With Oprah’s imprimatur, David Foster’s expertise and Madonna’s publicist, Charice is well-positioned to jockey for pop stardom. It also helps that the cute songstress has a meaty, mellifluous voice.
Born Charice Pempengco in the Philippines, she began competing in singing contests at age 7. Since making her first TV appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show two years ago, the teen has sung with Céline Dion and Andrea Bocelli, garnered more than 13 million YouTube views and made four appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show where the talk show maven dubbed her “the most talented girl in the world.”
Now she’s hard at work hawking her Foster-produced self-titled debut, which opened at No. 8 on Billboard’s 200 album chart last month but has fallen to No. 55 in three weeks. After grabbing just a few hours of sleep on an L.A. flight that landed at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, the performer set off on a whirlwind two days of Toronto promotion, capped by a free show and CD signing at the Eaton Centre (Albert’s Way) at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Singer Charice, seen at the Hyatt hotel in Yorkville, is doing a publicity sprint through Toronto.
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The Star tore the up-and-comer away from her iPad at a downtown hotel for a few words.
Q Your voice could be applied to many styles of music, how did you choose this direction?
A Me and David Foster decided for me to record R&B/pop stuff, because I’ve been singing Whitney Houston and Céline Dion songs and all that, but as an 18-year-old singer I really want to connect with the same age. I really want to experience them singing my songs, because I know that they can’t really relate to the (Houston) Bodyguard songs.
Q David Foster is well-respected, but why him as your executive producer instead of someone maybe younger and hipper?
A David Foster is really different from other songwriters and producers. He’s really special. He’s not going to make you feel like you have to be scared. He makes you feel comfortable, that you can do it. He’s a really nice funny guy and so fatherly. Sometimes, I’m kind of shy to tell him my ideas, but he knows them. He’s always asking me, ‘Do you want this? Do you like this song? If no, then it’s out.’ I’m always telling him, ‘You know the best, you’re the master. What you like, I like it, too.’
Q What were you looking for in the songs you selected?
A Words are really important for me, then beat, melody. I really want people to connect to the song. Love songs were on top of the list.
Q Aren’t you kind of young to be singing about love with such passion?
A I’m not in love yet, but every time I sing — even sad songs or ballads — I always adapt myself to a song: ‘What if these words were going to happen to me, what am I going to feel?’ Sometimes, after singing a certain song, people ask me, ‘Are you depressed? No, I’m just really into the song.’
Q What impact has the Oprah appearances had on your career?
A It really changes your life. After my first time on her show, she was like ‘I want to help you, tell me your story.’ I told her my story: my mom is a single mom and I started at a very young age to sing, because I really wanted to help her, but I was losing hope. She said ‘No, don’t lose hope, I promise you something big will happen.’ Then she called David Foster.
Source: By Ashante Infantry, Entertainment Reporter, Thestar.com
Submitted by Noellen
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@ Salin, May God be with you always…got crying about you. Just think positive in life all the time, and there’s always LiGht in our life..
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Charice has been a very BIG inspiration to me. Her life and her songs. Her intelligence and humor, faith and spirit have been her arms and weapon to handle situationsand conditions in life.
We are moved by her banters…lol, like her short hair…telling us that WHAT is LOST , can be FOUND again. So CHILL out… choose to be grateful rather than mad. Choose to love rather than hate. She can teach us these lessons in a very suttle and simple way.
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Charice is really pretty in the picture. I think the Toronto Star must have brought along a make-up artist and very good photographer. Very classy look for Charice that I wish was more consistent from interview to interview. I was surprised at how little make-up, if any, she had on for the Access Hollywood piece which is a nationally syndicated daily show. So sometimes she looks like she’s 14, other times she looks like a young woman of 20-ish. Charice is always full of surprises. The short hair wig was a hilarious joke on all of us until she appeared on CTV Canada AM with her long hair intact, and then we realized she was April Fooling us lol.
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@Salin, I am also inspired by her example, especially with the times when they were still struggling. And if she can put up a fight and not lose heart, then so should I. And if she can muster her best performances and give her all amidst all that pressure to put food on the table, then so should I.
her rendition of “The Climb” made the song even more meaningful to me, and the words “It’s the climb” give inspiration to me during those dark hours – and for her to sing this song makes it very credible, with her background.
the other aspect of her life that inspires me as well is to find your gifts and use them to the full. We all have gifts, and even if they are not as outstanding as hers, we nonetheless have a responsibility to use them to the full, and will have to account for them at the end.
keep up the fight, and like we Canadians say, “keep your stick on the ice”.
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Salin,
It’s early in the morning here in texas but you make me cried again not just teary eyed, dang, im so connected with your story, free as you said, then, DREAM BIG!!!…cuz I DO…
GOOD LUCK!!!
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Salin, that was a good comment you made and a tear jerker at that, yes, each of us can relate on Charice’s life experience in so many different ways which make her as our inspiration. In every battle we fight, in some way or another we triumph at the end accompanied with love, hard work and perseverance.
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The writeup is good i only took exception to the word “hawking”.
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Charice is awesome,Oprah is right,she is the most talented girl in the world.something big will happen and she is gonna be a big star.I love you charice go go go!!!!
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