By her 20s, Marcelo became a veteran of singing competitions. She joined her first national singing competition through "Star for a Night", which was shown on IBC-13. She reached the grand finals, but lost to Sarah Geronimo. Losing in the competition did not dampen her spirits. She eventually joined a band called "Chemical Syndrome" and toured around Lucena City and surrounding areas. She has also joined other televised singing competitions such as "Star Quest" at ABS-CBN's Magandang Tanghali Bayan and ABC-5's "Sing Galing".