Thia Megia
Thialorei Lising Megia is a Filipino-American singer and television actress. She is known for being a contestant on the tenth season of American Idol and for starring as Haley Chen on Days of Our Lives.
Early life
Megia was born in Hayward, California, to Cynthia and Loreto Megia. Her parents, originally from Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines, emigrated to the United States in 1968 and changed their name from Mejia to Megia. She attended Eden Gardens Elementary School in Hayward through the sixth grade, but was cyber-schooled online at California Virtual Academy, when the family moved to Mountain House, California.She has won singing competitions in San Jose and Saratoga and has sung the national anthem at San Jose Giants, Stanford football and San Francisco 49ers games. She also appeared on the TV show Showtime at the Apollo as the Kid Star of Tomorrow in 2008 when she was 13.
Prior to Idol, however, Megia was best known for her appearance on the fourth season of America's Got Talent in 2009. She made it to the quarterfinals, but was cut in the Top 40 round. That same year, she was invited to sing at the David Foster and Friends concert in California. She is the first America's Got Talent contestant to advance to voting rounds on American Idol.
Megia was one of the singers in Lisa Lavie's February 20, 2010, collaboration video "We Are the World 25 for Haiti " for charity relief for victims of the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake, along with Jessica Sanchez. The video's participants were collectively recognized as "Persons of the Week" on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer on Friday, March 19, 2010.
She had her debut concert at Le Petit Trianon Theatre in San Jose, California, on March 27, 2010.
Career
American Idol
Megia auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with the song "Chasing Pavements" by Adele.On March 31, 2011, Megia and Naima Adedapo were eliminated from American Idol.
As of season 10, Megia is the youngest finalist to ever appear on Idol after they changed the minimum age limit to 15 years.
Performances/results
- Megia was saved first from elimination.
- Due to the judges using their one save to save Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week.
Post ''Idol''
On April 19, 2012, Megia began an Asian concert tour in which she headlined concerts in Manila, Taipei, Bali, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur. In May and June 2012, Megia performed in The Finalists Live! at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri with Lee Dewyze, Elliott Yamin, Kimberly Caldwell, and Blake Lewis.
Published on April 13, 2017, Megia was the guest singer for Postmodern Jukebox's cover of the Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." Later in 2017, Megia was one of four featured singers in Postmodern Jukebox
Acting
Megia began her acting career in 2017, when she guest starred in two episodes of Totally Funny. In the same year she appeared in two short films "Eye of Enmity" and "Yellow Rose", followed by guest starring in two series, Pop Music High as Ava and Tails of the Blue as Princess Cordelia. In 2018, she guest-starred in A.S.S as Kristen and in the same year, she joined the cast of Days of Our Lives as a character named Haley Chen. She debuted on December 19, 2018.Discography
Singles
| Year | Title | Album |
| 2011 | "One Day" | |
| 2012 | "We'll Be There" |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | American Idol | Herself | Contestant; 12 episodes |
| 2017 | Totally Funny | Savannah Saffron / Hannah / Herself | Episode: "Episode #1.4" Episode: "Episode dated 10 October 2017" |
| 2017 | Pop Music High | Ava | Three episodes |
| 2017 | Tails of the Blue | Princess Cordelia | Four episodes |
| 2018 | A.S.S. | Kristen | Three episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Days of Our Lives | Haley Chen | Regular role |
| 2019 | Coop & Cami Ask the World | Min | Episode: "Would You Rather Get a Selfie?" |