This Is the Moment

This Is the Moment is the debut studio album by Filipino singer and Star in a Million grand champion Erik Santos, released in the Philippines on May 3, 2004, by Star Records. After winning the ABS-CBN talent search, he signed a recording contract with Star Records' label, and immediately recorded the album. To date, the album has been certified 3× Platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). The album was, later, made available on digital download through iTunes and Amazon.com MP3 Download. Background In 2003, Santos joined Star in a Million singing competition on ABS-CBN, and became part of the "Wild Card" entry to the Final 10 of the show. He had a good start in the competition, but got eliminated during the third week of the show, when it was still a part of the Sunday noontime variety show ASAP. Nevertheless, his second chance came, and his rendition of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" won him the tenth and final slot for the semi-finals round. Eventually, he became one of the three grand finalists along with Sheryn Regis (first runner-up) and Marinel Santos (second runner-up) in the showdown for the title of Star in a Million. "This is the Moment", a song from the musical Jekyll & Hyde and popularized by Martin Nievera, won him the title. He graduated in high school at Immaculate Conception Parochial School - Malabon, and studied college at the Centro Escolar University, taking up Dentistry, but later shifted into Nursing at the Emilio Aguinaldo College. As soon as he won the singing competition in 2003, he temporarily stopped studying, due to his busy schedule. Santos went from being an anonymous talent to a nationally known pop star. For several months, millions of viewers watched the intense competition and week after week, he impressed the avid viewers of the show with his powerful vocals and warmth as a performer. Early on in the competition, he already showed signs of making it big, thus, earning him the moniker "The Rising Star". With his unforgettable rendition of "This Is the Moment", he emerged as the winner. It was a tumultuous couple of months for Santos after Star in a Million, what with the media frenzy and instantaneous popular success. He released hit singles one after the other—"I Believe I Can Fly", "It Might Be You" (duet with Star in a Million runner-up Marinel Santos), "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" (duet with Star in a Million runner-up Regis) and "This Is the Moment".