Sophia Montecarlo

Sophia Montecarlo
Sophia Montecarlo
Birth name	Swirtty Mae Nibley
Also known as	Sophia, Swirtty, Trinity's Songbird, The Dazzling Diva
Born	March 1, 1986 (age 38); Malate, Manila, Philippines
Genres	Pop, Latin, Alternative
Occupations	Singer; Actress;
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Star Records (2004-2005) ; Vocal Sync (2011-2012)
Website	Official Website

Swirtty Mae Nibley is better known by her screen name Sophia Montecarlo. She used to be a contestant on the reality television show Born Diva. She represented Philippines and won several gold and silver medals for the World Championship of Performing Arts in 2010. Winner of Kumoricon Idol in November 2019.

Early life

Swirtty was born in Malate, Manila to Aladino and Melinda Nibley and lived most of her life in Quezon City.^[1] She has a very diverse background, her family hails from a multiracial clan, she's half Filipino, part Japanese, Vietnamese, Scottish, Spanish, and American descent. Her grandfather is Scottish-American and her grandmother is Filipino, Spanish and Vietnamese. She was raised as a Roman Catholic. Her father was such a big fan of Vilma Santos that he named his only child after the star mayor's son Luis Manzano (also known as Lucky Manzano); she was baptized Swirtty Mae Nibley. Her father must have been totally star-struck as he trained his daughter to sing, starting at age 3. Swirtty's parents separated when she was three, however, they remained on good terms, after which she was raised by her father and grandfather.

During her childhood, Swirtty performed at Manila Hotel, Manila Pavilion and Holiday Inn Manila. While at Trinity High School, she was a Rotary Club member. She graduated from Trinity High School in 2003.

The youngest and the 6th grand finalist of the Born Diva TV series,^[2] said she could sing as many as 20 songs every day when she reached her teens. She pursued her college at Trinity University of Asia and finish Mass Communication major in Broadcast Journalism. While studying she also worked part-time at Trinity as a student assistant.

Personal life and career

Personal life

She started singing at the age of 3.
She joined and won several contests. Her first television debut on Eat Bulaga!, a hit noontime variety show in Philippines, happened when she was just eleven.
She has a whistle register (only heard in rare recordings and outtakes).
She auditioned for Star Circle Quest, Star in a Million and The X Factor Philippines.
She was voted off in Born Diva on the third round even she got the highest votes through text and internet.
3 days Champion in Magandang Tanghali Bayan Bidaoke
Goddaughter of Jograd Dela Torre and Aga Muhlach
Sophia, Kontin Roque and Ahron Villena attended and graduated from the same school on March 2010 Trinity University of Asia School in Quezon City, a middle competency university, with fellow actors Megan Young, Alfred Navarro, Che Tolentino, Charles Christianson, Bryan Termulo, Kris Bernal. Sugar Mercado, Erich Gonzales, Alvin Aragon, Eslove Briones, Shey Bustamante, Joe Vargas and Marco Aytona.

Senator Manny Pacquiao, Hon. Banal, Jorge "Bolet, Hon. Belmonte, Feliciano Jr. R. and other Congressmen recognize and congratulate Swirtty in The Sandiganbayan; a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines. On occasion when she brought home awards from WCOPA.

Born Diva performances

Audition - September 21, 2004. Sophia sang "Love Takes Time" by Mariah Carey, and "Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin" by Lani Misalucha.
Born Diva's group performance - Zsa Zsa Padilla sang with Sophia Montecarlo and Leila Vargas and they chose the song "Luha" by Aegis.
Sophia Montecarlo and Zsa Zsa Padilla's duet - Unleashed the Diva
Born Diva's group performances - Point of No Return, Bring Me to Life, Waiting for Tonight, Le Freak.

Week #	Song choice	Original artist	Result
Top 16	"Halik"	Aegis	Safe
Top 8	"Reason to go on"	Sophia Montecarlo	Safe
Top 7	"Love Takes Time"	Mariah Carey	Safe
Top 6	"Objection (Tango)"	Shakira	Eliminated
Grand Final	"The Journey"	Lea Salonga	Guest

Discography

Album

Born Diva
- Reason To Go On by: Vehnee Saturno
- Released: December 20, 2005 (U.S.)

Single release

"Find Me"

Find Me by: Jonbudz Rocio
Released:
June 1, 2011 (U.S.)

"Sophia Montecarlo"

A sample of the "Find Me" bridge and the last chorus of the song's ending

Problems playing this file? See media help.

World Championship of Performing Arts

In 2010^[3] Sophia was chosen as one of the representatives of the Philippine Team for the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA),^[4] where she competed for the senior division. Her awards are as follows:

SILVER - Female Vocal Contemporary - 18-24
SILVER - Female Vocal Latin - 18-24
SILVER - Female Vocal Open - 18-24
BRONZE - Female Vocal Rock - 18-24

Charity work

In December 2011, Nibley performed with De La Salle University students and donated the pledge money they collected to the Benefit of Sendong survivors. She is active in helping with a non-profit organization for seniors and people with disabilities by providing an affordable, personal, volunteer-based grocery shopping.

Year	Title	Venue	Country
2011	Bb. Caloocan (Judge)	Caloocan City	Philippines
2011	Find Me Single Released	DWIZ
2012	Rachell Allen (Guest) with Miguel Mendoza	Quezon City
2012	New You Magazine Special Featured	Metro Manila
2014 - 2017	FrightTown	Moda Center	United States
2016	El Grito De Independencia	Moda Center
2016	82nd Avenue of Roses	Eastport Plaza
2015–Present	Jade International Night Market	Jade District

Awards

2000 - Manila News Star Ang Sandigan Ng Bayan : The Outstanding Performer of the Year
2004 - Dazzling Diva of ABS-CBN Born Diva
2009 - Studio 23 Myx Why Men Love Whisper : Top 3 Best Photo story for the month of April & Top 2 grandfinalist
2010 - WCOPA (World Championships of Performing Arts) Medalist
2010 - Featured Global Pinoy on The Filipino Channel of ABS-CBN
2010 - Filipino-American Vocal Arts Online Music : Best Rock Solo Vocalist
2010 - Trinity University of Asia - Most Outstanding Student in Cultural and Performing Arts
2013 - 50th Founding Anniversary Trinity University of Asia : Special Citation
2014 - 10th Anniversary Fright Town : Special Citation
2016 - Trio Club : 2nd runner up
2019 - Kumoricon Idol : Champion

Filmography

Television and Shows

Year	Title	Role	Network
1997	Birit Baby	Swirtty Mae Nibley	GMA Network
1999-2001	CU@E ETV 39	Santina	People's Television Network
2004	MTV Supahstar	Swirtty Mae Nibley	MTV Philippines
2004	All Star K!	Swirtty Mae Nibley	ABS-CBN
2004	Born Diva	Sophia Montecarlo	ABS-CBN
2004	Breakfast (TV series)	Sophia Montecarlo	Studio 23
2004	Homeboy (TV show)	Sophia Montecarlo	ABS-CBN
2004	Magandang Tanghali Bayan	Sophia Montecarlo	ABS-CBN
2005	Chowtime Na!	Sophia Montecarlo	IBC
2005	Wowowee	Sophia Montecarlo	ABS-CBN
2004-2005	ASAP Mania	Sophia Montecarlo	ABS-CBN
2010	Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman	Swirtty Mae Nibley	GMA Network
2011	Why Men Love Whisper	Swirtty Mae Nibley	MYX
2011	The Filipino Channel	Swirtty Mae Nibley	ABS-CBN
2012	Wil Time Bigtime	Swirtty Mae Nibley	TV5 Philippines

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
2016	Best Fake Friends	Club Girl	Paul Kampf	The first film under the Kampf-Radar partnership is "Homecoming," a dark comedy written by Sarah Hehman and Christi Sperry.
2017	Zombie Day Apocalypse	Fleeing Citizen	George C. Romero	Zombie Day Apocalypse, to be held on Labor Day during the 2015 Portland Film Festival, which will take place September 1–7, will attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for most extras in a short film.
2018	Interconnect	Woman in Bar	Nivi Singh	Interconnect tells the story of Bela, a garment worker in Bangladesh, while dreaming of an education for her daughter and a better life for her family. On the opposite side of the world, Scott works in American retail fashion industry and travels the globe in search of suppliers. After years of putting pressure on offshore manufacturers while driving company profits higher, Scott finds himself in crisis after tragedy strikes. Based on true events.
2019	The Quiet Crowd	Art Critic	David Hayden	Sophie, a PSU art student, has been killed in her apartment, and the crime scene has been staged like a living art piece. All around her are clues of her time in the quiet crowd.
2020	Inspiration Road	Churchgoer	Rob Nelson	Coming-of-age road trip buddy story canvassing the great USA.

References

Note: All citations to magazine articles lead to a website where scans of these magazines can be viewed

^ [1] ManilaBulletin.com Retrieved on 2004-10-12.
^ [2] ManilaBulletin.com Retrieved on 2011-06-10.
^ [3] Flippish.com Retrieved on 2010-08-20.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2011-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Filipinoamericanvocalarts.com Retrieved on 2011-01-14.

External links

[1] [1] ManilaBulletin.com Retrieved on 2004-10-12.

[2] [2] ManilaBulletin.com Retrieved on 2011-06-10.

[3] [3] Flippish.com Retrieved on 2010-08-20.

[4] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2011-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Filipinoamericanvocalarts.com Retrieved on 2011-01-14.

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