10 Things to Know About FilAm American Idol Contestant Mikaela Bautista

Written by Nico Belasco

On March 16, 2025, Mikaela Bautista shocked the world as she made her appearance on the screens of millions of people in the auditions for the 23rd season of American Idol. She stepped into the audition room (with her family in tow and her father joining in on a memorable duet), wowed the judges, and showed the world what a powerful Pinay can do. While there are countless things that make this fearless filipina one to watch, we’ve compiled ten of our favorite fun facts about this budding artist. Happy reading! 

AMERICAN IDOL – “803 (Auditions)” – Luke, Lionel, Carrie and Ryan continue auditions in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, where impressive competitors showcase their talents in fierce competition. SUNDAY, MARCH 16 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Eric McCandless)

MIKAELA BAUTISTA

1. Her parents were born in the Philippines.  

Both of Mikaela’s parents were born in the Philippines. You may have seen them in her now iconic audition of American Idol, where she and her dad beautifully belted out “The Prayer”. Her father is from Cagayan and her mother is from Ilocos Sur.

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“I'm a Northern baby. They're both from the North of the Philippines. I'm so blessed to be able to represent all the Ilocanos out there,” Mikaela shared. 

2. She grew up in Rancho Cucamonga.

Growing up, Mikaela made many trips to the Philippines. Despite the language barrier, these experiences helped her connect with her roots and culture. Back in the United States, Mikaela grew up in Rancho Cucamonga. She was one of a few Filipinos in her school, but she always made it a point to find joy in seeing the importance that culture holds in the people around her. 

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“It's just so funny because when I was young, I thought that every brown kid was a Filipino. So I would just start speaking to them like they were my cousin or something. But in reality, they were like, no, I'm Mexican or no, I'm Cambodian or no, I'm actually Vietnamese. So I was just like, what? What do you mean? You look like me and you're the same skin tone as me, but you're not the same as me. So that was kind of a culture shock to me, but it's really cool to be able to be surrounded by other cultures,”

3. She is a student at Cal State San Bernardino. 

Mikaela started her college years in nursing, like most Filipinos do. After some time she decided to make the leap into kinesiology to pursue physical therapy. However, she came to find that it wasn't for her either. She made her final pivot, and now is set to graduate in a month from Cal State San Bernardino, where she is taking up her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Child Development. 

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“It's so exciting to be almost done with it, being that I've been in college since 2019. Which is nothing wrong with that. It's not a set time period where you're supposed to finish. It's really up to you. I think that it's more remarkable to kind of, you know, figure out after so many years what you want. And it's so rewarding to be able to finally have that. But yeah, it's so exciting to be able to graduate soon and to see where my next adventure lies with that,” she shared.

4. She started singing at a young age.

Mikaela found her voice and discovered her passion for music at a very young age. She grew up singing a wide range of songs in Ilocano, Tagalog, and English, staging little performances for her family, and getting creative with her mic situation. While most kids were content with their toys, Mikaela was almost always practicing her craft. 

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“I started singing since I could talk, before I could even talk. I used to take the spatula. So I would sing one song, take the spatula as a mic, and then put it down. Next song, I would grab a whisk, use it as a mic, and put it down. Next song, I would grab a spoon, use it as a mic, and put it down. This is me when I was like one or two. And so my parents, for safety purposes, had to lock the cabinets. Finally, when I was two, they got me my own microphone. So since then, I've been singing Ilocano songs, Tagalog songs, and English songs. My favorite memory, though, was when I was five, my dad was working on an Ilocano album. And he was singing with his, you know, with his keyboard.I walked up to him and I said, Dad, can you please make me a song? Like, I really want to sing an Ilocano song. He was like, no, go away. And then after like three or four more times of bugging him, he was like, okay, fine. So he made me my first Ilocano song, which is called Ading Maturog Kan. And that translates to... like little sibling go to sleep. He wrote me a lullaby to sing to my brother,” she recalled. 

5. Her father was a singer in the Philippines.

As most American Idol fans know, Mikaela’s father can sing incredibly well. He spent a lot of his career performing at gigs throughout the Philippines and Hawaii, bringing Mikaela and the rest of the family with him on adventures as he travelled to pursue his passion. 

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“I love seeing him do his thing and seeing him be an inspiration to his fans. Someone that they look up to and someone that they respect. That kind of played a role as to why I also wanted to venture into singing. I love inspiring. I want to be an inspiration for people, for, you know, Filipinos, for Filipino Americans, for Morena girls, that you can do anything that your heart desires. I just think that he is such a force to be reckoned with. I'm so blessed to have witnessed through the years. It is ever so easy for me to want to walk into his footsteps and do that as well. But growing up with his music and his influence has been incredible because his fans love him and, and in turn, they show that love to me, which I'm so appreciative of. I love my dad and he deserves so much and to be able to have shared, you know, that platform with him and that audition with him is everything and more.”

6. She competed in taekwondo.

Mikaela competed as a second degree black belt on the big stages of taekwondo from the ages of twelve to sixteen. After stumbling upon the sport by chance, she went on to grow in love with martial arts and compete in tournaments almost every weekend. She ultimately won the national title for sparring, and made it as far as to compete at qualifiers and the US Open. 

Photos courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

Photos courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“I started Taekwondo when I was five or six. It actually was on accident because it was for my brother. He would run around the house at 11PM and my parents just wanted to sleep. So they were trying to find an activity for him to do that would kind of release that energy. Taekwondo came to mind. We were watching him do his first class. My parents were like, are you going to stay or are you going to go with us? And I said, I'm going to stay and watch. They went home, came back and found me on the mat. So that's how I dove into my first experience of Taekwondo. It's a big part of me. They teach discipline, motivation and all of those things. I think it's really, really important to carry out in your life, not with just Taekwondo, but with everything that you do to stay disciplined and to really hone your craft. It's definitely hard, too, because you rely on yourself. It's not like a team sport where... blame other people if something happens. You only have yourself and it really does make you stronger.”

7. She has a list of singers that she looks up to. 

When asked who she looks up to in the music industry, she shared, “My favorite singers here in America would be Tori Kelly, Jasmine Sullivan, and Jessica Sanchez. In the Philippines would be Clarice de Guzman and Morissette Amon. Kyla is a big one, and Katrina Velarde. I listen to a lot of American and Filipino singers because I like to pick and choose what I want to sound between those artists. Oh, Whitney Houston. I don't know why I forgot her. Whitney Houston and Celine Dion too. They're big on my upbringing with singing.”

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

8. She played volleyball. 

After taking a break from taekwondo, Mikaela hung up her dobok and laced up her volleyball shoes. She spent two years on her high school’s team and three years competing with a club.

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

“It was really fun to even do it in high school as well, because you get to experience your school cheering for you and, you know, stuff like that. It was funny because I got to combine my two loves, you know, volleyball at the time and singing because they would make me do the national anthem before the game. It's just really fun to be able to do that and to be included in a team sport.”

9. She has inspirational quotes that she lives by.

While there are many words of wisdom that she lives by, she has three quotes that she holds close to her heart…

• “Rejection is just redirection.”

• “God wouldn't put you in those struggles if he knew that you couldn't handle it.” 

• Don't let someone dim your light simply because it's shining in their eyes.”

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

10. She got THREE yeses from the judges on American Idol.

Mikaela’s audition was one of the most eventful auditions to air on this year’s season of American Idol. After her beautiful rendition of Whitney Houston’s ‘Saving All My Love For You’, she ended up with 2 yeses from Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. She earned her third yes from Carrie Underwood, who changed her mind after watching Mikaela perform “The Prayer” with her father.

AMERICAN IDOL – “803 (Auditions)” – Luke, Lionel, Carrie and Ryan continue auditions in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, where impressive competitors showcase their talents in fierce competition. SUNDAY, MARCH 16 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Eric McCandless)

MIKAELA BAUTISTA

“Oh my gosh, it was incredible. I've always daydreamed and dreamed about what would happen in that audition room. My family is everything to me. So to be able to have them there with me witnessing the legends, like Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood was just incredible. To have my dad kind of like respond to Lionel in that way, where he was like, ‘hello, is it me you're looking for?’ It was just so classic because my dad doesn't speak English well. When we were doing a lot of the interview portions, he was having a hard time with his words. But the moment that they asked him to do what he loved, what he knew how to do best, it was just incredible. It's who he is. He's never not singing. Like, even to this day, he's always singing. So to be able to have the world see where I got my talent from is just incredible. It's the best experience. To have Carrie Underwood change her mind was just so incredible. I'm so honored and so blessed because these three individuals are, you know, established in their own ways, in their own crafts. They are legends. For me to even be in the same room with them is incredible. It's really helped me with my confidence and it's really helped me with my artistry. The cherry on the top was when my family came in, because I didn't expect them to. I was thinking, like, how am I going to, you know, like, show them my ticket, in a way that's cool and not scream. But it was just so, it was so fun to be able to have them in the room with me,” she recalled. 

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Bautista

After the hustle and bustle of getting swooped into the machine that is American Idol, Mikaela may be releasing original music in the near future. While she is unsure when, we have complete confidence that whatever she puts out will be nothing short of amazing. 

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Written by Nico Belasco

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