In a country where almost everyone can carry a tune, it is not surprising to find a good number of capable singers from reality competitions. But of these discoveries, only a handful are bound to find immediate success; the rest have to be patient to break through the music business.

For “The Voice of the Philippines Season 1” runner up Klarisse de Guzman, the latter has been true. It was only a year after she placed second to “The Voice” winner Mitoy Yonting in 2013 that the young singer got her career going. She found a regular gig in ABS-CBN’s Sunday noon time show, ASAP and from there, slowly became a household name as one of the “Birit Queens.” Comprised of singing contest winners, her fellow singers in the group, Angeline Quinto, Jona and Morisette Amon by then already had a head start in their careers compared to de Guzman.