Christian Bautista fuses a love of theatre with the Christian hymnals he grew up on as a choirboy in Cavite. Slow-burning melodies and crescendoing choruses have elevated his albums to massive sales, while his Filipino and English ballads form lush serenade repertoires. Bautista’s exquisite voice may have helped him emerge as a finalist on the 2003 Star in a Million talent contest, but it’s his charisma and personality that led to him becoming one of Southeast Asia’s favourite romantic crooners.