Renaldo (Reynaldo) Lapuz (born December 18, 1962) is a Filipino-American who auditioned on the seventh season of the television series American Idol, singing the self-written song "We're Brothers Forever".
[1] For his audition, he sang his own original song, "We're Brothers Forever", while wearing a handsome wide-brimmed, winged, marabou feather-covered white hat with the word "SIMON" printed on it and a metallic silver cape.
)[citation needed] Lapuz returned to the show to sing his song during the finale of American Idol Season 7 in May 2008, this time supported instrumentally by the University of Southern California marching band.
[2] In February 2008, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that a major label with local operations was trying to locate Lapuz for "a possible recording deal".
Speaking with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Renaldo recalled the inspiration to "Christmas Chocolatee:" "When I was a little boy, my late sister Fe Lapuz-Velasco gave me a toy, a plastic kid on a horse.