Aldrich and James on ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’

MANILA, Philippines – Aldrich Lloyd Talonding and James Walter Bucong, the Filipino teenage duo whose song-performance home video went viral as soon as it was posted in April, appeared on the latest broadcast of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

The show will be aired in the Philippines on Friday night, September 13, 10:00 p.m. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is aired by the 2nd Avenue channel.

The home video of Aldrich, 14, and his cousin James, 18, posted on YouTube by another cousin, Sharla Talonding, was a rendition of “Dance with My Father Again,” the 2003 song by Luther Vandross and Richard Marx.

It has been covered by many artists, including Celine Dion and Jessica Sanchez, whose rendition in “American Idol” in 2012 elicited the praise of Jennifer Lopez, one of the show’s judges.

Here’s the video featuring Aldrich on vocals and James on guitar:

DeGeneres had heard about the video soon enough and immediately broadcast her invitation to the cousins from General Santos City to appear in her show.

5 months later, Aldrich and James appeared on the show – an occasion of lively bantering that drew the audience’s laughter and applause.

“When the video got viral, people started recognizing us along the streets and in the malls,” said Aldrich.

“They even recognized us in the restrooms,” he added, eliciting laughter from the audience. 

“That’s weird.” The audience laughed some more.

James remembered “many people” recognizing him after the video went viral, “especially girls.”

“It feels awkward when they say that they love me,” he said.

“You’ll get used to that,” went Ellen’s repartee.

Aldrich talked about his father, a pastor in their home city, who “was not yet sick when we posted the video” but succumbed to Non-Hodgkin lymphoma two months after.

“It really means a lot to me because i didn’t realize the song would become true,” Aldrich said in the show.

“But he’s watching right now,” said DeGeneres. “I bet he’s going to be so proud of you.”

The duo then performed “Dance with My Father Again,” which prompted a standing ovation.

“I’m so glad we found you!” said DeGeneres, who surprised Aldrich and James with a gift set.

“You want to learn guitar and piano, right? Well, we want to start you up, and so we have a guitar and piano.”

An electric guitar and keyboard was brought out to the stage, and the actress-host also presented Aldrich with a $10,000 check. – Rappler.com

Here’s the segment with Aldrich and James from their Facebook: