Long before the stage lights got loud, Elisia Parmisano was just an eight-year-old with a plan she probably didn’t fully understand yet.
She actually took that plan overseas. In South Korea to be exact. She was just thirteen.
Now she’s in UNIS, a rising K-pop group formed through SBS’s Universe Ticket.
In that contest, she ranked first.
It was a proud moment. But Elisia is not one to rest on her laurels.
She is still hustling. Eager to fulfill dreams even as she is still trying to figure out things in real time. As a teen.
Ask her what it feels like to be a Filipino K-pop idol. She doesn’t overcomplicate it.
“Masaya po,” she says.
That’s it.
It’s fun. It’s learning. It’s a rare chance.
That awareness shows up often. But it’s not as if she’s simply selling the drama. Elisia is way more adroit than her innocent face would let on.
She talks about hard work like it’s normal. Almost automatic. She credits it to being Filipino.
“We’re very dedicated… very loyal… and brave when it comes to taking risks,” she says.
She mentions flying to Korea at thirteen like it’s just another errand. But it isn’t. It’s a leap for most at that age but she doesn’t treat it like one.
Elisia calls it “Filipino courage.” It sounds simple, but she uses it to explain a lot, including auditions, training, repetition, all the unglamorous parts.
Bottom line: She did not just arrive in K-pop. She worked her way into it, step by step, note by note.
“Like that’s what I always say din po to those who want to chase their dreams. They should work at it po.”
Elisia speaks three languages: English, Filipino, Korean. She switches between them easily. Impressive as it is, what stands out more is how she easily switches between worlds. Stage and training room. Home and abroad. Public and private. She carries her Filipino identity into all of them without announcing it.
“A regular day for me include, training, classes, then crochet. I’m not really that good po but I’m happy with what I could do.”
Again, she makes everything seem so easy.
There’s also a certain friendliness she notices about Filipinos in general. She calls it a kind of brightness. She considers this something akin to a super power of sorts.
“We would never go unnoticed,” she says, almost amused. “In a good way. We’re always so happy.”
Offstage, she’s still forming her references. She looks up to Marian Rivera and talks about acting like it’s a future door she might open. She grew up watching Regine Velasquez and still treats that influence close to her heart.
“I have my own set of K-pop Idols who I look up to pero, of course, my biggest heroes po talaga are still mostly Filipinas.”
Then there’s the singing.
For Elisia, singing is not just technique. It’s inheritance.
“You sing with feelings… with your heart,” she says, making it sound like a mantra that she has repeatedly told herself.
Karaoke is practically a training ground in her story. Not for skill alone, but for emotion.
“Like every Filipino family po, we always do karaoke. That’s how I learned to sing in the beginning.”
In UNIS, she is not in a rush to stand out alone. She talks more about the group than herself. About building something together. About growth that doesn’t need to be loud to matter.
During their SWICY era, she even got a glimpse of production life in Korea. She describes it simply. Everyone was kind. The set felt like a drama. She noticed that more than anything else.
“It was a dream come true. I was so happy po talaga to experience it.”
But she doesn’t frame it as a peak moment. More like a preview.
Actually, nothing she says sounds finished. Not her career. Not her goals. Not even the version of herself she’s becoming.
For now, she signs off to fans, the Ever Afters, with something almost understated: There’s more to come.
