BACOLOD CITY - Visually-impaired Bacoleño singer Carl Malone Montecido brought pride to the city after emerging as a multi-medalist in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) Virtual 2020 on Sunday.

Montecido, a first-timer in the WCOPA competition, represented Team Philippines and bested about 70 participants from different countries around the world

He was named semi-finalist in the Senior Vocal category, and silver medalist in the 18-24 years old Senior Vocal Variety.

Montecido, 21, sang his own rendition of "I Don't Want to Talk About It, " popularized by Rod Steward.  

The WCOPA was held virtually due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Participants were made to perform from their respective countries, edit the video of their performance, and submit it for judging.

In his Facebook post, Montecido, known as Bacolod's blind balladeer, thanked those who supported him throughout his journey in the competition.

"My victory is not just for me but this is for all of us. I love you all. I'm still praying that this is just the start of our success," he said. He also shared that he was thankful for the wonderful experience he had.

He said he was offering his WCOPA achievement to his wife Cris Khen and their son, who are his inspiration.

Montecido rose to fame when he joined ABS-CBN's Pilipinas Got Talent in 2010, It's Showtime's Tawag ng Tanghalan in 2016, and GMA's The Clash in 2019.

He went viral on social media early this year, when he did a cover of Sam Smith’s song entitled “Too Good at Goodbyes” at SM City Bacolod supermarket on February 5, which was posted by Trixie Madison, who took the video of him that day.

Following his trending video, Montecido said he received invites for local and foreign guestings in Thailand, Europe, United States, and Taiwan, among others, including from the Ellen DeGeneres show, a famous American talk show.  

His talent also amused many people globally, reaching Smith, and even Kelly Clarkson, who expressed their admiration to him over Twitter.