Who says only female contestants get to eventually become successful after joining a talent search on TV? Here are 6 guys who tried their luck in TV talent search shows and made it big in showbiz after. PS: we originally wanted to come up with 10, but only the following made the cut.

6. Kris Lawrence

After winning Season 2 of Search for the Star in a Million, Kris quickly moved from just being JayR’s BFF to a serious R&B singer-songwriter. Kris, who is a regular on Party Pilipinas, also branched out to doing theater work.

5. Gian Magdangal

This ex-Kundirana member pretty much had a showbiz career even before he joined—and lost in—Philippine Idol (he was a runner-up). He was a member of the boyband 17:28 and was part of Trumpets, which gave him theater stints. The contest, however, opened more doors for him: regular shows, concerts, and more plays and musicals.

4. Sam Concepcion

He may have already been doing plays and musicals and even TV gigs when he was younger but what kickstarted his showbiz career was his win at ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star. TV guestings, TV shows, endorsements, and more plays and musicals followed shortly. Recently, we noticed Sam’s been looking more like a hottie than a cutie. Can’t wait to see more of this guy in the next few years.

3. Mark Bautista

He went through a lot before being able to audition for Star for a Night, so even if he placed just as a runner-up, it was perfectly fine with this talented singer. Besides, it was just the start for Mark. He later on made hit records and even branched out to acting, doing movies and TV shows. He is now a GMA 7 talent who sings regularly on the Sunday noontime show Party Pilipinas.

2. Erik Santos

You know someone’s got the X factor when they make everyone fall in love with an old song. Just look at Erik, who made “This Is the Moment”, his song for the grand finals of Star in a Million, quite popular again. He, of course, won, and life’s never been the same for Erik since. This balladeer is responsible for a lot of chart-topping videoke-favorites, and has also earned the title Prince of Pop and even Theme Song King.

1. Christian Bautista

He may not have won in Star in a Million, but there is no denying how successful he became afterwards, with an album from Warner Music that spawned the monster hit “The Way You Look At Me”, which was so good it even became popular in neighboring Asian countries.