#83 Ramiele Malubay

Next on my American Idol finalist countdown is another Filipino, my number 83 American Idol finalist Ramiele Malubay. She is my least favorite finalist of American Idol season 7; she got ninth place. She was the subject of a minor controversy when a number of personal pictures came to light featuring Malubay and several female friends touching each other's breasts. She was ranked at number 95 by The Los Angeles Times on May 31, 2010. Her musical influences are Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, Lani Misalucha, and Regine Velasquez, citing the last one as her favorite artist.

Ramiele Macrohon Malubay was born to Roger Malubay and Alicia Macrohon on September 6, 1987, in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, of Filipino heritage. She is of Ilocano descent. Upon the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Malubay's parents sent her to Manila, Philippines, the city where the final iteration of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011 was held. The family later relocated to the United States and currently reside in Miramar, Florida. She graduated from Charles W. Flanagan High School, which was founded in 1996 and located near Broward County's C.B. Smith Park and the Walter C. Young Middle School and Resource Center in Pembroke Pines, Florida. She studied nursing at Broward College (formerly known as Broward Community College), a state college founded in 1959  as part of a move to broaden Florida's two-year college system and located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a member of the Florida College System.

Malubay started Polynesian Dancing when she was in the first grade and started singing at the age of twelve. At an early age Malubay started singing for various Filipino-American function across the state of Florida, as well as opening for Filipino acts such as Kuh Ledesma (known by her mother as Maria Socorro Ledesma) and Martin Nievera during American tours.

Malubay successfully auditioned for American Idol season 7 in August 2007 when she performed "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. During the first Hollywood Round, she performed "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" by Aretha Franklin. During the second Hollywood Round, she performed "I've Got the Music in Me" by The Kiki Dee Band.  She got a very positive reception after her performance of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" during top 24 week. Judge Randy Jackson called her performance "classy, almost like a pro," while Simon Cowell proclaimed that she "outsang every single person" that night. Cowell also named her "one of the top three singers in the competition" after her performance of "Don't Leave Me This Way" and also noted that she was "probably the most consistently good singer" during the Hollywood rounds. During top 20 week, Malubay performed "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Harold Melvin. During top 16 week, she performed "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" by Phil Collins. During top 12 week, she performed "In My Life" by The Beatles. During top 11 week, she performed "I Should Have Known Better" by The Beatles. During top 10 week, she performed "Alone" by i-TEN. After performing "Do I Ever Cross My Mind" by Dolly Parton during top 9 week, she was eliminated from American Idol. After an emotional farewell, she did an encore of "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" following her elimination. Malubay had never been in the bottom 3 prior to her elimination. During her time on American Idol, she was roommates with Syesha Mercado and Brooke White.  It was frequently shown that a friendship formed between Malubay and American Idol semifinalists Danny Noriega and Kady Malloy, and third place finalist Syesha Mercado. Malubay also mentioned during her pre-performance video interview for Top 11 week that she had formed close bonds with fifth place finalist Brooke White and winner David Cook.

Malubay participated in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008, where she performed "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5, "Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dayne, and "If I Never See Your Face Again" by Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna. She performed "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2 with Chikezie Eze, Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, and Brooke White. She expressed that she is willing to go to the Philippines to pursue her music career, following the footsteps of American Idol season 3 finalist Jasmine Trias. If she fails as a recording artist, Malubay intends to return to school and pursue acting.

Her appearances after her elimination from American Idol include Live with Regis and Kelly, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Today show, The Sauce, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, Access Hollywood, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She expressed that she is willing to work with The Walt Disney Company during her appearance on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. On 2008, she was nominated as a Favorite TV Personality by the JC Penney Asian Excellence Awards. She performed in a concert in the Philippines with Ogie Alcasid and Pinoy Idol finalists Gretchen Espina, Jayann Bautista, Ram Chaves, and Robby Navarro in December 2007.

On November 14, 2009, Ramiele performed the "Star Spangled Banner" before the main boxing event between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Ángel Cotto at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. She was billed simply as "Ramiele".