A caregiver from the Philippines, Rose Fostanes, has managed to become a champion in a famous singing competition, which is hosted by the Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, X-Factor Israel. In the last round of the competition, Fostanes defeated rival singers from Israel itself, Eden Ben Zaken. The judges also flooded Fostanes with tons of praise. Just like what it said by Shiri Maimon, a judge who mentored fostanes during the competition, she said that fostanes deserves to win this title. The lady from the Philippines has taken “X – Factor Israel” by storm and unexpectedly emerged as a phenomenon in Israel. The public knew her only as “Rose,” and she was always surrounded by a lot of people whenever she goes in public places.
In this contest, Rose Fostanes, 47, is the only foreign contestant among the four finalists, so this victory could be a very surprising victory. She won the contest with an emotional rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way, and ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys, which she sang with her mentor Shiri Maimon. Actually, at first, Fostanes was not sure she could win this competition. As one of thousands foreign workers in Israel, she was not convinced that the Israelis would vote for her. And she thinks that she will be underrated by the audience and a panel of four Israeli musicians in this competition. This is understandable as they are that determines whether a participant would continue or out of the competition.
But unexpectedly, with her booming voice, she managed to attract the attention of the audience and the judges. By singing songs from Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Queen, and the song ‘You and I’ by Lady Gaga, she has stunning them. And now, Fostanes has become the star of a famous television reality in Israel. It certainly would be a great motivation for the thousands of other foreign workers in Israel. Fostanes first came to Israel about 6 years ago. She came to this country to work as a caregiver, just like other workers from the Philippines.
However, although Rose has won this prestigious title, apparently it will not be easy for her to become a professional singer in Israel. Israeli authorities would not allow her to use her talents for professional purposes. She came to Israel to work as a caregiver, then she may only earn money from her job. If she gets paid from her singing career, then she will face the Israel law.
Fostanes is one of thousands of low-paid, foreign workers in Israel. And it is believed that there are about 20,000 workers from 
the Philippines. She worked as a caregiver for the elderly. Her daily work is caring and cleaning for an ailing woman in her 50s. And she lived with seven of her friends in a crowded apartment in south Tel Aviv.
Fostanes was born in Taguig City, Philippines. She has worked as a caregiver since she was 23 years old. And over the last 20 years, she worked in the middle east before finally moving to Israel six years ago. She is just one of thousands of Filipinos who work in Israel for the same job. Just as usual, everyday, she was just doing her routine job, until a few months ago, a friend talked to her and encouraged her to participate in the “X-Factor”, a popular television show all over the world that has come to Israel.
She’s only 1.50 meters tall, but she managed to amaze the audience. With a powerful and soulful voice, she won the competition and became famous throughout the world, and especially in Israel. And today, a lot of people compare her to Susan Boyle, 52, a singer from Scotland who has won “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2009. And indeed, there are similarities between the two.
