Top 8 album on Billboard 200, no. 1 dance single, no. 4 on “Music’s Hottest Minors”, top TV show appearances, certified Gold album in Japan, numerous standing ovations – all these achievements are enough to blind others with fame and money, and make them forget who they were before. But Charice isn’t one of those people.
All those things listed above, she has achieved in less than a year. But the journey she had to go through took much longer. Some would rather forget their hard and painful past, but Charice made every experience, whether good or bad, a part of her. And looking back to where she came from is never a difficult task for her – it’s actually something she treasures very much.
“Little Big Star” to the “Brightest Star”
After hurdling numerous problems, like an abusive father, and poverty, Charice still kept on dreaming for a better life. She actually joined about a hundred singing contests to help provide food for her family. Staying up ‘til the wee hours of the morning must have been hard for a young girl of seven, but this didn’t stop Charice in pinching herself just to stay awake and avoid losing her voice.
Cash prizes which provide her family’s basic needs were not enough for Charice – her family’s unprivileged life did not stop her from dreaming big, and now, she wants to be a full blown singer with albums, concerts and original songs. A stepping stone to that dream was the singing competition, “Little Big Star”, but a 3rd place finish was not something she was hoping for. Charice seemed to vanish from the spotlight – until FalseVoice uploaded her videos to YouTube.
Because of those videos, Charice’s star started shining brighter. Guestings and performances on StarKing, Ellen, and the Oprah Show followed. Oprah was so amazed that she contacted David Foster to help with Charice’s music career. Various performances in the U.S., and duets with huge stars like Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, Charice received worldwide attention. And now in 2010, she has released her self-titled debut album, “Charice”. Her single, “Pyramid” rapidly topped the Billboard dance chart.
It’s as if she was on top of the world already. Then, news that she’ll be on Glee’s second season was confirmed. The Charice buzz became louder than ever, and now, she has just finished touring Asia with David Foster and Friends. With the sold out concerts and standing ovations Charice received plus the highly awaited return of her character Sunshine Corazon on Glee, Charice is certainly one of the brightest stars right now.
Dreamer to Role Model
Her success hasn’t changed Charice one bit. She’s still humble and as good-hearted and giving as she was before. She even celebrated her 18th birthday with needy kids instead of the usual big party. She also sponsored and judged a singing contest in her hometown of Barrio Gulod. And now, she gives advice to the aspiring singers of Star Power, a talent search by the Philippine’s Megastar, Sharon Cuneta. You could see by the way she greeted two of her previous rivals in singing competitions and the advice she gave that Charice hasn’t forgotten her past, and is still the same small-town girl with big dreams, and an even bigger voice.
Here’s the October 28, 2010 TV Patrol clip; you can find the English translation below it:
Reporter: Charice met with a Star Power finalist that has beaten her in a singing contest years ago.
Narration – International singing sensation, Charice, doesn’t forget to look back from where she first came from.
Charice: “Hello!”
Proof of this is how she set aside a part of her own time just to share some advice to the 20 finalists of the reality search, Star Power, by the Megastar Sharon Cuneta.
Charice: “Hey! What’s up?”
Charice can still remember two of the Star Power Finalists, Ninay Lescano and Angeline Quinto, from the time they were still competing against each other in singing contests. Angeline has even beaten Charice in one competition.
Charice also advised the finalists that winning does not end when you bring home the trophy or prize but continues with the way you handle or use that success for the future.
Charice: “Just be yourself and, um, just be humble always, stay the same”, so that people will love you.
Charice is indeed an inspiration to many Filipinos who want to showcase their talent throughout the world.
The October 31, 2010 episode of Sharon’s Star Power showed Charice’s whole visit with the Star Power finalists. The contestants statements at the end of the video definitely shows that Charice still exudes the humbleness she had before her worldwide success. Hopefully, these aspiring pop superstars heed Charice’s advice – and reach the top, without forgetting what it felt like to be at the bottom.
Checkout the video with English subs below:
Video upload/English subs by ChariceTVcrew
By Sofia Carrera, charicemania.com
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Charice, I like your Rosary necklace. Stay God-centered, because when you are, everything else that is good follows, being humble, charitable, patient, hardworking… This being good is not the enemy of the great but rather a Godly good.
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I do indulge in music myself (quite heavily at that) but cannot claim to be a good critic, however I guess Phil singers should learn more if they want to compete and be recognized in the global music scene.
Adding to this sorry situation in the Phils are the local producers and promoters (radio and TV networks included) who are so gullible they can shove the so-called talents to the masses,( without being ashamed of themselves) thus further lowering the standards instead of educating their audiences. TV shows are worse. Anyone living outside the Phils watching these on TFC or other providers can easily realize how backward these shows are.
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Same here, Jimfan and Chasterdad kudos that was a well stated comment,that is why I dont watch their shows except for tv patrol and if charice is featured,also thinking to cancel our TFC Channel.
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Aside from being a no-show on the said concert, not a single note of congratulations from him to his inaanak. There is something wrong somewhere….
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fact check:She was the third.nobody throw her out. you are making story here
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I think it was meant to be a hyperbolic metaphor, a figure of speech, and not to be taken literally. I got her point anyway.
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ABS-CBN should recognize these comments . Correct them , they must and quickly. Crab is our history , eliminate it in a quick , mighty way.
ABS_CBN is a giant….Charice is but one person , a mismatch really.
But they are in a crossroad too.
CHANNEL 5 has the talents and muscle to challenge thier dominance.
Re-engeneering anyone ?
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one of these is to challenge our notions of beauty and one’s place in society. With her Great Gift that cannot be denied, and with the power and beauty of her voice that leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind where it came from, all framed within an innocuous-looking and humble young girl, one cannot help coming to the conclusion that real beauty comes from within, as you give of yourself and make the most of your God-given talents.
while we are astounded by the vocal power emanating from such a petite frame, we are likewise caught off-guard by the undeniable charm she exudes wherever she goes, radiating even across YouTube. As we learn more about her, we discover a solid character steeped in solid core values, all hidden beneath that humble, respectful and cheerful demeanor. All these further challenge our notions of where true beauty lies, hopefully to make the mental leap to likewise look more deeply into others, beyond their physical attributes and social standing, into the unique and natural beauty in each of us.
and this also encourages each of us to pursue our dreams, even if we do not fit the traditional mold for such roles as imposed on us by society.
we have many ills in our society that perpetuate these societal biases and prejudices, and these are social windmills that we cannot charge into head-on in an effort to fix overnight, or even in one generation.
but like this young lady from Laguna shows us, we can do it one person at a time, starting with ourselves, by lighting our own candle and pulling our own weight, with whatever gifts we were endowed with.
she is a role model [full stop]
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MezRJzPbmLo
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ArrVee .. you cannot say it any better than that. I am a retired US resident here in California of Fil ancestry. It hurts me as a Fil to read some of the comments that tend to put Charice down…. instead of pushing her up. No wonder, Fil in the US are at the bottom of the ladder in all facet of life among asians …
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Am I right or am I right? Agree or AGREE?
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I thought that this Charicemania article about “Charice as a role model” should also apply to this post.
This is an excerpt of an article about Charice’s food poisoning in Singapore, the day she was to attend an inspirational meeting with disadvantaged kids.
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Charice hits the high notes
By Juliana June Rasul
MORE than 50 disadvantaged children were gathered in a ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton on Saturday afternoon, awaiting teen singing sensation Charice Pempengco from the Philippines.
The young guests – from the Singapore Children’s Society, Asian Women’s Welfare Association and The Little Arts Academy – had been invited to listen to her sing and talk about how she overcame adversity to become the first Asian artiste to make it to the top 10 in the Billboard 200 albums chart.
But the 18-year-old Glee star never showed up.
Pempengco was in town over the weekend to perform as part of the sold-out David Foster And Friends concert, held on Friday and Saturday night as part of the Singapore Sun Festival 2010.
Though she had performed without a hitch on Friday night, she was reportedly stricken with food poisoning on Saturday.
Her mother, Mrs Raquel Pempengco, told Filipino news site ABS-CBN that her daughter had been rushed to hospital because she was vomiting.
The report said “the culprit was a sushi meal she had in the morning” with some other stars from her concert line-up, including music producer Foster himself and singer Natalie Cole.
A Singapore Sun Festival representative told The New Paper that Pempengco had chosen to skip the afternoon session with the children to rest her voice for her performance that night.
The announcement that she would not be appearing was met with gasps of disappointment from the audience…
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20101102-245389.html
====================================================================
I am glad that Charice is okay and that she performed great that night.
I am just wondering if Charice did a follow-up on this particular event that she missed although Ruben Studdard and Canadian singer Clifton Murray, a member of the Canadian Tenors, represented her.
Now that she is getting recognized as a global phenom and knowing her interest in charity, would it not have been good PR if she made later contact with the organizers of the event for the disadvantaged kids? A donation or a rain check perhaps?
Maybe she did, maybe not. Just wondering.
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@gunrunner and tsuki
Thank you for responding. I do understand that Charice needed to rest and that things happen beyond her control. No question there.
I just put it out here knowing Charice’s previous efforts on this age segment. These are not a bunch of matured individuals. What I’m saying is, a kid’s disappointment is different from a grown-up. Since the disadvantaged kids were excited to meet and hear Charice, I just wondered if anybody in the know can provide us with info after the fact.
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This is why I love Charice so much.
Yes, there are good and bad in every nation, even “crabs” exists everywhere, they just aren’t called crabs.:) People are people, so let us stop labeling entire gorups of people as such.
Charice is where she is because of all the collective experiences she went through and she learned from them. So my dear fellowmen, let us stop getting “historical” and quit arguing about the past. The past is only important now, only when we learned the lessons from it and so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. Other than that, let’s move on as well to new things……
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Everyone have a different interpretation what a “talent” means.
Here is one classic example, that this individual will never, never, never, never make it in the Philippines, I kinda believed that she is better than Susan Boyle, maybe ?
Anyhow….like I said, there is no tomorrow for this lady, but she can “belt” like every good and talented young singer in P.I.
She is an outsider in the community of Philippine Entertainment. PEACE
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yeah, whatever happened to this lady Josephine Aton. To me she did a wonderful if not finer rendition of “I dreamed a Dream” , comparable to Susan Boyle. Hmmmm.
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This lady sings very well, I agree. But let’s hope that what Charice had achieved despite what people had said about her looks will open people’s mind to what TALENT means. Let’s wish Jennifer Good Luck!
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If the song is good,Singers all over the world like to cover it,even in Filipine.That is all. do not guess too much. Imitation is a form of flatery.
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But the circumstancial evidence is overwhelming to me in that:
1- None of the singers that you always see on ASAP were in attendance, except Arnel.
2- There was no buzz at all before or after the concert about Charice.
3- Martin’s “we don’t need any youtube sensations here”.
I’m perturbed because they don’t realize that Charice is opening doors for other Filipinos and Asians. But nothing will be handed to them. Do they have the talent and magnetism to make it outsde the box? Two weeks has past since the concert, but has anything been said about Charice from the station? (Please correct me if any of my “facts” are in error.)
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Alienation of local talents is not a factor or excuse anymore nowadays, if you are talented , they will find you, classic example is Arnel Pineda, all this local talents have the same opportunities like Charice, the magic of YOUTUBE helped a lot and I bet, this locals did the same thing and posted themselves to no avail.
Speaking of “alienation”, as far as I know, Charice was the first victim of “alienation” in the Philippines, she don’t have that “mestiza” looks that Chasterdad mentioned, the old saying “itsa pwera”… the question is, why even give attention to this local talents, its a simple process….”if you have it , you got it”…so lets stop bellyaching about this other excellent local talent from the Philippines, nobody is saying they are not good, they are all good, but not great enough to be discovered….
I mentioned before, we should stop comparing Charice from others once and for all. Its a waste of your time……YOU TUBE will do it for them if they are really that good. PEACE.
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Susan boyle was also misjudge by the audience at the beginning because of her appearance and she is old enough but what now? She got her own album and now she is rich.
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Talent is talent…pure and simple. It is not the “look” nor it is “inherited”…like some of the actors and actresses in PI who think that it is their God-given right to ram to the throats of the viewing public their offsprings to be so-called celebrities although lacking in talent.
Perhaps, this is a wake up call to all those who betray the gullible viewing public the true essence of the art of entertainment. As David Foster said and I quote…” good is the enemy of great”. And Charice is the epitome of that great talent. Charice rules !!
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Well said chasterdad.. Have you seen the network’s station ID this christmas? Charice isn’t there….(sigh) I wonder why they didn’t include her there..
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Hey Sunshine. For the businessmen in the network they’re probably in a Catch-22 situation. Damn if they do, damn if they don’t. They would be bashed either way. Labeled as opportunists if they did get her in the station ID knowing she now has a huge international fanbase. Or (and that’s a big OR) these ‘miser’ businessmen can no longer afford or wouldn’t like to pay Chaz’ talent fee. The fee would most likely eat up on their bottom line or profit. But having read a lot of comments and writeups on how humble and big-hearted the little girl is (and of course without the go-between businessmen involved), she would have probably appeared in the station ID gratis out of gratitude for the opportunity the station had given her in the past.
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Chasterdad sounds very ‘dad’-like for what these businessmen did to his very talended Chaz. Networks are in the business to make money. When they see a talent, the first question they ask themselves is whether they will make money out of this talent. Businessmen are not artists. To them it’s all about marketability or commercial viability. Nowadays everyone in the corporate world is measured by only two things…….revenue and profit. Everything else comes a poor third. So even if Charice has this undeniably great talent (someone said she was born to sing), the businessmen in the network didn’t think she would ’sell’ and they would have difficulty ‘packaging’ her as she looks very Asian. And especially in the music industry, looks can make or break a career. It’s not only the face, you would have to be fair-skinned or black, tall and sexy. Some artists even go to the extent of showing more skin to compensate for their lack of talent. Real artists are those who create art out of sheer joy in creating art and are more than glad to share their art or talent. Many of the great painters were virtual unknowns and were in hiding when they created their greatest works. Some died penniless. To these real artists the monetary reward is far from their mind (only when they get hungry and there’s nothing on the table). Let’s be thankful for this ‘little girl’ who now doesn’t have to sing because her family would go hungry but who now can sing (always from her heart) just out of pure joy. Let’s just thank God for not only giving Charice this talent but for letting her share this talent to those who believe in her. Let’s also pray that God gives her the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength she needs.
To Charice: Keep your feet grounded. Stay humble. Everybody loves to see the ‘underdog’ become the ‘topdog’. Salamat po.
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