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4th Impact (previously known as The Cercados, Gollayan Sisters, MICA and 4th Power) is a Filipino girl group formed in late 2001. The group is composed of sisters Almira, Celina, Irene and Mylene Cercado. The sisters were born in Santiago, Isabela, but later moved to Manila. They are known for participating in several Philippine and South Korean talent shows, including the World Championships of Performing Arts, which they won twice. Performing in Protegé, they were mentored by Jay R, but were one of the first acts to be eliminated. They were also contestants on It’s Showtime, winning the sixth season, and Superstar K6, where they reached eighth place. In 2015, they traveled to the United Kingdom and competed in the 12th series of The X Factor, finishing in fifth place.
Almira, the eldest member of the group, began competing in Filipino reality talent shows at a young age. She was one of the contestants in Star for a Night which was won by Sarah Geronimo. Almira received a voice lesson scholarship for being a grand finalist in a local TV singing contest. Before the formation of the group, she released independent singles and tried to teach her sisters all she learned from her voice lessons. She competed in singing competitions at town fiestas and festivals, while the other sisters competed in dance contests.
In 2001, an aunt suggested the sisters form a singing group. Originally, they named themselves ‘The Cercados’ after their surname and began performing at festivals and events. The group debuted professionally in 2006. They won 16 gold medals and were proclaimed Junior Grand Vocal Group Champion in the World Championships of Performing Arts. In 2008, they competed on Pinoy Idol, but were eliminated in the first round. In the same year, the group released a six-track self-titled EP from Viva Records. In 2009, they changed their name to ‘The Gollayan Sisters’ and competed in various reality singing competitions. In 2012, the group won the Filipino variety show It’s Showtime, singing covers of “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Queen of the Night”. In 2013, the group competed in the World Championships of Performing Arts and won again, this time as the Grand Winner in the Senior Vocal Group Category.
In 2014, the group changed their name to MICA, an acronym formed from the first letters of their names, when they auditioned for the internationally recognized Korean talent competition Superstar K6. In the first stage of the competition, the group sang “U&I” by Ailee, while the lead singer, Almira, also performed a solo of the Beyoncé song “Listen”. The performances received positive reviews from the judges and the group moved to the next round. During the third round, the sisters performed their own rendition of Idina Menzel’s song “Let It Go” from the Disney movie Frozen. Their performance went viral on social media and YouTube, garnering over 20 million views. After competing in various knock-out stages, MICA was eliminated after the second round of “Super Week”. The judges decided to bring them back as a wildcard and the group, along with 11 other acts, progressed to the live show stage of the competition. They were eliminated in Week 3, finishing in eighth place overall.
In 2015, the sisters changed the group’s name to 4th Power and auditioned for the 12th series of the X Factor, singing “Bang Bang”. They received a standing ovation from the audience and all four judges, with Simon Cowell saying, “In terms of first auditions, this is probably one of the best I’ve ever seen.” After airing, their audition went viral on YouTube and Facebook. However, copyright issues were raised regarding the use of the name 4th Power, forcing the group to change their name to 4th Impact. They performed “Show Me How You Burlesque” for the “Six Chair Challenge” round and their mentor, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, selected them as one of her final six groups. They then progressed to the Judge’s Houses round, where they sang “Love the Way You Lie (Part II)” after which they were selected to perform at the live shows.
In the fifth week of the contest, 4th Impact found themselves in the bottom two for the first time, meaning they were one of the two acts who received the fewest votes. They performed “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Holliday against Murray for the judges to decide who would be saved. The judges’ votes were equal, so the public vote was consulted and 4th Impact were eliminated in fifth place, having received the fewest votes that week. After the announcement, Celina collapsed on stage and was taken to hospital.
