Original Pinoy Musikahan: A Tribute to World-Class Pinoy Music!: December 2007

It was a glorious day for the Philippines when Charice Pempengco visited the United States to set America's ears on fire. What began as a simple YouTube video catapulted Charice to ultimate (and international) stardom.

Charice started joining singing contests on TV when she was very little. She once joined Magandang Tanghali Bayan's Bulilit Starquest singing to the most ambitious Whitney Houston or Celine Dion songs with her unbelievable vocals and child-like charm.

However, it was not until she joined Little Big Star that Charice garnered more attention. In the show, she was able to exhibit her most unique vocal prowess -- outbelting the likes of Sheryn Regis in their powerful rendition of the latter's signature song, "Come In Out of the Rain," or astounding crowds with her signature rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." Charice was on her way to become the clear winner.

Sadly, things did not come through for Charice. She only placed third during the grand finals, trailing behind Sam Concepcion and Gian Barbarona. I was stunned. Somehow, I knew Charice was never going to be ABS-CBN's prime choice as the grand winner of the show. They are always after good looks, star quality, and all that baloney.

Charice was a victim of our society's fondness for good looks and star quality. Her unique and unbelievable talent was simply outshone by Sam Concepcion's appeal. Vocal-wise, Charice was the obvious choice, but knowing how Filipinos are more interested in "looks" compared to true talent, I was not at all flabbergasted by ABS-CBN's decision.

A year or two later, after Charice's not-so-successful stint on Little Big Star, videos of her performances during the contest started popping up on YouTube. It was the perfect timing -- Bianca Ryan, an American girl fresh from her performance of the Dreamgirls' phenomenal hit "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in America's Got Talent started gathering attention for herself. Unique and competitive as we Filipinos can be, YouTube fans started comparing Bianca and Charice, to the point of uploading a side-by-side "versus video" of the two. This stirred more attention for Charice as her talent was being recognized by more and more people. And then, the good news finally came.

Ten Songs Productions, a recording company from Sweden, noticed Charice's unique vocal prowess on YouTube. They decided to contact her manager in the Philippines to fix a record deal with her. All was going truly well for the young diva. She flew to Stockholm to record seven songs -- four originals and three covers -- for her digital album to be released soon. Just when you thought things couldn't get any better for Charice, it does.

Soon after, Charice was invited to join a talent show in Korea entitled Star King where her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" left the crowd begging for more. Since then, with the help of 'FalseVoice' of YouTube, Charice was gaining a following that was not stopping anytime soon. Her popularity as an Internet star brought her to unimaginable heights -- Charice was now unstoppable.

The video clip of Charice singing on Star King reached Americans as she was suddenly featured on E! and The Ellen Degeneres Show. Ellen invited Charice to guest on her show and perform for her viewers live. With the help of Atty. Michael Gurfinkel, Charice was brought to the United States to fulfill her dream.

Finally, on December 19, Charice set foot on Ellen's show to astound and astonish America. Her rendition of Jennifer Holliday's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," which slowly became one of her trademark pieces, was truly effortless and jaw-dropping. Charice was on fire. After her lung-busting performance, she was in tears as she was well-recognized and lauded by the audience. Before the show ended, Charice also sang her signature song, "I Will Always Love You." She deserved the two standing ovations she was given for her wonderful performances. Charice wowed America.

All is well for Charice. Right after her guesting on Ellen's show, she met renowned producer David Foster and entertainment lawyer, Ed Shapiro, who mentioned that Charice was the 'next Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey.' Sooner or later, I will not be shocked if Charice will have to migrate to the United States to fully take advantage of the opportunities available to her. The little Filipina diva who tried her luck in a singing contest in her own motherland and unfortunately lost was slowly evolving into an international star.

In the end, what amazes me most is the sudden shift of enthusiasm in our country. Would Charice have received the same support and recognition from her countrymen had she not been featured in the United States? I am somehow disappointed by our society's uncured illness of being there only when things start to go well for somebody. Had Charice not been recognized internationally, she would have slowly drifted as a 'has-been' local artist. All it took for her to be respected, lauded, and admired by her own countrymen is "just" international recognition. Talk about high standards.

Somehow, we have not stripped our society's fondness of physical appearance over talent. We prefer the good-looking over the talented. Many Filipinos only began supporting Charice when a great, big buzz cropped up. When she performed for a foreign crowd, Charice was astounded by the admiration of the people for her -- and it was a first time for many of them to see Charice showcase her talents -- and yet they gave her the recognition she truly deserves. In an interview, Charice couldn't have spelled our society's flaws through implied comparison any better:

"Hindi ko po akalain na ganito po ako tatanggapin ng mga taga-America, na hindi po nila pinansin kahit na Pinay ako, pinansin po nila ang talent ko. (I never thought that Americans will accept me like this, that they didn't care about me being a Filipino, and that they cared more about my talent.)"

Let this serve as a lesson and reminder to every Filipino that we should look beyond what we see on the outside to truly appreciate what is on the inside. We take many talented individuals in our country for granted only because they are not what we desire on the outside. Talented singers like Charice should not wait for international fame to be recognized in their own country. It is a shame to know that Charice still had to gain an international bearing and create a resounding boom to gain the attention of many Filipinos -- her very own countrymen. It is time to change and give our talented artists a fair chance.

Many thanks to FalseVoice and nythawk23 for the videos of Charice linked in this article. Don't forget to witness Charice Pempengco's powerful performances in The Ellen Degeneres Show and continue to support talented individuals like her in our country!

Mabuhay ang talentong Pinoy!

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