Charice: Proudly Philippine Made

She’s by far the youngest yet perhaps the biggest Pinoy act ever to conquer the international music arena, forget about Leah, forget about Lani, forget about Billy, forget about Arnel, Ladies and gentlemen, hail to the newest international singing sensation, from the Philippines, Charice!

One Moment
It was one moment when I truly felt proud of being a Filipino. I was so proud that I cried while getting all the goose bumps. What am I talking about? It’s not something that I did in the bathroom! Hello!, it’s Charice latest international singing performance, a duet with no less than Celine Dion at the Madison Square Garden! From one guesting to another, Charice is really doing something that can make us all proud to be Pinoys. What more? Oprah, David Foster, Andrea Bocelli, to name a few, are all behind her back making sure her star shines the brightest in the months to come.

The Beginning
Charice journey to stardom begun through Youtube. In 2007, a series of videos of Charice's performances were uploaded to Youtube by someone who goes by the name of FalseVoice. It was then after that people from around the globe took notice of her incredible set of pipes. But prior to her popularity in the internet, she already has been a staple of many singing contest in the Philippines since age seven. In 2005, she joined Little Big Star, a talent show on ABS-CBN loosely patterned after American Idol. Eliminated after her first performance, she was later called back as a wildcard contender. Charice worked her way up to the finals and eventually placed third.

Jumpstart

Charice’s Youtube videos brought her first to the attention of Sweden based Ten Songs/Production. In June 2007, she flew to Stockholm, Sweden and recorded seven songs. Then a video of Charice performing the Dreamgirls' anthem And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going became a hit on UCC, the Korean version of YouTube. This gained her an invite to perform the same song on Star King, a famous talent show in South Korea, in October 2007.

International Performances
In December 2007, she flew to the United States for the first time after having been personally invited by Ellen Degeneres to perform on her show. She sang Whitney Houston's I WIll Always Love You and her popular cover of And I Am Telling You. Right after her guesting on Ellen, Charice became an instant celebrity in the Philippines performing on different TV shows, becoming one of the most sought after young singer in the country.

In April 2008, she guested on The Paul O'Grady Show, performing two songs and earning standing ovations, the first in the show's history.

In May 2008, Charice guested on The Oprah Winfrey Show in their World's Smartest Kids episode. She sang Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing.

In the same month, Charice was introduced to the international concert arena by David Foster in his tribute concert, David Foster and Friends, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. She would again later join David Foster on September 13, 2008, in the David Foster & Friends Charity Gala & Concert at Winspeare Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In July 2008, she was personally invited by Andrea Bocelli to be one of his guests on his birthday concert, The Cinema Tribute, held in Lajatico, Italy. Aside from her solo performances, she did a duet of the song The Prayer with Andrea Bocelli.

On September 6, 2008, she performed before more than 50,000 football fans at Feyenoord's Centennial Anniversary, the Festival of the Century, in The Netherlands where she sang the team's theme song, You'll Never Walk Alone.

On September 09, 2008, she once again guested on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the Dreams Come True episode. Oprah referred to her as The Most Talented Girl in the World. She sang My Heart Will Go On with David Foster on piano. Oprah went on to surprise her with an appearance by Celine Dionvia satellite, with Dion inviting Charice to sing a special duet with her at Madison Square Garden as part of her Taking Chances tour.

On September 15, 2008, Charice met with Celine Dion at Madison Square Garden and they performed a duet of Because You Love Me before a 12,000 fans.

Just Proud
Charice might have gone bigtime internationally, but sad to say, her popularity is rather lukewarm in our own country. Though many kakabayans feel so much proud of her achievements, it ends there. Her album is still stacked in the shelves. Nobody seems to buy it cause her videos and songs are accessible anytime for play and download in the internet. I just hope that her career doesn’t end where she has gotten started.

A Star Is Born
“Tonight, a star is born,” David Foster gushed after Charice rendition of “I Will Always Love You” at the show the famous songwriter put up for the opening of the MGM Grand Casino Hotel in Connecticut. The remark is coming not just from anyone but from somebody who just happened to discover Celine Dion. Josh Groban and many other big names.

With all the support that Charice is getting from people who trusted her talents even before we Filipinos did, her eventual turn to be the next big thing isn’t that far from where she is now. The least that we can do as kababayans is just to pray for her continued good health and good voice.