The Little Girl With the Big Voice
Not only did the Internet introduce us to loads of information summed up in a matter of seconds and frustrating distractions such as the brilliant Facebook and the addictive Tumbler from practical matters such as work and studies, but the Internet also introduced to the world a string of exceptional talents such as the (mildly annoying) pop phenomenon Justin Beiber, the . . . er, creative (?) “Friday” singer/songwriter Rebecca Black, and of course, the Philippines’ very own Charice Pempengco.
Yes, if it weren’t for a little website called YouTube, these young stars wouldn’t have had their share of the spotlight. Imagine a world with no Justin Beibers (oh, wait, would it be mean of me if I say I’d want that?), no Rebecca Blacks (ditto), and no Charices. Well, even if I find two out of those three pains in my backside, it would be a shame if their talents would have never been unearthed (and yes, I mean the Bieber, too), especially Charice, who has brought so much pride and honor to our country.
The little girl with the big voice was born with very little advantages apart from her amazing voice, and yet she has managed to become a successful, world-renowned performer. Think about it. She grew up poor –– her father pretty much abandoned them; apparently her paternal grandmother treated Charice, her mother, and her brother like dirt; her mother was a single parent, trying to feed her children and giving them what they needed. She wasn’t conventionally beautiful. But she was talented and persevering, and that was all she needed to make her dreams come true.
Even as a young child, Charmaine Clarice “Charice” Relucio Pempengco’s (born on May 10, 1992 in Cabuyao, Laguna) talent was evident. Before making it to the big leagues, she entered numerous singing competitions in bids to help support her family. She entered her first major contests in 2005 when she joined ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star. She only placed third and kind of faded until she was discovered in 2007.
Her road to stardom starts here. While technically lost the competition, this was where Dave –– a.k.a. FalseVoice, a.k.a. the guy who posted the Charice videos which would ultimately cause her world-wide recognition –– first witnessed Charice’s enormous talent and potential.
“I believed in her talent. After her stint on Little Big Star, she was suddenly left out and gone. That kind of talent is rare and should not be forgotten. Also, I wanted people all over the world to know that we exist and that we have great talents in our country.” –– FalseVoice
A Swedish music publishing company, Ten Songs Productions, stumbled upon one of FalseVoice’s Charice videos. Impressed, they tracked Charice down, flew her in to Stockholm, and had her record seven demos, including “I Will Always Love You,” “It Can Only Get Better,” and “Born to Love You Forever,” all of which can be found in her debut album Charice (produced by Star Records).
A video of Charice singing “And I Am Telling You” in her pajamas led to Star King, a South Korean talent show, inviting her to sing on their show. Ellen DeGeneres happened upon the video of Charice’s amazing Star King performance and, on air, Ellen invited Charice in her talk show. Charice did, marking her first-ever trip to the United States, sang on Ellen’s show, and was rewarded with a standing ovation. She then appeared on Oprah, and then on the United Kingdom’s The Paul O’Grady Show, where she again received a standing ovation, the first ever standing ovation in the show’s history. Her career was taking of rapidly, sending Charice to international-singing-sensation status. Add in “duet with Celine Dion; duet with Andrea Bocelli; mentored by Oprah Winfrey of The Oprah Winfrey Show and David Foster, hot-shot producer; recurring role as Sunshine Corazon in Glee,” and more of her accomplishments to her resume, and you’ve got a successful world-renowned singing sensation our country can be proud of.
“When that girl opens her mouth, angels fly out.” –– Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee
And despite making it big abroad, Charice is still the same girl she was before making her splash in the music scene. This is what I like about her the most. She may collaborate with the likes of Bruno Mars and Celine Dion, but she’s still grounded, passionate about singing, and as determined as ever. Not only that, she always remembers to go home to the Philippines. She might be a star, but she will never, ever forget her roots.
References:
· Phil Bolsta, Triumph of the Spirit. 2008. Charice—My Interview With FalseVoice. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bolstablog.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/falsevoice/. [Accessed 02 June 11].
· Wikipedia. 2011. Charic Pempengco – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charice. [Accessed 01 June 11].
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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