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Meet Charice, a sixteen-year-old singing sensation from the Philippines. Singing contests got her started. The Internet lit a fire under her career. And Oprah and Ellen used their influence to give her a hand up into stardom. Now, she’s featured on the “Hitman: David Foster and Friends” album alongside Babyface and Michael Buble. Way to get your mom out of the garment factory!

Born in 1993 in San Pedro Laguna, Charice Pempengco had a lot to overcome. Domestic violence forced her mother to leave Dad, then pull 16-hour shifts at a sewing machine to make ends meet. Charice started singing at age four; her “concert debut” was at a Balibago basketball game at age seven. Wanting to earn income to help Momma, young Charice began working the Filipino singing-contest circuit soon after. “Even if the prizes are $50 or $10, it’s big money to us,” she told reporters.

Soon Charice was movin’ up like George and Weezie. At fourteen, Charice kept popping up like a Whack-a-Mole on the Philippines’ ABS-CBN Little Big Star competition, coming back on a Wild Card to win Second Runner-Up. An appearance on South Korea’s Star King (Ningin readers, you know you’re there for Star King!) led to discovery by Ellen DeGeneres. Oprah got on board too; she took up the young singer’s cause with famed producer David Foster. Charice had confessed her dream of singing with Celine Dion to the “O,” and the “O” arranged for a live satellite feed so Celine could make the invitation. Charice was speechless. The concert was at Madison Square Garden on September 15. Since then, Charice has also been featured in a concert with David Foster and many other big names at Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

I love happy stories like this. And I love the tradition of young people giving their parents a hand up—so prevalent in Asian cultures. I just have one gripe about this story. The “pretty” factor.

Like many other kids with showbiz aspirations, Charice was told she was “not pretty enough” to be a star. Now listen, people. I majored in voice in college. As a grade school music teacher, I found identifying talent to be a very important part of my job. And I would far rather hear an Average Jane with pipes than a model with a tin ear.

A performer should make the most of her looks. But it’s the music that counts! I think Charice is a cutie, and, to borrow an expression from singer India Arie, “What God gave her is just fine.” We aren’t all gonna look like Beyonce, people!

Anyway, I’ll get off my rant now and give you a vid of her duet with Celine Dion. Congrats to you, Charice. It’s great to see your hard work and sacrifice paying off.


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Hi again, Charice fans! I just made extensive updates to my Charice blog posts, including a BRAND NEW chapter on FalseVoice’s contributions to Charice’s career. I interviewed FalseVoice and worked with him to make sure the timeline of events was completely accurate. Here’s the link:

http://bolstablog.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/charice—my-interview-with-falsevoice/

Let me know what you think!

Phil Bolsta
bolstablog.com
Author of “Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything” (http://www.sixtysecondsbook.com)


Sakura - 12/27/08 8:07 am

That’s like the world’s longest blog post. haha

You’re such a firecracker raspberry


That’s like the world’s longest blog post. haha


Hi again, fellow Charice fans! I’ve spent a lot of time updating my blog post about Charice and would love to get feedback from you! I added so many more videos that I broke the post up into chapters so they’re easier to load. Here is the main post:

http://bolstablog.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/the-sensational-charice-pempengco/#more-2082

I would really appreciate it if you would suggest more videos for me to add. I’m looking for anything that is of decent quality that adds value to what I already have put together. All suggestions are appreciated! And if you see any errors, please let me know so I can correct them. Thank you! I want to make this site as complete as it can be.

I’m also adding new information and analysis. For example, I just posted this:

How did Ellen become aware of Charice? Ellen saw a YouTube video of Charice’s powerhouse performance on Star King, a South Korean talent show, on October 13, 2007.

Why is this performance so powerful?
• First of all, she strode confidently on stage like a seasoned veteran and blew the gates off with her first note, instantly establishing the richness and maturity of her voice.
• Second, And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going she chose is universally recognized as a make-or-break song that separates the wannabes from the pros, yet she made it her own as if she had been born to sing it.
• Third, she was an unknown, which made the juxtaposition between her incredible voice and her schoolgirl appearance even more jarring.
• Fourth, her stage presence was astonishing—the way she so naturally complemented her voice with such, savvy, apropos moves seemed almost preternatural.
• FIfth, her sheer force of personality transfixed the crowd—her mid-air mic switch and deft audience interaction effectively announced, not just to those in attendance but to the millions who would soon be YouTubing her all over the world, that, ready or not, here was a force to be reckoned with.
• Sixth, she projected a genuine, pure and joyous spirit, enabling her to transcend her immediate circumstances and effortlessly transport the audience into the realm of emotional and spiritual intimacy.

Thanks again and I hope to see your comments on my site!

Phil Bolsta
bolstablog.com
Author of “Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything” (http://www.sixtysecondsbook.com)


Talk about dedication. She really is great though!


I just became aware of Charice a few days ago. Her performances moved me to tears. I was so impressed that I wrote her up on my blog and included a video timeline of her most popular appearances. I also included a six-part mini-series about her life and a three-part interview with Racquel, Charice’s beloved mom. I hope you’ll stop by and visit—just search for “Charice.”

Many thanks!

Phil Bolsta
bolstablog.com
Author of “Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything” (http://www.sixtysecondsbook.com)


arkarna: that’s what I was wondering. I hope she gets in with a really good label. Her voice is unrivaled to many of the popular singing artists of today. She’d beat them hands down.


Isn’t she signed already?


It was so cute!


So this little Charice was already on your radar? Awesome.


I thought they both did well. It was so sad too! All the Suju members were crying.


Yeah same here. She outshined him by a lot. haha


Her deut with one of the Suju members was my favorite.


I know right. Who cares though. She’s awesome.


I love her. I’m sad that she hasn’t sang with Whitney Houston yet though.



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