Charice Take the Stage for David Foster & Friends by Megan Riggs, What’s-On.Com
When you hear Charice Pempengco sing, you’d swear you were listening to Whitney Houston or Celine Dion. And that’s just fine with the Filipina teenager, who has gone from regular girl to YouTube sensation to international star.
After all, Charice’s favorite song to perform is Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You,” and she’s shared the stage with Dion at Madison Square Garden for a duet of “Because You Loved Me.”
On Saturday, May 9, one day before her 17th birthday, Charice will join Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire, Brian McKnight, Peter Cincotti and a surprise guest on the stage of the Mandalay Bay Events Center to honor producer and songwriter David Foster. The concert, called Hit Man: David Foster & Friends, showcases some of the talent that the 15-time Grammy winner has brought to the forefront of popular music.
Known for being the man behind such artists as Houston and Dion—as well as Toni Braxton, Michael Bublé and Josh Groban—it’s no wonder Foster has taken Charice under his wing. What’s more interesting is how the two crossed paths. The talented singer, born Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco (her stage name is a portmanteau of her first two names) began singing at the tender age of 4.
“My mom taught me how to sing,” she says. “I started doing singing contests when I was 7.”
One of those talent shows was Little Big Star, a TV competition in the Philippines similar to American Idol. One of Charice’s fans, whose online name is FalseVoice, posted her performance of “I Will Always Love You,” on YouTube, catapulting her into Internet stardom. The video caught the attention of Swedish music producers, for whom she recorded seven songs. Charice went on to appear on Korean talent contest Star King, which also made it YouTube, leading to spots on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
“I’m always watching Oprah…but Ellen DeGeneres was my first American TV appearance, so I was really happy, of course, [to be invited], she says. “And when I was on Oprah, it was like, double happiness.”
The invitation to appear on Oprah came from Foster.
“I think one of the reasons I was on Oprah was because the sister of David Foster saw my video on YouTube,” Charice explains, “and she sent it to David and then David sent it to Oprah.” Charice’s talk show appearances led to performances with Andrea Bocelli and Dion and ultimately, her first album, which she is currently working on with Foster.
“Actually, it’s kind of a different album for me because I’m always singing Whitney Houston songs,” she says. “This is kind of R&B. It’s not all updated songs, but most are upbeat—something like Rihanna.”
Charice has also tried her hand at songwriting.
“I wrote a song and David heard it,” she says. “I love composing inspirational songs. I wrote a song called ‘Amazing,’ and I think it’s pretty good.”
And while most might say she doesn’t need it, Charice has recently started taking voice lessons.
“I just got my first vocal coach,” she says. “I think it will help me to sing more comfortably because I’m always singing higher notes.”
No matter how many powerhouse high notes fl ow from her petite frame, though, Charice admits she gets nervous singing with superstars such as Dion and Bocelli.
“Of course, omigod, especially at Madison Square Garden with Celine Dion,” she says. “I thought, ‘I’m going to faint.’ She’s my ultimate idol. When I was backstage, I was really nervous, but when I went on stage, she’s very generous. She’s very motherly, and I enjoyed performing with her.”
The singer would also like to collaborate with her other musical heroes.
“I want to sing with Justin Timberlake,” she says. “I want to sing a different kind of song, maybe sing and dance with him. I like all his songs, but I really like the song ‘My Love’…It’s a crazy song.”
In the meantime, Charice is adding to her resume. playing a role with another iconic musical group.
“I just finished shooting Alvin and the Chipmunks part two,” she says. “It was so amazing. It was my fi rst movie. I didn’t do acting—I just sang because I’m the rival singer of the Chipmunks. It’s not really a big part, but I’m a big fan of Alvin and the Chipmunks.”
Hit Man: David Foster & Friends | Saturday, May 9, 8 p.m. | $50, $75 & $125 | Mandalay Bay Events Center | 800-745-3000
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Submitted by creamy and other chasters, posted by KV
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BY: JOCELYN DIMACULANGAN, Philippine Entertainment Portal Filipina singing sensation Charice (who has dropped her last name Pempengco) has just...
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When are you performing in Atlantic City, New Jersey?
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OMIE, excellent catch. I never read the Wikipedia article on Charice and so was unaware that portmanteau was used there. That explains why an average, although well written, piece by a reporter would employ such an exotic and rarely used word. Typically, reporters almost never expend the energy to find 50 cent words like portmanteau, unless, apparently as in this case, somebody hands it to them. Those wiki contributors can sometimes be very able wordsmiths.
Lolo, you’re right about the primary definition. But the secondary definition of portmanteau is “a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings; ’smog’ is a blend of ’smoke’ and ‘fog’; ‘motel’ is a portmanteau word made by combining ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’; ‘brunch’ (breakfast and lunch) is a well-known portmanteau.”
And now we know that Charice, a blend of Charmaine and Clarice, is also a portmanteau, soon to be more famous than all the others!
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Lololando,
Actually, “portemanteau” has other meanings as well. It describes the joining of two words as in motor hotel = motel. Quoting from Wikipedia:
“Portmanteau word” is used to describe a linguistic blend, namely “a word formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meanings.”
The author was referring to Clarice Champagne = Charice.
Kayzee – welcome to Charicemania. We have much fun here with super people.
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hahahaha…. funny..
actually, “portemanteau” is a french word which means coat hanger or coat rack..
by the way, i’m just new here.. and definitely a chaddicts!
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Indeed portmanteau is a classy sounding word, but it is only a leather suitcase with a lock and a handle by which it can be carried.
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I guess Megan Riggs just copied ‘portmanteau’ from the Wikipedia article about Charice. I had never seen that word before I saw it there.
But I agree it sounds classy – like petite instead of pint-sized.
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Hi Cha_rade,
Be sure to carry a portmanteau full of these expensive wine, in the event that CHARICE visits your group at Mandalay Bay. Surely, at 17, she would love to toast with everybody. She toasts, you drink. Heheheh….
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Portmanteau… sounds like a very expensive French wine. Hehe.
I’ll take a glass of Portmanteau along with my bouillabaisse and je ne sais quoi…
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yah lovely word, ‘portmanteau’.. im gonna name my first born that! hehe.. it sounds good, very aristocratishy..lols!
love ü ming!
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Hats off to the author, Megan Riggs, for the spot on usage of a very rare word — portmanteau. Lovely.
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this is a good one….princess charice is on her way to vegas….
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Hello Admin/GM/KV,
Just in case this article hasn’t been submitted yet. For posting pls. Thanks. (delete this message afterwards)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/charice-my-mom-%E2%80%98stage-mother%E2%80%99
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Definitely!
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go cha
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http://www.whats-on.com/ this is the HOME of What-on.com where the pic of Charice is shown , with the cover of the magazine look closely
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this is great article,, please go to the website of this article What-on.com theres a small picture of charice that looks like she is in the Front cover of the Vegas magazine,, look closely
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Max,
thanks for the luck you gave me,see?I’m 2nd lol.You’ll never know maybe next time I will be the first hehe
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i’m 3rd…..lol….
congrats maxx….
cha..keep on soaring!!!…..
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Am I second?
You did it again Max!Congratulations!
Nice article.This is it Charice,way to go!!!
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I’m first I hope. Yes Yes Yes, the magic continues.
I need to go to the Casino. Sorry guys. The race is on for # 2.
Good luck, Fan From Spain. ha
Wow, I could have had 2nd and 3rd by now. Everybody must be headed to Las Vegas.
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