Czarina Faith Abuso

JM and Marielle’s standout Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande transformation

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

Among the most unforgettable moments of the season was JMielle&#x27;s Round 5 performance, which saw Marielle Montellano making a triumphant return to the &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/your-face-sounds-familiar">Your Face Sounds Familiar</a>&quot; stage after having to sit out a previous round due to illness—and what a comeback it was.Together with her singing partner JM Dela Cerna, the duo delivered a breathtaking transformation into Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande&#x27;s iconic roles of Elphaba and Glinda from the hit musical &quot;Wicked,&quot; bringing the house down with their rendition of the soaring anthem &quot;Defying Gravity.&quot;Everyone in the studio was stunned the moment JMielle emerged from the ‘iconator.’ Their physical likeness to their icons was striking, their costumes were on point, and perhaps most impressively, their voices rose to meet the enormous demands of the song. The performance moved the jury—composed of Ogie Alcasid, Sharon Cuneta, Klarisse de Guzman, and Nyoy Volante—to their feet for a well-deserved standing ovation.When hosts Vhong Navarro and Jhong Hilario asked JM about the experience, he opened up about how nerve-wracking it had actually been behind the scenes—not only was it his very first gender-switch transformation on the show, but he also had to tackle one of musical theater&#x27;s most technically challenging songs live, which left him battling nervousness and self-doubt leading up to the performance.It comes as no surprise, then, that during their discussion on the &#x27;Road to the Grand Showdown&#x27; episode, JMielle named this particular act as their personal number one favorite out of everything they had done together, especially for JM, given the dual challenge of the gender transformation and the difficulty of the song. Also making it to their list of favorites their takes on Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj; TJ Monterde and KZ Tandingan; and Janno Gibbs and Jaya.Will JMielle emerge as the season&#x27;s Grand Winner? Catch the “<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/your-face-sounds-familiar">Your Face Sounds Familiar</a>&quot; Grand Showdown, starting April 5, 7:15PM on Kapamilya Channel, ALLTV2, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and <a href="https://app.iwanttfc.com/dFR6MWHAcVb">iWant.</a>

JMielle names their "Wicked" transformation their all-time favorite performance on "Your Face Sounds Familiar."

JMielle names their "Wicked" transformation their all-time favorite performance on "Your Face Sounds Familiar."

WINNING MOMENT: JM and Marielle’s standout Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande transformation | YFSF 2026

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WINNING MOMENT: JM and Marielle’s standout Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande transformation | YFSF 2026

Liezel Dela Cruz

Published March 28, 2026 10:08 PM PHT

|

Updated March 29, 2026 12:11 AM PHT

Read More:

Your Face Sounds Familiar

JM Dela Cerna

Marielle Montellano

Cynthia Erivo

Ariana Grande

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