasing the talents of the giant fast-food chain’s crew and managers worldwide, will bring top 16 global semi-finalists coming from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, to compete in the final rounds at the McDonald’s 2012 Worldwide Convention in Orlando, Florida, USA, in April.
Luck is indeed in the hands of Dyscem whose good life in Germany doesn’t stop from having a supportive husband and lovely daughter but goes beyond having experienced recording tracks, shooting music videos, meeting producers, and traveling the best places in the world.
“It was life-changing (referring to her winning in the VOM in her division). I’ve been to places I’ve never been. I experienced recording and shooting a music video. I met producers in London and in Germany too. I’ve been to London to record a video and a song. The last event was I’ve been to Portugal last January 18-20 to sing to the McDonald’s European managing directors,” she says.
“The experience visiting different places because of me singing and because of McDonald’s was really life-changing. The support of the managing directors was great and really awesome,” she adds.
All these she honors to her roots back in the Philippines. She says her father is a choir instructor and her relatives to her father’s side are into music too. She was also a member of the band in the Philippines, although she admits she’s never joined a singing contest in the country.
Dyscem, who takes pride of her roots, enjoys the support of the Filipino community in Germany. “All my friends here in Germany, the Filipino community, they are very excited about this event,” she says.
Dyscem’s musical influences include Adele, Eva Cassidy, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Bruno Mars, to name a few.
Although she’s on top of her life, Dyscem’s excitement doesn’t spare her family – a true Filipina.
Like any competitor, Dyscem hopes to make her family and friends proud by winning the contest, but nothing could make her loved ones prouder by saying, “Win or lose, I’m fine with it. I felt like a winner already because staying in Orlando for two weeks with my whole family is already a prize for me, and what happened on my VOM journey was already a dream come true.”
The champion in the VOM finals will take home US$25,000; second place, US$17,000; third place, US$12,500; fourth place, US$7,500; and global semi-finalists will get US$3,000 each.