As “Are You The Next Big Star?” nears its culmination night on August 23, 23-year-old Zyrene Parsad is ecstatic of her achievement so far – as a finalist to the talent search!

Vying to be called the “next big star” in the contest’s female category, Zyrene is in close competition with Camille Cortez and Frencheska Farr. (The male category’s finalists are Jay Perillo, Alex Castro and Geoff Taylor.) And as of press time, Zyrene has just competed in a three-way face-off to showcase once again her talent and the main reason she has high potentials of becoming the show’s and GMA Network’s next big star!

So far, becoming a finalist can also be attributed to her preparation before entering the said contest.

In an interview she explained, “I have three reasons why I joined ‘Are You The Next Big Star?’ First of all, God gave me this talent and I want to share it to everybody. Second, I can deal with different kinds of people and third, I don’t get tired because I love what I’m doing.”

Zyrene also disclosed that she had to sacrifice her TV career with NBN 4 before she auditioned for “Are You The Next Big Star?”

“I was with ‘One Morning’ before. I left because that’s how I am. If I wanted something I had to focus on it and I had to focus on this competition so I left hosting… I also wanted to transfer to a bigger network kasi gusto ko pong makilala ng mga tao na hindi lang hosting ang magagawa ko pati singing din. At ito po napili ko kasi ‘Are You The Next Big Star?’ is not just a singing competition,” she stressed. Though she’s been in love with singing ever before her college years, she felt she wasn’t yet ripe for a singing career. So she opted to work with NBN 4 when she was given the opportunity.

“I’ve asked for this for so many years. Sa tingin ko po yung pagtratrabaho ko with NBN for two years molded me to be a better person. They molded me to deal with different kinds of people, and now I’m more prepared to face and perform in front of many people,” she said.

She added that rather than singing, a career in TV broadcasting was clearer for her. She took up Mass Communication at Assumption College, the only school she wanted to get into. With her school’s strict policies, she didn’t bother trying a showbiz career because students are not allowed to.

“So after college, gusto ko mag-start sa ground. So my first step was to apply at NBN Channel 4. Since konti lang kami doon, I know that they’ll give me a better chance to bring out the best in me,” she said.

Part of the reasons she worked for NBN 4 is to develop the way she talks, and delivers herself and to develop her self-confidence!

“With a better self-confidence, I felt ready for this competition. Hindi pa naman huli para sa akin. And I’m just starting my career right now,” she quipped.

So does she feel any pressure?

“There’s really pressure,” Zyrene admitted. “Kailangan kong bumaba ulit. Kasi hindi porke’t nakapag-host na ako, nakapag-produce na ako ng mga features, nakapag-direct ng mga features, kailangang bumaba ulit, magsimula ulit para maging star!”

If Zyrene wins the “next big star” title in the female division, she will receive an exclusive GMA Management Contract, a recording contract under GMA records, P1-million cash from SM Supermalls and a condominium unit from Avida Towers in New Manila, Quezon City. “Are You The Next Big Star?” hosted by Regine Velasquez and Keempee de Leon airs its final episode this Saturday (August 22) after “Pinoy Records” on GMA-7.

But if things don’t go her way, Zyrene expressed optimistically, “I’ll try to find the right people and find out the best way to make it here. Ganun po kasi ako if I really want something I’ll really try my best to get it!”

The winner too from the “Are You The Next Big Star?” will partly be determined by text votes. Viewers and fans can vote for their favorite “next big star” by keying NBS (space) name of contender and send to 2344 for Globe, Touch Mobile and Sun and 367 for Smart and Talk n’ Text.

Is she nervous about the text vote component of the contest?

“I’ve told my family that we don’t have to spend money on text votes. I believe I’ve to show the viewers my talents and those are the reasons I’ve reached the finals. I want people to vote for me because they believe in me and they like me,” she smiled.

Passionate about singing and performing, Zyrene is an upcoming singer on a class of her own. And whatever the outcome will be on August 23, “Are You The Next Big Star?” finalist Zyrene Parsad has already proven that she is a versatile singer ON THE RISE!