he showed improvement as weeks passed, with Cayabyab calling it "from 0 to 100". Nieto was also criticized that he breezed through every round, and eventually into the Final 3, because of his family's riches. He said that every contestant's family is supporting their own, but the vote of the whole country would overpower his family's votes. He considered himself as the underdog in the Finale, compared to fellow finalists Magdangal and Mau Marcelo who had been the favorites of both the judges and the audience. During the Finale, he proved his critics that he deserved to be in the competition with his performances that the judges praised, which were described as musically flawless and exuding of masculine appeal. However, he settled for the runner-up position along with Magdangal as Marcelo was proclaimed winner. Post-Idol Nieto immediately resigned from Unilever after Philippine Idol to fully pursue a singing career. This decision worried some of the people close to him because a career in music is uncertain unlike his stint in the corporate world. He was managed by Sandra Chavez of i-Asia Management Company, which is appointed by Fremantle Media (owner of all Idol franchises) to handle the careers of all finalists. Nieto and fellow Idol finalist Miguel Mendoza has also appeared on the ABS-CBN show ASAP '07 alongside Piolo Pascual, Sam Milby, Jay-R Siaboc, and Ronnie Liang. Moreover, Nieto was also interviewed in "TV Patrol World" about his appearance on ASAP '07. Along with Idol finalist Jelli Mateo, Nieto also sang a food condiment jingle that was rearranged by Cayabyab. He also appeared in various mall shows and corporate events. It took nine and a half months after the competition before Nieto got his major break when he signed for GMA Network as part of its musical variety show SOP Rules. He joined Magdangal, who became part of GMA Network a month after Philippine Idol, in the show. Nieto said that it was only then when he felt the effect of his participation in Idol. Beginning the year 2008, he began being managed by Leo Dominguez (who also manages the careers of Ogie Alcasid and Lovi Poe) and Paolo Bustamante (manager of Brad Turvey and one of the writers of Philippine Idol). Filmography Television Recordings His first recorded single is "Tuwing Umuulan At Kapiling Ka", which was originally sung by Basil Valdez and Eraserheads. It is part of Philippine Idol: