Charice Pempengco: Conquering Boundaries With Vocal Prowess and Love
It was last year that I first heard about this little girl called Charice on the local entertainment news saying that Ellen DeGeneres personally talked to her on the phone inviting her to sing on the Ellen show. That got me curious after all this is a Fillipina we are talking about. I searched the video that Ellen saw in Youtube which made her decide to invite Charice over. It was a Korean show called Star King and Charice then 14 was singing “And I Am Telling You” from Dreamgirls. My jaw dropped as I heard her sing. I had goose bumps as I heard her go through the challenging notes. I heard my self say “yeah” as she used her whole body to express the intensity of the emotions of the notes. Of course she was not performing it according to the emotional requirement of the scene in the play, but her showmanship in delivering the song was exceptional. As a director it’s easy for me to spot a gifted performer and Charice is definitely one.
Ellen DeGeneres Show
Conquering the Audience on the Net
Breaking into the international scene is not an easy task for a young girl her age but Charice has conquered barriers one after another with her vocal prowess. Thanks to one called FalseVoice who posted a video comparing her voice to that of well known singers. It was this video that got Charice invited to do recording in Sweden and guest in the Korean show Star King. Her small body defies the kind of power and passion that comes out in every note of a song she sings. The word spread, her Youtube videos were getting millions of hits and people started using her name as a title to their videos that do not feature her if only to get hits. Soon her name became a keyword.
UK TV show "The Paul O'Grady Show"
Conquering International TV Shows
Her stint at the Ellen Show paved the way for other invitations to guest in other international television shows like the Paul O’Grady Show in England where she received two standing ovations -- which was a first in the show's history. The Oprah Winfrey Show came next and it was the overwhelming response to her performance in Oprah that opened more doors for her dreams to come true. Oprah got in touch with David Foster and asked his help to give Charice a chance. In Oprah’s "Dreams Come True" episode David accompanied Charice on the piano as she sang “My Heart Will Go On”. Celine Dion made a surprise invitation after that segment.
Oprah's "Dreams Come True" Episode with Charice and Celine Dion's Duet at Madison Square Garden
Conquering the International Concert Scene
Before the second Oprah guesting Charice was introduced to the international concert arena by David as he made her part of his tribute concert called David Foster and Friends. Charice was also personally invited by one of her idols Andrea Bocelli to be a guest on his birthday concert "The Cinema Tribute,". Interestingly enough Charice had a dream book where she drew her herself singing together with her many idols including Andrea and Celine. That dream book was now coming to reality and fast.
In the opening of MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Charice was among those who performed and she holds the title of being the first ever entertainer to gain a standing ovation at this venue. The invitations kept coming in from everywhere and standing ovations were a common site whenever and wherever she performed.
Charice with David Foster in Good Morning America
Charice Sings God Bless America
Conquering All with Love
Charice has the zest for life and the confidence required of a performer. She can belt out songs with so much passion and depth for a girl her age that it makes one wonder. Where does she get her intensity? This little girl was actually traumatized at the age of three having witnessed how her father went “wild” one day by choking her mother and then pointed a gun to her mother’s head while she and her younger brother cried helplessly. Thankfully their neighbors were there to stop any further violence. She said she could not help her mother then but vowed to help her one day.
That very day, Charice’s mother Raquel, decided they had to get out of the house and was determined to raise her children on her own. Charice saw how hard her mother worked and suggested that she help out by joining contests. Raquel was reluctant about the idea but taught her some singing techniques as she herself had dreams of going to Japan to work as a singer there to help her own mother with money matters. Unfortunately she got married before she could fulfill that dream.
When Charice was ready their "singing contest hopping" days began going from one barrio to another and from one fiesta to another. There were times she won and there were times she lost. Every cash prize she received went to saving for her education and daily expenses that her mother, could not cover earning only a factory worker's wage.
There were times that Charice experienced rejection too as some television contests required a "certain look." She was not pretty enough they said. And then came a chance to join a television contest where text votes would determine the final score. She may have scored high with the judges but she did not get enough votes to get the grand prize. She came in third which saddened her but at the same time made her stronger.
Her love for her mother and her desire to use singing as a means to help her mother was the driving force that led her to conquer all disappointments and frustrations making her determined to be better at what she does best – sing. In fact, if you listen close enough to the first two videos, she sings it as “…And I am tellin’ you, I’m not goin’ You’re the best Mom, I’ve ever known…”. She does that in purpose.
Her dreams are fast coming true now and so are the dreams of her mother for her children. Charice continues to conquer hearts all over the world by giving soul to any song with the power of love. We Filipinos are proud of her.
God bless us all as you bring pride to our country, Charice Pempengco!
by Daisy Ba-ad
Comments
very nice article about an amazing girl......!!!! CHARICE has now conquered the world....
charice is unique and has a natural talent. i think she is the best singer that the philippines or even in asia has ever produced.
I am Charice's Number 1 fan in Thailand :) Very informative and inspiring article and videos. Might as well visit charicemania.com for an update about Charice.
Cheers.
She surely has the talent. This girl will surely reach higher grounds.
hebat
thank you so much dayzeebee for posting this kind of Blog about our very own charice pempengco!!
truly, i cant describe my amazement with this girl..she is truly a gifted girl! she can sing songs with emotion, passion, and soul!!
every time i heard her sing as if she blow me to the highest!!!
fantastic girl!! keep the good work charice. we are always here and we will always love you!!!!
Wow! She's amazing. I'm glad I got to listen to her and I will continue listening.
Such a HUGE voice from such a TINY girl!!! Thank you for introducting her to me! Makes me miss teaching show choir... :)
Thumbs up!
ProCW
Morning Michelle :0) OOO Daisy :0) OOO
Its great reading all your comments and feeling the love from your hearts .We serve a great and wonderful loving God. It was fun last night playing International Tag....Daisy I would love to be in one of your acting classes...I have never acted on stage that is and I know i would be good because I,m in-touch with my true self and I know that's a big part part of it...Boy if God told us to move to the philippines, I would be there in a heart beat, true friendship and love are more precious than Gold!!!!!!!! Hey I,m going to paste this message on Daisy`s page too Michelle.
You know people have said in the past that the age of innocence is dead I beg to differ. What we all have growing here among us is a new healthy unconditional love in its purest form that has and is being refined in Gods fire. To truly love I believe is to face our fears or the unknown but with God at the helm and his true love guiding our hearts.
Michelle thank you for the complement last night and i quote....
You know what? It makes me happy I can be me with you. That is certainly an important part of friendship huh?
That right there is what it is all about and is why Jesus came so that we could be free to love freely and be our true selves!!!!!!!!!!
Lord I pray Our friendship continues to grow brighter and stronger every moment and that you protect us all as you promised to those of us that choose life in you. Bless Daisy and Michelle this coming week with wonderfull expressions of your unfailing love!!!!!!
Ok I love you Guy`s In Jesus Mighty Name....
Mike :0) OOOOOO Cynthia`s sleeping but I know she sends her love as well...I,m so happy to know you both:0)
She really is amazing. I first saw her on Oprah.
I had not heard of her, so thank you! She is a wonder in every sense.
dayzeebee, you are wonderful! You filled my eyes with this one. What an amazing voice. And an inspirational life story. I know we all wish them good luck and love. This lovely child and her equally lovely mother deserve the best of both.
Dayzeebee: My nephew's Philippine Dad's last name is Lozada, but he doesn't use this surname; he took on his step father's Italian name when sis remarried. He is indeed a very interesting mix. LOL!
A wonderful voice - I'm glad you did this Hub!
Isn't it wonderful, just wonderful :::little goose bumps here::::::: that God can bestow such awesome talent in a human being? Wow, this young girl can make a person cry with her talent.
I forgot to mention to you and Ripplemaker, but my older nephew who lives in Thailand now, is half Philippine, so was exposed to your culture while growing up. :) I found the Filipinos in the USA are mostly very well educated, which I found interesting.
Wow what an incredible show Daisy! I will definitely be dreaming of Angels tonight. I sure love when dreams come true and I loved how this grateful young lady drew herself in her dreambook singing with Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion and how both of those dreams swiftly came true.
Charice sure can give soul to any song and make her fellow Filipino family very proud of her. I as an American was very proud of her too for her soul in God Bless America. She certainly deserves the attention. May she always be blessed.
A very inspiring hub, Daisy Angel. Thank you and thumbs up.:)
What a nice little entertainer and thanks for sharing. I am always interesting in hearing about new people, and I had not heard of Charice until now.
Hi Daisy :0) Way to go for the Philippines!!!!!!1111111:0) Its great to see someone overcome fears and obstacles and break through with their true talent...God has gifted us all with amazing talents and as one women said recently and I quote " When I get to heaven and meet God I want to tell him I have used up all the talents he gave me.... and that is my prayer for all of us :0) Lots of blessings to you...Mike :0)
I read about this golden voiced young lady. Nice write up about a deserving celebrity Daysee.
regards Zsuzsy
Also, I am touched that dreams do come true for people and it makes me want to reach out for my dreams and believe in them too. That is a more powerful lesson for me. :-)
Beautiful tribute dayzeebee to a Filipina :-) Yes, we are proud of her.
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