Laarni Lozada

Laarni Losala (b. June 23, 1985) is a Filipino singer and performer from Sultan Kudarat, and is the 2nd Grand Star Dreamer ABS-CBN’s popular reality TV talent search Pinoy Dream Academy - the Philippine edition of Endemol’s Star Academy. Her voice has been hailed as one of the most emotive voices in the Philippines. She is also known as “The Voice of An Angel”, the “Ethereal Diva”, “Versatile diva” and the “Independent Woman”. Raised in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat in the Philippines, Laarni Losala, was just a simple girl with big dreams.Laarni was a consistent honor student in school in Isulan, she also excelled in the arts such as dancing and is also a very good farmer. Even at a very young age, she found solace emulating and listening to her idols Lea Salonga and Regine Velasquez, she schooled herself early on to singing the songs of her musical idols.She won various singing competitions in Sultan Kudarat to further hone her singing and performing skills. Knowing that she had the talent to really make it big, she dreamed that one day, she would be able make her mark in the music scene of the Philippines as a famous recording artist and help her family escape the claws of poverty. When she was 15 years old, her Aunt from the US vowed to help Laarni make her mark as a singer. Her aunt enrolled Laarni to performing and voice lessons and also enrolled her at the School of Music of The Philippine Women’s University. Although her aunt was not a singer, she was all out for her support for Laarni, she would teach her how to use her hands when she was singing, she would teach her how to use her face in expressing the meaning of her songs in order to better her performances. She taught her to observe her gestures, her non-verbal actions when she was performing. Through her aunt’s connections, she became a talent of the late and great Rudy Francisco of the Calesa Bar. Rudy also mentored some of the finest lounge singers in the Philippines like Sitti, Mari Nallos, Janet Basco, Vernie Varga, Joey Albert, Dulce, Marissa Sanchez, Ivy Violan, Isay Alvarez, Lourna Pal, Aliya Parcs, Raymond Lauchenco and the Side A band. Feeling culture shocked about the sophistication of her peers, who were all fashionable and eloquent in english, Laarni decided to shift her course from Music to Education. Laarni, vowed to become a better person, a better performer, an eloquent speaker and a confident singer. She is a devout Catholic who found solace in singing at the PWU Church everyday. She would sing at the 12 noon mass and vocalize everyday to further hone her voice. She would vocalize with her church friends and co-singers. This singing exposure helped Laarni become a permanent fixture at all events of The Philippine Women’s University, she would sing for different functions, singing competitions and other guestings. Her talent also helped helped her become a University scholar, which required Laarni to work as a student assistant of the school. Before joining Pinoy Dream Academy, she already joined different singing competitions, she won the Rotary Club Intercollegiate/University singing competition, besting 25 schools in Manila by rendering the patriotic anthem “Dakilang Lahi”. She also won the National Grand Finals of the “Campus Idol” search, by delivering a flawless performance of “What Kind of Fool Am I”, that left judge Wency Cornejo speechless. Laarni also tried to be independent. There were times when she felt so alone and hopeless but she never gave up on her dreams. She knew that God is guiding her and vowed that she would give it her all so that her dreams would come true. She vowed that she would be singing to give glory and honor to God. She was always assisted by her friends and mentors from the University. She worked as a wedding singer with her best friend Mark, the 2 would be singing in different churches, hotels and venues all over the metropolis. Laarni and Mark would record various albums at the Karaoke King and would perform frequently at a karaoke venue in a mall in Manila which attracted a lot of admirers and fans. As a chorale aficionado, she would also join various chorales in Manila. She joined the PWU Church chorale, The Ambassadors of Light -a chorale for the blind people, The Malate Church Chorale and the Coro de San Sebastian, a Madrigal et. al chorale. Through her extensive chorale background she was able to perform with the Philippine Madrigal Singers in a Madrigal Et Al concert with her chorale Coro De San Sebastian. Upon learning about the auditions of Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2, Laarni grabbed the opportunity at once. Singing her favorite song “Lead Me Lord”, Laarni was able to make it through to the top 16 and really get the admiration of the PDA 2 Dream Mentors. Her versatility in different genres, the very high difficulty of her songs helped her gain fans all over the world known as the Global Laarnians. The millions of viewers who watch the show have fallen in love with her voice that has been described as angelic, ethereal, magical, emotive, pure and sublime. Laarni, often misunderstood by people remained steadfast and focused on achieving her dreams. She devotes her time vocalizing, practicing her songs and helping her co-scholars master their performances. Laarni also gained a huge following internationally, people loved her spunk, her determination to succeed, her passion and focus on improving her music and her pure heart. Laarni is a consistent top 3 scholar for the season along with Liezel and Bugoy, and has become a PDA Star Scholar, which paved the way for a performance of the song “Hiram” with the Divine Diva, Zsa Zsa Padilla on the popular musical variety show, ASAP. She also performed “The Prayer” with 2005 World Championships of Performing Arts finalist and winner Jed Madela in a gala night. Laarni has also been a Youtube sensation even before Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2. Other than music she also loves badminton, flamenco dancing, debate, teaching and acting. Laarni performed at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the Opera entitled “Mayo, Sa Bisperas ng Liwanag” and other Filipino classics for the show Paco Presents. Laarni also guested once in the show “Master Showman” by German Moreno Her musical influences are Leona Lewis, Lara Fabian, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Charlotte Church, Sitti, Charice Pempengco, Gary Valenciano, Renee Olstead, Enya, Barbra Streisand, her aunt Linda, her teacher in PWU-Beth Ancheta, Ambassador of Lights Leader-Anderson Go and her former mentor-Rudy Francisco.