Carol Banawa

Carol Claire Aguilar Banawa-Crisostomo (born March 4, 1981), better known in the Philippines as Carol Banawa, is a Filipina singer, songwriter, actress, and nurse currently based in United States. She is a Star Magic Batch 4 alumna.

Early life and career
Raised in Batangas, she has two siblings, Alexander and Cherry. Banawa started singing when she was a little girl while her family lived in Saudi Arabia. Her family then moved back to the Philippines. There, she was invited to join the new roster of ABS-CBN stars through the children-oriented show Ang TV.

She has performed at the Madison Square Garden in New York City at the 2003 New York Music Festival.

In 2010, she made her comeback in the music industry, and starred in the hit Philippine TV series, Mara Clara, where she sang the opening song of the said TV series. She also covered Till My Heartaches End, the theme song of the 2010 film of the same name.

In 2016, her song "Bakit 'Di Totohanin" was featured in one of the scenes of the U.S. drama series The Vampire Diaries.

1998

 * 3rd prize winner in the Metropop Song Festival
 * 1) Finalist for Munting Mutya

1999

 * 1) Silver winner for Asia New Singer Competition at the Shanghai Song Festival
 * 2) Gold record for self-titled album, Carol
 * 3) Best Pop Female Vocal Performance in the 5th Katha Music Awards

2001

 * 1) Awit Awards' record of the year – "Iingatan Ka" from the Tanging Yaman – Inspirational Album
 * 2) Self-titled album, Carol garnered platinum award
 * 3) Special citation for her participation in the 1999 Asian Songfest in which she represented the Philippines
 * 4) People's Choice Awards 2001 – Most Promising Host Entertainer Awardee

2002

 * 1) Transition album garnered gold record award
 * 2) Repackaged self-titled album, Carol garnered multi-platinum status

2003

 * 1) "Special Award" New York Music Festival
 * 2) Follow Your Heart album received gold record certification after three weeks from its release date
 * 3) Transition album garnered platinum record award
 * 4) Awit Awards 2003 – nominated Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for "Stay"
 * 5) MTV Pilipinas Awards 2003 – nominated for Favorite Female Artist

2004

 * 1) Follow Your Heart album received platinum record award
 * 2) Awit Awards Nomination for "Awit sa Ina ng Santo Rosaryo"

2011

 * 1) Nominated in 3rd Star Awards For Music for "Female Pop Artist Of The Year"
 * 2) Winner in ASAP Pop Viewers Choice 2011 for "Pop Movie Themesong"

Hiatus
Banawa took a break from the Philippine music scene in August 2003 to attend to the treatment of her father who was exposed to lethal levels of carbon monoxide. She is married to Ryan Crisostomo and has three children together. She obtained an associate degree in nursing and graduated summa cum laude from the Northern Virginia Community College, Washington, D.C. in 2018. She later obtained a bachelor's degree in nursing from Grand Canyon University in 2020. Presently, she is an OR registered nurse based in the United States.

In 2004, Pinoyvision Records released her Platinum Hits Collection album, a compilation of her songs. The album also comes with a VCD of Banawa's hit music videos such as "Stay", "Ocean Deep" and "Noon at Ngayon".