Up Close with Ram Chaves

Friday, August 1, 2008

Even when Ramon Chaves III placed third in the very first season of Pinoy Idol, he remained a very down-to-earth person.

Ram, as fondly called by loved ones, was surrounded by his wife and kid (named Ramon Chaves IV) and by friends at the lobby of Mallberry Hotel prior to this interview last Thursday.

Ram spoke fluent Cebuano throughout the interview with Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, as well as the succeeding one with a Davao-based GMA variety show.

It would be a surprise for many to note that the now 26-year-old Ram started learning how to sing only at the age of 21, immediately after graduation.

After finishing his BS Business Management course at Xavier University in 2003, Ram joined his dad in Dubai to work as a kargador. His father is a limousine driver there at Burj al-arab, the hotel famous for its distinctive dhow shape.

A year later, Ram returned back to Manila where he worked at PeopleSupport as a call center agent.

When this writer told the Pinoy Idol first season second runner-up that he was also a former employee of PeopleSupport at its Cebu site, the mood became even more relaxed and casual.

"Aw, PS diay japon ka? Unsa ka nga account bai, EarthLink o Expedia," Ram high-fived this writer.

Ram also spent his secondary education days in Cagayan de Oro, graduating at Jesuit-owned Xavier University High School in March 1999.

Theirs was the last batch when XUHS was strictly an all-male institution.

When it became clear to him that singing was his passion, Ram formed a band in Manila called Sutil.

The band performs in bars, corporate events, even weddings.

"Kung naay gig, absent sa trabaho," he confessed.

Ram, whose mom is in the United States, has two younger siblings living at RER Subdivision, a brother in college and a sister in the elementary level.

"I'm thankful for what I have achieved. Everything I am now is because of God," he said.

Ram auditioned at the SMX for Pinoy Idol and confessed that he knew about his singing talent only while videoke-ing with his drinking buddies in Manila.

Aside from singing, he also loves playing basketball.

Among his influences is Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas.

The Pinoy Idol second runner-up counts his wife as his own idol. They've been married for barely nine months only since December 2007.

Expected to be welcomed into the GMA Artist Center fold, Ram can next be heard as the singer for the theme of the upcoming telenovela Una Kang Naging Akin.

"I never expected this. It's really an honor. Wow!" he said.

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