The poorest of the poor in the Philippines are a little better off thanks to the efforts of two Filipino-American pop divas who performed at a charity concert in Bermuda at the weekend.

Ramiele Malubay, a finalist on 'American Idol', and Geneva Cruz, once voted 'The Voice of Asia', were in Bermuda for the Answering the Cry of the Poor (ANCOP) charity concert, 'Rock of Love'.

Funds from the concert will go to ANCOP's special project to build Bermuda Village, a community for destitute people in the Philippines.

In a sit-down interview with The Royal Gazette, the singers said they were excited to be in Bermuda for the first time. They had both performed in other charity concerts for the Philippines.

Ms Cruz, 34, is from a family in the Philippines well known for its musical talent. She is the eldest of the four daughters of Renato (Boyet) Cruz and Marilyn Cruz. Other showbiz Cruzs include her cousins Sheryl, Donna and Sunshine.

"I was trained to sing by my parents," she said. "I started singing when I was two, and singing with my grandfather's orchestra by the time I was three.

"My mother would say: 'You have to sing now', and I would sing. I really loved to sing. I don't think I could ever do anything else."

When she was 13 years old she joined a group called Smokey Mountain, named after a popular trash dump in Manila.

Their first album 'I Like You' went platinum, and they won many awards for their music. But Ms Cruz' career really kicked into high gear at the age of 15, when she was won the Voice of Asia award at a competition held in Kazakhstan.

"I sang a song called 'Mama'," said Ms Cruz. "It was about a domestic helper. She was a great teacher in the Philippines but she had to earn more to support her family. She had to go to London to become a domestic helper. She was away from her children."

By the time she finished singing there wasn't a dry eye in the house. She was one of the youngest performers to win the award. She has also more recently won a Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) award and the Guillermo Memorial Award. Recent albums include 'Dancing with the Motion', 'Geneva on Fire' and 'Geneva'. She has acted in several television commercials, and was featured on the May 2009 cover of Maxim magazine. In the Maxim cover shoot, she wore nothing but leaves. She said this spoke to her passion for the vegetarian lifestyle.

"I requested that the shoot be done outside, where I could smell and feel the trees," she said. "I also wanted them to mention that I am a vegetarian, and it was the music issue so it was perfect."

She lives in Los Angeles, California with her 14-year-old son Heaven, but returns to the Philippines to perform on a monthly basis. Heaven is now following in the family footsteps by becoming a drummer.

Ramiele Malubay, 23, has taken a different path to stardom. She lives in San Francisco, California, and tried out twice for 'American Idol', before she was accepted.

"I first auditioned for 'American Idol' when I was 16 and I didn't make it," she said. "I was really young. I auditioned again when I was 19 for the 2007 season. I didn't want to, because when they say no to you the first time, you get heartbroken. Then I kept making it through all the rounds. My goal for myself was to make it on the tour. I made it to the top nine."

She said the 'American Idol' experience was a hectic one, with early call times and little sleep, but she said it was also a time to form strong friendships with other performers.

"People thought we were all against each other, but we were really like a big family," she said. "We call each other. We try to meet up and go on cruises with each other."

She said she thought there would be a record deal from being on 'American Idol' no questions asked but a record deal is only guaranteed for the top two.

"'American Idol' is more of a training camp experience," she said. "You really have to work as hard as you did during the show after the show ends to keep your name out there."

She said she is a little embarrassed by the fact that she cried through the whole show.

"It was so ridiculous," she said. "I cried everytime someone got voted off."

And she said she cried even harder when she herself was voted off. "You leave at 3am in the morning. You are done, goodbye. When I got voted off it was hectic because you have to do all these interviews. You can't really sit there and dwell that you got voted off. You are sent to New York to do this press, and then you come back to do the finale. And then you are part of the tour."

For more information about ANCOP Bermuda or to make a donation telephone 799-6659 or 533-1003, visit www.ancopbermuda.com or e-mail ancopbermuda@logic.bm.