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Jon Almosara - Faith Singer of Hawaii

But then 32-year-old gospel balladeer Jon Almosara comes into the picture and suddenly every one is left thinking again.

The singer is the latest Filipino-American from Hawaii to crack into the popularity radar and receive recognition for his musical gift after snagging a trophy at the 11th Annual Hawaii Music Awards in the Gospel/Inspirational Music category for his musical album, "Thankful."

In his acceptance speech, Jon began by telling the story of a kid who knew nothing but sing praises to the Lord.

"I'm one of those kids who sang in church all his life so I'm used to singing gospel (music)," a visibly ecstatic Jon shared, as he clutched the coveted golden statuette.

"But I'm not used to getting an award for it and so this is something else and I'm so glad," he ended shyly, before breaking into a soulful and soaring rendition of the Christian classic, Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

But Jon meant every word he spoke – from stories of melodies and even tales of struggles. Coming from a humble missionary family in Nueva Ecija, music and values surrounded Jon's life.

Struggling with the language

In 1993, Jon's family uprooted themselves from the northern Philippines and flew to Hawaii as special religious immigrants.

He recalled how he would juggle his time between his classes and his work behind the cashier at a local fastfood chain.

"It was scary for me. Two weeks after I got here in Hawaii, I had to find a job right away so that my family could survive," he told GMANews.TV in an interview.

But paying the bills was not the sole obstacle that the Almosaras had to hurdle. Though equipped with apt skills in speaking English, Jon distinctly recalled how he got treated with the real "American" accent whenever he dealt with customers.

"I remember struggling with the language and it's almost seemed like I was hearing birds when my customers spoke. They talked so fast I couldn't understand," the young crooner recounted.

To brush up on his accent, Jon said he would hang out with his younger cousins and friends, who grew up in the US, and watch English-language cartoons.
From working in book and chocolate stores to teaching music in high school, John admitted that he has laid his hands on almost every job imaginable for a guy like him.

And while he currently works part time as a legal assistant at a local law firm, Jon said the universal magic of sound and tunes keeps luring him more and more into music.

Early music binds

Jon began his official entry into the show business in Hawaii when he was 17 years old. He was initially recruited by a local television producer to belt a song at a popular variety program there called ‘Filipino Beat.’

Even early on in his musical path, John has never failed to strum the musical cords of his Filipino roots through his repertoire, as he starred in a TV musical special that celebrated the Philippine Centennial, called 'Musical Ties That Bind.'

Incidentally, Jon also has, at one point in his career, took on a role in their version of the highly-acclaimed Miss Saigon, the war-themed musical that propelled another Filipino, Lea Salonga, into international fame.

He received formal training in music at the University of Hawaii, where he majored in elementary Music Education. Later on, he would venture into the realm of arias and recitatives as he trained Operatic singing in the same school.

Like most eager starters trying to break into and seal their names in the industry, Jon was also not saved from dodging setbacks. Not having a backing from multi-million-dollar recording companies or PR machineries, Jon said things got extra harder for him in the
beginning.

"I don't think it matters whether you're a Gospel or Secular singer. There's always going to be struggles especially with independent artists like myself," he explained.

But once the wheels started spinning for Jon, everything went pretty smoothly thanks to crucial components that seemed to have fallen in place.

For obvious reasons, his sharp features (tall, dark, and handsome right on the dot) had girls swooning over him. As one entertainment writer in Hawaii wrote, "With his wholesome good looks, Almosara is a messenger that young folks (and oldsters, for that matter) would
welcome."

And aside from his appearance, his following have also pointed out the striking resemblance between his voice and that of Erik Santos, the famous product of a singing competition in the Philippines, which Jon took as an utter compliment.

"I always get a kick out of people asking me if I was Erik Santos at the end of every performance! I've never met the guy before but I'm sure he's a great singer," he chuckled.

But more than the hunky good looks, fans adore Almosara for the sheer overflowing message
of faith, trust, and love instilled in every song that he does.

So much so that he had been invited to sing at this year's Miss Hawaii USA and Miss Oahu as well as appeared in the favorite Hawaiian talk show program Nite Time with Andy Bumatai.

Thankful

For his latest musical set, Almosara said the subsequent events wrought by the September 11 World Trade Center tragedy pushed and inspired him to weave music into a real, poignant picture that saw people seeking refuge back in places of worship.

"It's kind of like a wake up call in a way, I would say, because people started going back to church. And I think that's the positive side of it all, what the terrorists had done only brought people closer and back together as one," he said.

Jon said he found the perfect opportunity to embed the hopes offered by music in the hearts of embattled individuals from the young to the old, from drug dependents to out-of-school children.

So he formed "The Rock," a ministry that gathers people from all walks of life to hear and share stories of love and hope as well as sing praises to the Lord.

The entire experience formed the cornerstone for his album "Thankful," a mixture of contemporary Christian music and love songs that also had the 32-year-old heartthrob teaming up with some of the biggest names in Hawaiian music.

Renowned entertainment critic John Berger describes the set as "beautifully-crafted debut," which packs religious anthems that were inflicted with a mainstream pop flare including catchy, up-tempo, infectious tracks like the lead-off single, "I'm Thankful."

At first, Jon did not expect to be able to shore up as much support from the Filipino community in Hawaii with his first debut offering given the character of the genre of his craft.

"I was kind of reluctant to think that they would support a Gospel Album. But so far so good," he said.

Almosara admits he has yet to conquer the territory of his native land. As he revisits the country in August, next in Jon's agenda is to promote his album in the Philippines, a country that has recently seen the cropping up of Christian movements.

For Jon, music is not the sole vehicle that would propel him further into the venerate realms of stardom.

Aside from keeping up his sleeves staple Filipino practices like the use of 'po' and 'opo,' Jon's undying respect and love for life and God, rife with humility and gratitude, are his other weapon. "These are just the values that I'm never going to lose in me," he assured

Four years ago, history was written by two ladies from the land of luaus and hulas. And now, Jon prepares to rewrite it as he blazes to the top of his game in the international gospel music arena.


WEBSITE:
http://www.jonalmosara.com
Myspace

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