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A Filipino singer’s Golden Buzzer moment on Britain’s Got Talent has quickly become a fresh rallying point for Southeast Asian pride under the #SEAblings banner, as audiences in the region increasingly champion one another’s artists on the global stage.
Matty Juniosa, a 27-year-old from the Philippines, drew a standing ovation after performing Prince’s “Purple Rain” on the British television competition on Sunday, earning the coveted Golden Buzzer from acerbic judge Simon Cowell and a direct place in the semi-finals.
The performance has since prompted an outpouring of support not only from Filipinos but also from social media users across Southeast Asia, many of whom cast Juniosa’s breakout as a moment of regional representation by invoking #SEAblings – a shorthand for “Southeast Asian siblings” used to signal regional solidarity online.
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On YouTube, where the audition clip earned more than 3.6 million views within two days of being uploaded to the official Britain’s Got Talent page, much of that response has played out in the comments section, with viewers from across the region rallying behind him and invoking the #SEAblings label.
“I knew he was going to be a good singer the moment he said he was from the Philippines. Being a Malaysian, I shed proud tears for our dear SEAbling, and hopefully he will continue to prosper and achieve his dreams,” one user wrote.
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