Vincent Mendoza Bueno is an Austrian singer of Filipino descent. On January 12, 2008, he became the winner of the ORF programme, Musical! Die Show, an Austrian television musical contest. He also served as a support act for Filipino singer Sarah Geronimo's concert in Vienna. On January 18, 2008, Bueno told the Philippine media of his plans to debut in the Philippines. He then made his first performance in Philippine Television on ASAP XV on August 29, 2010. He also signed a contract under Star Records, an ABS-CBN Entertainment Group Company, to pursue his music career in the Philippines. He was supposed to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands with the song, "Alive". However, on March 18, 2020, the event was cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Instead, he will represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
Career
Early education
Bueno started dancing at the age of 4. He later graduated in music and performing arts at the Vienna Conservatory of Music. Bueno is also a composer of R&B music, having taken special courses in acting, dancing, and singing. At age 11, he managed to play 4 musical instruments—piano, guitar, drums, and bass guitar. His father was a former vocalist and a 1970 local band lead guitarist.
''Musical! Die Show''
Vincent defeated Eva Klikovics and Gudrun Ihninger of 10 contestants / finalists and earned the top prize of 50,000 EUR plus the "chance of a lifetime". He first performed "Grease Lightning", and then "The Music of the Night". Vincent got 67% of televotes from televiewers in Austria and nearby countries. Second-placer Austrian Eva Klikovics received 37% of televotes, and Gudrun Ihninger was eliminated earlier and salvaged third place. The television show is a reality-based talent contest that considers contestants’ theatrical and dancing skills or abilities, which in turn are judged by televiewers' vote by phone or SMS. The contest Musical! Die Show began an elimination round on November 23, 2007 with 10 contestants from the 400 beginners who auditioned. Austria and other European televiewers rated / televoted the finalists. "Hair" was Vincent's first number, and he performed the memorable songs "I Wanna Be Like You" from Jungle Book, "Superstar" from Jesus ChristSuperstar, "Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon, "Singin' in the Rain", and the German "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" from Mary Poppins. Musical! Die Show, a project of Austrian broadcasting TV ORF, is not an ordinary singing competition like Starmania or American Idol. Completely different, it involves theatre arts and musical and acting abilities. Specifically, unlike Western and Asian talent show contests, Musical! Die Show is comparatively more difficult and challenging due to its theatre leanings. Aspirants act and sing à la Broadway, and instead of merely singing pop tunes, they choose Broadway musical theater repertoire. Miss Saigon veterans Isay Alvarez and Robert Seña called Vincent Bueno, a phenomenon: "He's very good. Ibang klase siya. Pinanood ko siya nang todo. Impressed kami pareho ni Robert sa kanya.. Vincent is a phenomenon. Marami siyang patataubin na singer lalo na sa Broadway musical singing. Kasi, bagay na bagay ang kanyang boses sa gano'ng genre.."
Foray to the Philippines
His first performance on Philippine television's ASAP XV was on August 29, 2010, where he was first introduced as the "Pinoy Champ Austrian Singer". He was on ASAP for some weeks. He also signed a contract under Star Records. However, he returned to Austria on September 14, 2010 to accomplish his pending tasks there. He then went back to the Philippines by early January 2011 to continue his music career. On October 28, 2011, Vincent held his first ever mini-concert at Teatrino in Greenhills, San Juan, entitled "Got Fridays with Vincent Bueno".
Vincent's vocal range can be classified as tenor. His voice can be described as smooth, mellow, and sometimes mildly abrasive. He often sings with a vibrato in his voice, and also incorporates beatboxing into many of his songs. Though Vincent has one studio album and a single in German, he has also released some unofficial music videos and audios on his official YouTube and Facebook accounts.
Personal life
Both his parents are of Ilocano origin. Along with his native German language, Vincent can speak English and conversational Tagalog.
