'KILIG': 'Hamilton' cover during Fil-AM singers AJ Rafael and Alyssa Navarro's wedding gets nod from Lin-Manuel Miranda
Filipino American singer AJ Rafael's wedding last year saw his siblings perform an excerpt from the Broadway musical Hamilton—and its star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda gave them his nod!
AJ's bride, fellow Filipino American singer Alyssa Navarro, posted on TikTok Jan. 5 a four-part video of the surprise performance during their big day in August 2022.
Miranda on Instagram, then, commented on the first video that was also cross-posted on the platform.
"KILIG," he said, which got over 1,000 likes. Hamilton's official Instagram page also reposted the clip as an Instagram Reel.
Alyssa, 27, and AJ, 33, made two reaction videos on TikTok about the surreal moment.
In one video, the newlyweds were about to "cry" as they make a public service announcement about the recent feat, with the screenshot of Miranda's comment as background via green screen.
"He said 'kilig' which is Filipino. He said Tagalog," said AJ. "He knows. Mahal kita," said Alyssa.
In another video, Alyssa was putting her hands on her face with a gaping mouth, as well as lip-syncing to the song.
@alyssugh LIN MANUEL MIRANDA COMMENTED ON OUR VIDEO I AM UNWELL #hamilton #linmanuelmiranda ♬ original sound - Alyssa Rafael
@alyssugh #duet with @alyssugh #hamilton #wedding still freaking out & part 4 is still coming #greenscreen ♬ original sound - Alyssa Rafael
In another video, Alyssa is seen in her car talking about how they have been manifesting to work with Lin.
"I am still not over the fact that Lin Manuel Miranda himself commented on the video that we posted of our sibling surprise medley for our wedding," she said.
"Like I don't know if y'all understand how much Lin is a pillar in our family, in our relationship. Like we put Lin Manuel on our vision board for 2020 and 2021 because we are manifesting working with him in some sort of another. So I felt like this was a sign that that is gonna happen. I'm just going to put it out there, Lin."
Aside from being a singer, Alyssa is a manager at the Walt Disney Studios, working in Representation, Inclusion, Strategies & Engagement or RISE. She also performed as Mulan in the show “Mickey and the Magical Map” for several years at the Disneyland Resort. In 2022, she was named as part of Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 list.
AJ, meanwhile, first rose to fame on MySpace before becoming a YouTube sensation. He also became a contestant in the fourth season of American Idol.
