onecharice

One Day, children with leukemia will be healed: the Move 4 L.I.F.E. Flashmob

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:32:00 -0800

[ What's current » WATCH Charice's 10-city "Infinity" Asian Tour MARCH 2012 LIVE
Watch her with Iyaz in Manila | see the official posters]

Future FIlipino doctors are dancing to help save the lives of indigent children afflicted with leukemia by staging a flashmob to Charice's "One Day," at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, the Philippines.

Youth power turned compassion into action on February 11, 2012 at 2:05 in the afternoon with students and members of organizations from the premiere University of the Philippines College of Medicine at the launch of its multi-org project, MOVE 4 L.I.F.E.

The objective of the project, according to its website, is to raise public awareness about the plight of indigent patients with leukemia, and raise funds for the Leukemic Indigents Fund Endowment Foundation (L.I.F.E. Foundation). L.I.F.E. Foundation is a non-stock, non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to help children with leukemia acquire valuable treatment and support.

The choice to use "One Day," a cut from Charice's latest album Infinity, couldn't have been more worthy.

"One Day" is an empowering song that speaks of hope and freedom. A project like Move 4 L.I.F.E provides more than a welcome break in the midst of disasters, political turmoil and an atmosphere filled with skepticism.

Kudos to the members of UP Medical Students' Society, UP MedRhythmics and the UP Medicine Classes of 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 with the Regionalization Students' Organization. May all your dreams be fulfilled.

Read more about MOVE 4 L.I.F.E. here
Read about how to donate here
MOVE 4 L.I.F.E. official website or Like its Facebook page.

. . .
Crossing boundaries

On a related note, the student-members of the Florissant Valley Deaf Students Association from the St. Louis Community College in Ferguson, Missouri, had performed a similar activity inspired by "One Day" on Sept. 20, 2011.

The original upload described the filming thus:

[Performed by] deaf students from America and from our SEED (Scholarships for Education and Economic Development) Program, Deaf Communications Studies students, faculty and staff. We are currently hosting 17 international deaf students from Central America. It was uplifting day for all. Enjoy! And One Day, we'll show the world!

Watch the joyful interpretation by the students in the video below.

. . .
Enabling

"One Day," co-written by Nick Jonas with Dan Muckala and Jason Ingram, is a short song running at just 3:13 minutes. The lyrics and message, as mentioned above, are enabling and very positive, something many of today's youth identify with easily. It's no surprise, therefore, that young people are stimulated into expressing themselves creatively through "One Day."

Support our artists by purchasing only original music.
Love "One Day" from Infinity?
BUY it from your favorite record bars or online at iTunes or Amazon.com
❧

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Hello, Asia! - The 2012 Infinity Asian Tour (Dubai added)/Iyaz in Manila

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:14:00 -0800

[ ↓ Jump to Tour Calendar | ↓ See the official posters] [LAST UPDATE - 18 Feb. 2012]

Artwork by the author. Note: This is NOT the official concert poster.

March 2012 will have Charice and her band swinging by the Middle East and Asia for a 3-week tour to promote her second Warner Music album ∞ Infinity (インフィニティ).

Three Asian venues in this tour, each having its own significance — Seoul (Korea), Hong Kong (Kowloon) and Cebu City (Philippines) — are in this March calendar.

[Added] First, Charice makes a stop in Dubai City in the United Arab Emirates to finally fulfill a concert there previously scheduled but cancelled in October 2011. Last seen in the City in 2010, Charice will be performing at the Dubai Festival City, dubbed "a city within a city," a premiere creek-side mixed-use development which currently stands as the Middle East's largest development center built in 2003.

The Dubai Festival City has Festival Centre at its core. It is an outdoor venue estimated to hold more than 10,000 people and has hosted major concerts by the world's best entertainers from Carlos Santana (2008) to Chris Brown (2011).

Charice's Infinity concert in Dubai is presented by 321 Events JLT. Tickets now available via platinumlist.ae.

First stop (Asia): Singapore

When the unfortunate incident of Charice's dad's passing happened in December 2011, she had to cut short her participation for the rest of Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends Asian tour and fly back to Manila which meant not being on the Singapore stage as scheduled.

Charice was last seen in the Singapore live circuit in October as one of featured solo artists during the Formula 1 (F1) Grand prix 2011 night races and in which she had a well-attended 2-day gig.

Charice's ∞ Infinity (インフィニティ) show will be at the recently-renovated 1,800-seater Kallang Theater, Singapore's new "Asian Arts and Culture hub."

Charice Infinity tour in Singapore is presented by Lushington Entertainments. Tickets now available via SISTIC.com.

Manila...and Hello, Cebu, Philippines!

Manila is Charice's third stop, though technically, performing on the first leg at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Southeast Asia's biggest indoor venue at more than 16,000 seating capacity (depending on event), is in the heart of Quezon City. This is the same venue as the previous David Foster and Friends concerts.

R&B singer and "Pyramid" partner Iyaz wil be performing live at the Infinity Tour-Manila leg, together with Charice's friends from "Little Big Star."

Charice, however, will give her fellow Filipinos from the Visayas and southern islands of the Philippines a first-hand, first-time treat when she moves to Cebu Is. for her second homecoming leg.

Known for their warmth and rich cultural heritage, the Cebuanos and Visayan-speaking Filipinos in the region will be able to catch Charice on March 11, 2012 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lapu-lapu Lahug City, most likely in its 2,000 sq.m. Pacific Grand Ballroom where many big events take place.

Seating varies according to events, but the maximum is placed at approximately 3,200 for a theater set-up. No ticket details as of this post.

Nǐ hǎo, Hong Kong!

Hong Kong, home to more than 100,000 Filipinos, is Charice's 9th stop on March 19, 2012. While the large Filipino population may certainly be one of the reasons for this event, what's more significant is that this is Charice's first solo and public concert in Chinese territory (she had done a private event in Macau in 2010) after making an indelible mark in the Japanese market.

Charice will be performing at the Kowloon International Trade and Exhibitions Center (KITEC).

Solo and back to where it all began: 안녕하세요, Seoul!

Everyone familiar with the story of Charice knows how important Seoul, Korea is to her career. While not everyone may be familiar with "Star King," the program produced by SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) in which she first sang to an international TV audience, surely they'd know that "she was on a Korean show" that eventually led her to the NBC studios in America for the first time as Ellen DeGeneres' YouTube find in 2007.

Charice did go back to "Star King" two more times: as a come-back contestant months after her debut and as a guest to promote her first US album "Charice" in 2009.

She will be in Gwangjang-dong, Seoul at the AX-Korea stage to wrap-up her 2012 Asian tour on March 21 at 8 p.m. Charice Infinity Tour - Live in Seoul Ticket Info

- Charice Infinity Asian Tour CALENDAR as of 16 January 2012 -

Here's the rest of her tour schedule as of this post. Notice that Malaysia and Thailand aren't in the list yet, two countries in which she also has a large following, particularly in Thailand after the much talked-about solo promo tour performances at the Siam Discovery Dreams Come True Showcase in Bangkok in 2009.

[Click image to enlarge]

With just a day of rest between stops, the calendar already looks tight as it is. Hopefully these countries — Malaysia and Thailand — will also be included despite the scedule.

02 Mar - Dubai Festival City - 321 Events JLT /DUBAI, UAE
(est. cap. 10,000 if outdoor concert venue)

05 Mar - Kallang Theater - Lushington Entertainments/SINGAPORE
(est. cap. 1,800)

07 Mar - Tennis Indoor Senayan (Jakarta) - Big Daddy Ent. Group/INDONESIA (est. cap. 4,000)

09 Mar - Smart Araneta Coliseum LIVE with Iyaz- PHILIPPINES
(est. cap. 16,000) Call (63-02) 911-5555

11 Mar - Waterfront Hotel - Pacific Grand Ballroom, Lahug, Cebu,
PHILIPPINES (est. cap. 3,200) Call (63 32) 232-6888 local 8045

14 Mar - Shibuya Kōkaidō Public Hall - Tokyo, JAPAN (est. cap. 2,084)

16 Mar - Kobe Kokusai Kaikan (Japenese site) - Kobe, JAPAN (est. cap. 2,112)

17 Mar - Aichi Prefectural Art Theater - Great Hall - Nagoya, JAPAN
(est. cap. 2,400-2,500)

19 Mar - Kowloon International Trading and Exhibitions Center,
Star Hall - Lushington Entertainments/Kowloon Bay, HONG KONG
(est. cap. 3,600) / HK Ticketing

21 Mar - AX-Korea - Gwangjang-dong, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
(est. cap. 2,000 - if standing)

- OFFICIAL POSTERS -

SINGAPORE - Kallang Theater

JAPAN

See the full gallery on Posterous

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - AX-Korea

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Tennis Indoor Senayan (added 22 Jan 2012)

KOWLOON, HONG KONG - KITEC Star Hall (added 31 Jan 2012)

METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Smart Araneta Center Official poster banner image (added 31 Jan 2012) (added 20 February 2012)

DUBAI, UAE - Dubai Festival Centre (added 31 Jan 2012)

FROM TOP: First TWO and FOURTH IMAGES (Venues composite): artworks by the author.
ALL OFFICIAL POSTERS at the bottom are owned by WARNER MUSIC and/or respective producers.

UPDATE HISTORY:
(18 Jan. 2012, 19 Jan. 2012, 22 Jan. 2012, 24 Jan. 2012 - Pacific Grand Ballroom, Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Lahug, Cebu, 31 Jan. 2012 - KITEC Kowloon, HK, Smart Araneta Center official banner image, 01 Feb. 2012 - Dubai, 17 Feb. 2012 - Iyaz and "Little Big Star," 20 Feb. 2012 - MLA official poster)

> Go to Charice Official TOUR Page / Official Twitter account > @OfficialCharice

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Transforming Charice - Preview 2012 and other issues

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:01:00 -0800

Happy New Year!

(CREDITS: Photography - Mark Nicdao, Make-up - Juan Sarte, Hair - Buern Rodriguez/Tony Galvez Salon, Nails - Regie Palencia/Nail Spa, Art Direction - Vince Uy, Styling - Liz Uy, Wardrobe - Xernan Orticio. View the Behind the Scenes stills on stylebible.ph here.)

Try as she might to remain quiet or be under the radar, Charice just seems to be a natural magnet for attention and that whatever this girl does—or does NOT do—merits a second look and opinion.

In the coveted January-February issue of Philippine fashion mag Preview for 2012 on which Charice is cover girl for the first time, multiple shades of opinions were thrown from all over, splitting hairs ad nauseum over good/bad Photoshop use vs. make-up/alleged pricey reconstructive surgery et al. since a teaser about this issue's cover was posted on Twitter as early as evening of 29 December 2010 by Preview.

http://twitter.com/#!/previewmag/status/152403202183135232

That post became a sort of guessing game which pre-empted Preview to follow-up posts of a picture of the cover—as if to confirm the guesses—and of what looks like raw images of her pictorials on a computer screen, ahead of what probably would have been Preview's New Year SNS surprise blast.

Mid-east glitz

I must mention that on December 28, 2011, Charice was also featured in the inside pages of another exclusive publication, Isola Magazine of Qatar. Isola, described as a high-end lifestyle magazine, is the first of its kind in the region "catering to the cultured travelers, young international jetsetters, fashion conscious and discerning buyers."

Prior to the Preview feature, it was Charice on Isola Magazine that kept folks at Twitter busy.

(On a side note, Charice's cover on Preview is her second for Philippine publisher Summit Media, having graced its sister publication Good Housekeeping (PHL) with her mother in 2010. Interestingly, that issue came out two years after she was on the Good Housekeeping (US) float for the 82nd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on November 2008. It was the largest float of the parade.)

Casually loaded

When Preview casually let loose of that teaser Twit less than 36 hours into the New Year, it pretty much exploded so loud so instantly on everybody's faces that not even the singular blast of all "Goodbye Philippines" firecrackers combined could exceed it—assuming, that is, the authorities had done their jobs rounding up these unlawful explosives from exploitative dealers and manufacturers.

My guess is Preview didn't see the impact of its Twit coming nor has its cover ever been so highly discussed as now, even to the point of getting "slammed" by an overzealous public with little knowledge of what gets into glossies (or serious publications work in general), and before anyone has ever gotten hold of a copy. (I haven't gotten mine since calling up Summit Media and known outlets in my area on the first working day of the year, Monday, 02 January.)

This led to Preview Magazine's creative and editorial staff becoming news subjects themselves, compelled by the media to explain, in 30 seconds on the average, certain creative and editorial processes which Preview, through its Behind the Scenes videos, has been simultaneously accompanying its printed issues with on stylebible.ph (online counterpart) for years anyway.

It didn't help that Preview's year opener came out alongside another publication's cover, Mega's, that featured boxing champ Manny Pacquiao's wife Jinkee who, incidentally, was Preview's 2011 Jan-Feb cover. Fashion magazines had never had this impact on a public coming off an abrupt holiday break and reluctantly confronting the daily grind.

The Charice-Jinkee mag covers provided just enough punditry and respite from the usual headlines and political issues carried over from the past year. It should also make Charice's fans happy to know that being on Preview's January-February issue means she'll be on newsstands for at least 4 full weeks (as long with Preview's Twitter avatar of the cover and on its landing page).

Missing the point?

I've found Preview to be different from other fashion magazines in the Philippines in that it relies strongly on concepts than just glamour, and has done so consistently especially since late 2009 but with a few misses. Its articles, however, are always well-written.

That said, Charice's photo isn't the first—or only—cover to land on Preview's skin that has transformed its subjects almost to the point of non-recogntion:

See the full gallery on Posterous

By far the biggest and most obvious image transformation on a mag cover, however, is that of actress Nora Aunor's in 2011, here shown on two covers that came out on the newsstands just weeks apart:

Preview's cover of Aunor above (and her spreads in the inside pages) has become undisputedly a classic, yet it was the Yes! magazine cover on the left that drew more talk and unnecessary flak from public moralists and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) mainly because of the stick between her fingers. Simply put, the public missed dishing out the same amount of unwarranted critique on the right cover as Preview's release of the issue was overshadowed by the controversy that the Yes! cover put Aunor in.

Not the first big change for Charice

Charice's cover on Preview is actually not the first major make-over she has undergone for publicity.

In 2009, Warner Music Japan made the first major image transformation on Charice when it decided to completely repackage her for her eponymous Warner Music debut album meant for the Japanese market.

This was documented by NHK's Kawaii TV shown in July 2009 with hair and make-up artist Tomoko Okada explaining:

Okada: I wanna try a more fresh style because in your country, I saw you on TV and your [US] CD jacket look so really mature. We'll try really fresh and Tokyo-girl style.

...I'd like to line her eyes like a cat's, drawing the line going up while pulling her eyelid up and drawing the tip of the line very thinly.

(To Charice:) You know, this is really popular for guys, this make-up in Tokyo. We call this "mote."

Charice (after her make-up session): I think you're great.

Her stylist, Keiko Hitsotsuyama, took her cue after Charice's innate personality in choosing her wardrobe:

She's already a very cute girl so instead of styling her in a cute frilly way, styling her in a cool simple way will bring out what's good about her. I wanted to bring out her strength as an artist and the power of her singing from the feet up (hence, the hard, edgy boots), but I also wanted to show her femininity so I wanted to have some of her skin showing (...the mini).

The CD packaging was art directed by Shigeru Suzuki who has worked on advertorials for Japanese street fashion brands and who explained:

She's from the Philippines so she's Asian, right? And we Japanese are also Asian. We want her image as a singer here to be almost Japanese: cool, someone we can relate to.
(All quotes lifted as translated from Japanese by "moofin" from the video of NHK Kawaii TV, June 2010 transcribed and subtitled by "bitzes.")

The over-all result, Shigeru Suzuki said, was to Charice's approval and which her fans thought was "so much better than her American CD jacket," meaning, the same CD jacket as her Philippine and UK releases (the UK version has a different background color).

This Japanese look is what I'd call Charice's "Okada Look" and has since been used on many of Charice's publicity photos particularly in Asia and the Philippines. In 2011, the Philippines editon of her Warner debut CD was redone in the same Japanese packaging.

Chameleon

If, vocally, Charice has "the ability to mimic other's voices," as David Foster put it in 2009 (where "to mimic" is mimesis than simply just copying), physically, she is like a chameleon.

Being unusually petite and not in the typical haute société mold that glossies target or emulate, and despite her possessing her own kind of panache, Charice is certainly one to pose a challenge to stylists.

She's been criticized many times in her younger years for being prepped way too much on Philippine television and concert stages but when she came out dressed her age on Ellen, Oprah and Madison Square Gardens for the first time, fans and audiences alike were quick to give the thumbs-up.

It takes a lot of thought into the imaging of Charice and with the correct and cohesive creative team with a strong vision, styling her for the right occasion shouldn't really be that difficult, given the countless looks she has undergone in the last four years.

When Warner-Japan decided on repackaging Charice with a great team, it hit the appropriate image for her in 2009.

Preview, with its all-Filipino creative team, simply put it notches higher, to the level of authentic haute or what the French would say de premier ordre even, Photoshop "gurus" and nay-sayers notwithstanding. I think the magazine will be compelled to command its printery for more copies.

Well done, Team Preview: Mark Nicdao (photography), Juan Sarte (make-up), Buern Rodgriguez (hair), Regie Palencia (nails), Liz Uy (styling) and Vince Uy (art direction).

Let them eat all your pixel dust.

A Gallery of covers and transformations
(Warning: big image files [2] )

See the full gallery on Posterous

About Preview Magazine

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Not for myself, but for the world...

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 21:22:00 -0800

Wishing all a meaningful, hopeful Christmas and thank you for your time, views, comments, shares.

Grown-up Christmas List
(David Foster/Linda Thompson-Jenner / 1990)
David Foster feat. Charice,
NBC 2010 Christmas in Rockefeller Center, NYC / Nov. 30, 2010
Lyrics as performed

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies
Well I'm all grown up now
Can you still help somehow?
I'm not a child but my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up Christmas List
Not for myself
But for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars will never start
And time would heal all hearts

And every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas List

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth
Not for myself
But for the world.

There'd be...

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas List

This is my only life long wish
This is my grown up Christmas List

Some notes on "My Grown-up Christmas List"

A legacy of carols

Christmas has become a universal experience even to non-Christian cultures. Songs that talk about Santa or allude to snow have become staples in many parts of the world that celebrate Christmas — places without a single patch of tundra Rudolph could live in or seasons to introduce winter in December.

And while Christmastime has become associated with cheers and giving, most Christmas songs are actually rooted in Christian church music that speaks of the birth of Christ and love for fellowmen, and traditional Western carols from centuries ago.

Yet much of today's popular Christmas songs were created in the post-war period of the 1940s. These carols bore nostalgia for traditions that were celebrated during peacetime and were versions of popular genres that came out in post-WW II such as jazz, rock and roll, Motown and gospel.

A contemporary and timely genre

The genre of socially-aware Christmas tunes came about as a response by musicians in the modern era to the causes and effects of newer wars, conflicts and catastrophes. Songs like Stevie Wonder's "Some Day at Christmas" (1967), John Lennon/Yoko Ono's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" (1971) and BandAid's timeless "Do They Know It's Christmas" in the MTV years of 1984 are now modern classic Christmas tunes reflective of the times and are played everywhere.

David Foster's "My Grown-up Christmas List" sits among the most popular of this type of Christmas songs that address social issues. However, unlike other songs of its genre, "My Grown-up Christmas List" was originally a cut in Foster's non-Christmas River of Love (1990) album that featured Natalie Cole on vocals. It was later included in his The Christmas Album set in 1993 (feat. Natalie Cole) which then made it officially a Christmas song, one with a poignant yet hopeful social message.

"My Grown-up Christmas List" was also recorded by Amy Grant (with additional lyrics) in 1992 in Home for Christmas and, later, was released as a single. R&B singer Monica also recorded her version (also with her own additional lyrics) in 2000 for the Platinum Christmas CD compilation under Jive records.

Notable covers

Other notable holiday albums by female artists that include "My Grown-up Christmas List" are by Barbra Streisand (2001), Aretha Franklin (2008) and Kelly Clarkson who sang it in 2003 on American Idol's Christmas Special and whose version was included in a 5-disc compilation by Sony Music in 2009. It was Clarkson's version that made it to Billboard's Top 20 in the Hot Adult Contemporary category at #17. (The men have their versions, too.)

OPM

Charice's 3-song Christmas EP "My Grown-up Christmas List," the title track sang in the video above (watch another live performance at The Grove 2010 here), was preceded in the Philippines by at least two other full-Christmas albums by OPM artists Lea Salonga, also titled The Christmas Album (2001/BMG), and Jed Madela's The Voice of Christmas (2007/Universal) in which he duets with Regine Velasquez. Another holiday OPM compilation released in 2005, Ang Bango ng Pasko ("The Scent of Christmas"/Viva Records) includes Rachelle Ann Go's version.

And there are countless other live performances on television and holiday concerts by OPM artists in which "My Grown-up Christmas List" was sung, notable by Kyla (Monica's version), Sitti Navarro (Amy Grant's version), Julie Ann San Jose, and, most recently, newcomer and talent search winner Krizza Neri.

Timeless relevance

The message of "My Grown-up Christmas List," told through an effecting melody, has become even more relevant today as when Philippine talent program Protégé's (GMA Network/2011) first grand champion, the teenage Krizza Neri, sang it on Finals Night (Dec. 18, 2011) dedicated to her provincemates in Misamis Oriental and various parts of northern Mindanao, the Visayas and Palawan affected by typhoon Sendong/Washi.

The typhoon, poised to become 2011's worlds deadliest storm, caused widespread damage and loss of lives when it hit the Philippines on December 16, 2011.

Charice's performance of Foster's "My Grown-up Christmas List," as with all others, helps articulate what many feel about Christmas 2011 and invokes much-needed reflection on the relevance of the Season in these trying times, especially on those who celebrate it.

Purchase "My Grown-up Christmas List" EP that has "My Grown-up Christmas List," "Jingle Bell Rock," and "Happy Christmas (War is Over)."

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Network-hopping in December with Charice...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:03:00 -0800

[This is a long post with accompanying graphics.]
[ ↓ Jump to ...internationalization and network hopping ]

She came to international attention through YouTube by her recorded performances on the boob tube.

Five years hence, Charice has become synonymous to "YouTube"—"a sensation," many would call her—but what many overlook is the fact that it is television that puts her in the minds of the public and initially gave her national exposure. Now a contract talent of Warner Music in the US which requires her months of stay there, her performances on Philippine TV is still what her followers eagerly await for whenever she is in her home country.

Since her release from "exclusivity" binding Charice to Philippine TV network ABS-CBN and its affiliate, Star Records, sometime in 2010, she has had the freedom to appear in all the major VHF television networks (or "free TV") operating in the Philippines, which is just as well.

A generation of difference

Since its inception, TV is still undeniably the most instant and accessible medium by a majority of households worldwide. Even in the digital economy, its viewership is still the measure by which income and celebrity and consumer power is set, notwithstanding YouTube's more than 100million streams a day worldwide. YouTube and the Internet simply made recorded performances effortless, enough to "Broadcast Yourself" in one click and make "You," the "content," "shareable."

That said, the difference between TV and YouTube isn't just the era but the transfer of power this technology has given the viewer: whereas the old medium rendered viewers passive, new media made them active and participatory which wasn't possible with TV until recently. Traditional TV networks still hold control over viewers; the Internet freed them from all constraints — with a few limitations, of course. On the Internet, the best networks can do to control is slam consumers with infringement issues and content-sharing sites like YouTube only need to comply.

At any rate, Charice, the quintessential millenial, has become producer, consumer and product of today's technologies as have her followers, always ready and on hand to record, translate (when needed) and be first to hit "Upload Video" of TV clips of hers on YouTube.

The result is Charice becoming one of the most successful new media products to date. Not bad for someone whose start was joining singing contests on TV as a child, some, in short-lived programs in the Philippines that are difficult to search for even in the Internet's deep cache of archives.

[ ↓ Jump to ...internationalization and network hopping ]

[ ...And a brief timeline of Philippine TV history ]

Regional firsts

Philippine television is among the oldest broadcast media industries in Southeast Asia, dating back to 1946, or ..."two months after the Philippines got its independence from the United States...when the US turned over the government-established KZFM (now DZFM) to the Philippine government. Thus, the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), the first broadcasting organization in the country, was established." It was a government-owned network, classfied as "experimental" because it was short-lived and had limited coverage.

The first licensed, fully-operational TV station in the Southeast Asian region, however, was established in Thailand in 1952 with the Thai Television Company Ltd (Thai TV Channel 4) under the Office of the Thailand Prime Minister .

The first television broadcast done in Asia was in Japan by the NHK in February 1, 1953. It was, like the Philippine government-owned PBS and Thai TV Channel 4 in Thailand at the time, owned and controlled by the Japanese government.

DZAQ-TV → BEC → ABS → CBN: ABS-CBN evolution

On October 23, 1953 or just eight months after NHK's first broadcast, DZAQ TV-Channel 3 under the Alto Brodcasting System (ABS), a privately-owned network, made its Philippine telecast, the first in the Philippines.

DZAQ TV-Channel 3 was acquired by Judge Antonio Quirino from American engineer and Philippine resident James Lindenberg, "the father of Philippine television," who owned Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC). Quirino, whose brother Elpidio was incumbent Philippine president and was to run for re-elections, was denied license to operate by the Philippine Congress. He eventually bought 70% shares from BEC and retained Lindberg as its manager.

Judge Quirino renamed BEC to Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) after his and his wife Aleli's names (ALeli and TOny) when it aired its maiden telecast of a party at the house of his brother, Philippine president Elpidio Quirino, in Sitio Alto in the Little Baguio district of San Juan (now San Juan City). ABS (DZAQ-Channel 3) went on air 4 hours a day from 6-10 pm.

ABS was subsequently sold in 1957 to the López family headed by Eugenio López, Sr. who, at that time, owned another media outlet brought from a group of newsmen in 1945, The Manila Chronicle, a newspaper. His family also owned the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (or CBN, estab. 1956) another television station.

As a result of this transfer of ownership, Alto Brodcasting System (ABS) was briefly reverted back to BEC but was later appended with Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN), giving birth to the corporate name ABS-CBN in Feb. 1 1967. ABS-CBN was the largest TV and radio network in the Philippines since it was formed in 1957 up to the imposition of Martial Law in 1972.

MERALCO

The López family also acquired the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company or MERALCO (acq. 1961), a power distributor that provided electricity to Manila and its environs, from AGECO (later, GPU, Inc. in 1946), its American owners since 1925. The López family also owned other business interests such as provincial newspapers, aviation (they established Asia's first airline in 1933) and sugar, among others.

Eugenio López' younger brother Fernando was a two-time Vice President of the Philippines, first, of Elpidio Quirino (1949-53) and of Ferdinand Marcos (1965-71). When Eugenio became a critic of Marcos, Fernando resigned as Marcos' Vice President in 1971. Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972 and had Eugenio imprisoned and their properties seized including The Manila Chronicle, ABS-CBN and MERALCO and another station, DZXL-Channel 4.

The government turned over the operations and facilities of ABS-CBN and all its radio stations in 1973 to Roberto Benedicto, a Marcos ally, who operated his own TV network called Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC 2) that operated from the building of ABS-CBN on Bohol Avenue (now Sgt. Esguerra St.) in Quezon City. Eugenio, who had escaped from imprisonment, died of cancer in the US in 1975 where he lived in exile.

The López family recovered ABS-CBN facilities, MERALCO and all other business holdings after the history-defining EDSA Revolution in 1986 that ousted the Marcoses. They re-launched ABS-CBN and regained its dominance in television and radio all over the archipelago. It created its own programs and built-up its roster of talents from thereon.

DZBB / RBS → CHANNEL 7 → GMA 7: GMA Network evolution

GMA Network, Inc. was founded by an American war correspondent, Robert La Rue Stewart from Phoenix, Arizona.

Stewart was sent to cover the Philippines by Meta Broadcasting, Inc. (US) in 1943 but opted to stay in the country. When WW II ended in 1945, he had resigned from his job in the US to live in the Philippines. He met a widow from Pampanga province, Loreto Feliciano, whom he married in 1948.

In June 1950, Stewart established and operated DZBB on the AM frequency from the 4th floor of the Calvo Building in Escolta, Manila where his business, the Loreto F. de Hemedes, Inc. under which DZBB operated, was based. Calvo Building, a beautiful edifice in the Art Deco style designed by architect Fernando H. Ocampo, still stands in Escolta which was the premiere business district in the country during the post-war era.

Stewart later put up DQCC, the country's first music station on the FM band (it was later named DWLS-FM in 1976, "LS" meaning Loreto Stewart), as well as provincial stations DYSS (Cebu) and DYOO (Iloilo) on AM in 1957.

In 1961, Stewart ventured into television through Channel 7 in the Greater Manila Area. Stewart, who became more popular as Uncle Bob, "used transmiter and two old cameras...[and]...With a motley of employees...competed against networks that employed over 200 personnel."

In 1970, Channel 7 formally became the Republic Broadcasting System (RBS).

Stewart used his connections in the US to bring in canned American shows to fill his daily network show schedules. The American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) provided most of its shows and was said to have later owned 25% of RBS Channel 7. (ABS-CBN, meanwhile, aired shows from NBC.) RBS Channel 7 aired daily from 8am to 12 midnight.

Martial Law

In 1972, RBS Channel 7 was included in the closure or confiscation ("sequestration") of all radio and television networks but was later allowed to operate 3 hours daily on a renewable 3-month permit. Unlike the Lópezes which lost ABS-CBN, Stewart retained ownership of RBS 7 but had operated on losses in the Martial Law era.

RBS Channel 7 operated from the unused offices of another network, ABC 5, in Roxas Blvd. (then called Dewey Blvd.) after ABC 5 was likewise shut down by the government.

In debt, Stewart was forced to sell the network to Gualberto N. Duavit, a former Congressman of Rizal Province and an official of the Marcos administration (not to be mistaken for its current President and COO Gilberto Duavit, Jr., his son), who jointly managed Channel 7 with Menardo R. Jimenez and Felipe L. Gozon, said to be Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart's legal adviser. The shares were acquired by the older Duavit in 1974.

RBS Channel 7 was then renamed GMA 7 referring to the Greater Manila area, the station's area of coverage. The meaning of GMA was later changed to Global Media Arts but is now simply known by its corporate name GMA Network, Inc. since 1996.

Post-Martial Law

The alleged Duavit-Marcos connection led to a case filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2007 between the heirs of Ferdinand Marcos, represented by his daughter Imee, and the current owners of GMA 7 at which time GMA Network held its first IPO. The SEC did not recognize the Marcos claim in 2008 while GMA Network proceeded with its IPO.

The new owners challenged ABS-CBN's market dominance through many of its programming which initiated the so-called "network wars" between the two. Like ABS-CBN, it created programs from where it sourced its own set of talents. It surpassed ABS-CBN in program ratings in 2004 and continued its network ratings dominance since.

Associated Broadcasting Corporation → ABC 5: TV5 evolution

TV5 is the latest VHF station to be among the top networks in the Philippines. It was first called Channel 5 under the Roces family-owned Associated Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Unlike ABS-CBN and GMA 7, ABC 5 has had a series of owners since its launche by the Roces'.

Associated Broadcasting Corporation was officially "born" on June 19, 1960 by virtue of REBUPLIC ACT NO. 2945 that granted The Manila Times newspaper owner Joaquin "Chino" Roces the franchise to "construct, maintain and operate radio broadcasting and television stations in the Philippines".

When Martial Law was declared in 1972, the Roces-owned ABC Channel 5 and The Manila Times, along with all other privately-owned media institutions, were shut down, and Roces, too, imprisoned. Channel 5 ceased operations for 14 years, the duration of Martial Law imposition.

Like ABS-CBN and some media organizations, the Roceses resumed operations of their media enterprises after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Roces made a representation to, and was granted permit to operate, by then President Corazon C. Aquino. It also took in new majority stock holders led by Edward Tan and Joaquin's son Edgardo Roces, and was renamed Associated Broadcasting Company. However, resumption of programming, as was in the case of ABS-CBN and GMA 7, did not happen until 1992. ABC 5 only did test broadcasts in the years between 1986 to 1992.

ABC 5 was granted a new franchise to operate under Aquino's successor President Fidel V. Ramos in 1994 and re-launched into nationwide satellite broadcasting just as the Asian financial crisis was starting.

ABS-CBN and GMA 7 were the dominant networks at the time and while the notorious "network wars" between the two was happening, ABC 5 rose to 3rd in network ratings.

Its shows were a combination of imported American shows (courtesy of American network CBS) and cartoons, local productions and Asian anime shows like "Sailor Moon" 美少女戦士セーラームーン which it introduced to the Philippine viewing public. "Sailor Moon" provided ABC 5 steady viewership across age groups.

Roces to Conjuangco, TV5, PLDT and a GMA Network "war"

In 2003, ABC 5 was bought by Antonio O. Cojuangco III from the Roces family. Cojuangco is nephew of former President Corazon C. Aquino and cousin of President Benigno "Noynoy" C. Aquino III.

Cojuangco also owned and managed the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), a major telecommunications company which his father, Ramon U. Conjuangco, bought majority shares in 1967 from the American telecoms group GTE of New York.

In 2008, ABC 5 was called TV5. At this time, he entered into a "major blocktime agreement" with MBP Prime Media, Inc., a local Philippine company backed by Media Prima Berhad (MBP) of Malaysia for the station's content and programming.

This agreement was opposed by GMA Network which sought to nullify it, accusing TV5 of taking in foreign partners. As such, GMA Network based its case against TV5 on the grounds of violating the Philippine Constitution which restricts ownership and management of mass media to Filipino citizens and corporation. TV5 denied the accusation.

Conjuangco to Pangilinan and PLDT

TV5 has been headed by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan since 2009 and has set the direction towards network expansion in the next 5 years.

Pangilinan founded First Pacific Company Ltd. in 1981, a Hong Kong-based investment and management company with interests in telecommunications, infrastructure, consumer food products and natural resources.

During the Asian financial crisis of 1997, First Pacific bought 17.5% of PLDT shares and Pangilinan thereafter replaced Antonio Cojuangco as president and chief operating officer.

PLDT, under Pangilinan, put up the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund (BTF) which later formed an investment and media subsidiary, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. When Pangilinan replaced Cojuangco in PLDT, Cojuangco was still owner of ABC 5 and still retained his seat among the PLDT Board of Directors.

On July 25, 2011, MERALCO and GMA Network, Inc. signed an agreement for MERALCO to upgrade its power distribution facilities in Jala-jala, Rizal Province that will generate GMA Network's power requirements to provide broadcast coverage in remote areas.

In 2009, Media Prima Berhad-Malaysia announced divesting its 70% shares of stock it put through MBP Prime Media, Inc. in TV5 (still under Cojuangco) to recover its investments. These were sold to MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of PLDT. On March 2, 2010, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. had completed take-over of Associated Broadcasting Company (TV5) and Primemedia Inc.

Connecting MERALCO

In another development in 2009, the López-owned MERALCO agreed to sell 20% of its shares to PILTEL, a telecoms unit of PLDT, and retained only minority shares. This set the stage for a battle of ownership between Pangilinan and Eduardo Cojuangco, an adviser and friend of Ferdinand Marcos who controlled San Miguel Corporation the largest food and beverage company in the Philippines and in South East Asia.

Eduardo is the cousin of Antonio's father Ramon and of former President Corazon C. Aquino. Through San Miguel Corp., Eduardo Cojuangco sought to enter the powers sector by buying into MERALCO but lost its bid although San Miguel still retains shares in MERALCO.

Interestingly, GMA Network's Menardo Jimenez currently sits in the Board of PLDT which TV5's Pangilinan heads.

Pangilinan, PLDT and MERALCO

As a telecommunications company, PLDT has played an important role in assisting television networks in the past by providing reinforcement to remote coverage of important events such as the burial of US President John F. Kennedy and the Apollo 8 landing.

Besides ownership of fixed networks, PLDT, under Pangilinan, also owns wireless communication networks (i.e. SMART Communications, which now co-manages the SMART Araneta Coliseum), and operates and maintains the country's communications satellites as well as broadband and Internet gateway facilities.

"Network Wars"

The "network wars" that had ensued between ABS-CBN and GMA Network has prevented its set of contract talents from appearing in other networks, save for a select few. Such was the case of Charice until 2010.

The same is true with Arnel Pineda who became a contract talent of ABS-CBN after his discovery on YouTube by the American rock band Journey. When Pineda's band Journey held its first-ever Philippine concert in 2010, promotions and interviews were done exclusively in ABS-CBN shows and by ABS-CBN hosts.

Many who missed the Journey concert point to the limited publicity and promotions which, they say, may have contributed in the concert falling short of the venue's expected full-house capacity.

TV to YouTube again: internationalization and network hopping

The American influence over the Philippine viewing public is evident in the history of Philippine TV and mass media. Two Americans are credited to founding the top TV network stations in the Philippines.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the Americans are likewise credited for giving two Filipino vocal powerhouses their biggest career breaks happening in the digital age (or roughly 60 years since the American-owned media companies in the Philippines were turned over to the Filipinos): Arnel Pineda by Neal Schon of Journey and Charice Pempengco (on Ellen DeGeneres' show and, later, by Oprah Winfrey who gave Charice her US break through her introduction to Canadian music producer David Foster).

Arnel Pineda and Charice, as many now know, are products of the Internet and are YouTube discoveries.

The difference between Charice and Arnel Pineda's singing platforms as recorded on video, however, is that Arnel and his band Zoo were mostly taken in lounges and bars in the Philippines and abroad. In fact, the videos of his seen on YouTube by Neal Schon in 2007 were those of Pineda's performances in bars.

Charice's performances, meanwhile, were those recorded from TV programs in the Philippines ("Little Big Star"-ABS-CBN) and South Korea ("Star King"-SBS Korea) which were then uploaded to YouTube which led to her discovery and US debut on yet another TV show, "Ellen" (NBC) in the USA.

(The "Ellen" and "Oprah" episodes Charice appeared in on 2008 and those on CNN and BBC were shown in the Philippines via cable station SkyCable, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. These was also shown to subscribers of Home Cable, formerly a joint project between the Lópezes (of ABS-CBN) and Pangilinan (of Home Cable via MediaQuest, 2001) and other provincial cable channels.)

It goes without saying that Charice's succeeding appearances outside of the Philippines that have become most popular on YouTube were those on TV:

"The Paul O'Grady Show" - Channel 4 (London/2008)

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" - Syndicated; also on ABC and CBS (elsewhere: Canada/Australia-Asia/Middle East/South America/Europe/2008)

"Ti Lascio Una Canzone" - RAI TV (Italy/2009)

"Singapore Idol-Finals" - Channel 5 (Mediacorp/2009)

"Glee" - FOX TV (2010)

Network hopping in December

Just this week, Charice took on the three top Philippine networks by appearing in each almost simultaneously: the "Christmas with Charice" TV special on TV5 (Dec. 11, 2011 - second most viewed that evening), a special number on ABS-CBN's weekly "ASAP XV" extending to its side-program "Chill Out" (Dec. 4, 2011) and as part of the opening number on GMA Network's top-rated daily noontime show "Eat Bulaga" (Dec. 10, 2011), her second appearance on the show ahead of a very tight 3-station complementary radio tour on the same day. Charice is also set to appear yet again on a GMA Network solo special in February 2012.

In 2010 and 2011, Charice has added the top Japanese networks NHK, FujiTV and TV Asahi under her belt, as with special features on the top news cable networks CNN, twice, the latest on "Talk Asia" with Anna Coren, Dec. 2, 2011, and BBC ("BBC World News" with Rico Hizon, October 27, 2011).

As expected, these shows all ended up being consumed 24/7 online and getting the most viewer counts, "improved audio" mixes and mash-ups, and covers on YouTube.

LINKS and REFERENCES

About past contests joined on Philippine Television:

With regards to singing contests on television, she revealed that she first joined "Bagong Kampeon" ["New Champion," RPN-9] which was hosted by Pilita Corales and the late Carding of the Reycard Duet when she was only eight years old. She emerged 3rd Runner-up. Then she auditioned in Channel 13’s "Birit Bulilit" [literally "Miniature Belter"] and won 1st Runner-up. She became grand champion in "MTB’s" "Junior Star Quest." Her winning piece was "To Love You More." Other contests she joined were "Bulilit Pop Star" ("Little Pop Star") and "Little Big Star...
[translations and notes by the author] | Source

Manila Bulletin, July 15, 2007: Soon to be international star - Charice Pempengco
JAMCO.or.jp: Amy Daquilanea_Tanoy, 2009: The Future of Broadcasting in the Philippines
http://www.nhk.or.jp/digitalmuseum/nhk50years_en/history/p06/index.html
http://www.librarylink.org.ph/featarticle.asp?articleid=48
BEC - http://www.katig.com/history_11.html
MERALCO - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meralco
http://www.philippine-trivia.com/trivias/sports/trivias-about-don-eugenio-h-l...
http://ovp.gov.ph/site_content.php?sid=32
http://www.aijc.com.ph/pccf/mediamuseum/thehall/the-hall-living.htm
ABScbn.com: Farewell to the father of Philippine television
islev.com: Philippine TV and Quirino
meralco.com.ph: History
fundingunverse.com: GPU, Inc. (Under "Early History") ; First Philippine Holdings: History
The Chairwrecker, William M. Esposo, Apr. 21, 2006: Remembering Uncle Bob Stewart
http://www.gmanetwork.com/corporate/about
Manila Standard Today, Feb. 7, 2008: SEC dismisses Marcos suit against GMA 7
Docstoc.com: GMA Network: History, p.1
Docstoc.com: GMA Network: History, p.7
Philippinelaw.info: R.A. 2945
http://web.archive.org/web/20071206102459/http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/july/28/yehey/top_stories/20070728top8.html
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/2008/feb/7/news4.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/55075287/CSR-GMA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Broadcasting_Company
http://www.pep.ph/news/20120/GMA-7-sues-TV5,-Malaysian-media-company-for-unla...
http://www.pep.ph/features/controversies/17890/quottv5-is-a-filipino-companyq...
http://people.forbes.com/profile/manuel-v-pangilinan/63628
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=96588
meralco.com.ph: MERALCO and GMA Network, Inc. Partnership: News Updates Aug. 25, 2011
in-site: Christmas 2011: Charice at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre (NPAT)
pep.ph: AGB Nielsen Mega Manila People & Household Ratings (Dec. 6-12): Eat Bulaga! still reigns supreme in daytime; primetime race gets tougher [see below]

Christmas With Charice (TV5) 2.2%; Sunday Night Box Office: Tiger Cage (GMA-7) 5.4%; Sunday's Best: Jose Pitoy Moreno A Tribute Gala (ABS-CBN) 2% Diyos at Bayan (GMA-7) 0.5%; Aksyon Linggo (TV5) 1% : SOURCE

CNN.com: Transcript of interview with Anna Coren, "Talk Asia" | Video PART 1 - PART 2
BBC.co.uk: Asian singing sensation Charice [Video]

All image montages and infographics are by the author.

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Christmas 2011: Charice at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre (NPAT)

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:20:00 -0800

Christmas comes early with Charice at the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT). Titled Christmas with Charice, it is among the events lined up for Resorts World Manila's Grand Fiesta Manila 2011: The Grandest Revelry program.

The confirmed show with Charice happens on December 2, 2011 (Friday) at the swanky NPAT of the Resorts World Manila in Pasay City across the international airport Terminal 3. Sponsored by ABC Development Corporation's TV5 Network, Christmas with Charice has a scheduled telecast on December 11, 2011 on the sponsor's channel.

There are three things going for this show that's different from other shows Charice has done before, namely: its theme (Christmas — though I hope songs from her second album Infinity may be included in the set somewhere), singing with her band in Manila and performing in this first-rate, limited-capacity venue. Let's start with the band and the venue.

[ ↓ Jump to Christmas]

Four guys and a girl

Charice debuts as a solo performer in the Philippines with her band at the Christmas show that starts at 8 p.m. Her four-man band is currently comprised of:

Lance Tolbert (bass). Tolbert has had session recording credits to his name, live tours and played bass for Mariah Carey.

LaRoi Larkin (drums), like Tolbert, is also a session musician for recording and live performances. He is adept at several genres such as (playing drums for) urban jazz musicians Paul Jackson, Jr and Mike Phillips at the Kyoto Grand Hotel in downtown LA in June 2010 or with pop singer Jordan Pruitt.

Chris Wrate (guitar), a Los Angeles native, has played guitar in live shows on TV for David Foster, Iyaz and Lee DeWyze, among others, and dabbles in writing and musical direction.

And Troy Laureta (keyboards/vocals/musical director), who, before touring or playing for Charice in TV appearances, was American Idol finalist Allison Iraheta's band member and keyboardist and also toured with Jordan Pruitt. He and sister Cheesa are of Filipino descent, hail from Hawaii and live in California. Together, they perform as A2C.

Last seen in Asia at the F1 Races in Singapore in September (video above), Charice's band has toured with her throughout 2011 from Japan to the Middle East and will most likely be on her 2012 Infinity album tour.

The Newport Performing Arts Theatre (NPAT)

What better treat for Charice, the band and their audience than an evening at Resorts World Manila's posh 1,500-seater Newport Performing Arts Theatre (NPAT).

See the full gallery on Posterous

Launched in 2009, the NPAT was recently awarded two recognitions, the Leisure and Entertainment Space - Silver Award by the Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards 2011 (APIDA) and a Certificate of Excellence by Perspective Awards 2011 for the work of designer Joseph Sy and Associates of Hong Kong.

The Perspective Awards cited the NPAT for its interiors thus:

Colour-changing LED lighting within the ceiling's coves, punctuated with hanging glass spheres enhances the ambience and is echoed in the flooring, with multi-hued carpeting featuring lines and streaks. The hallway is kept dark, with asymmetrical lighting guiding patrons towards the main theatre. | Source

More specs

The NPAT boasts of having the country's largest indoor Euro LED screen at 30m x 8m, according to this article, which gives off crisp, life-like images. On each side wall of the audience area are two 10ft x 14ft LED screens, video aids that are definitely of better quality than the usual projection screens of, say, the Smart Araneta Coliseum where the recent Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends was held in October, or of other theater venues.

From the same article source above, NPAT is reportedly equipped with

...sophisticated lights and audio technology which is as impressive as it sounds. An elaborate lighting system... with a total of 100 units of intelligent light...[and] an additional 300 units of non-moving lights controlled by Avolites Pearl Expert Titan lighting controller[,] makes for an impressive show.

The impressive audio comes from the theater’s 3 sets of 6 cabinets Renkus Heinz 9R Dual 12” Line Array with the latest Digital Audio Mixer Digidesign Profile Venue 48 x 24 Input and Output, 3 mix engine with wireless tablet...

Its stage is said to be 70 feet long and 27 feet high, the biggest (in the country*), according to Filipino theatre director Roxanne Lapus. It is a showcase of Filipino craftsmanship with sculptor Impy Pilapil's crystal chandelier and bar design. The plushness of its seats and the presence of butlers who serve at the VIP section makes the NPAT no pushover.

While all these specs sound technical, the claim "world class" by the owners of Resorts World Manila of its theatre certainly puts their money where their mouths are. These details, no doubt, make for complete viewing experience one can bet on, and well worth the ticket prices fit for a class act as Charice.

Christmas: red, green and brown all over (the Filipino way)

Charice's native Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, is known to celebrate Christmas early and long. In fact, carols are aired as soon as the "~ber" months set in, and the Christmas spirit extends all through January, either on the first Sunday for the Feast of the Three Kings (Epiphany) or the Feast of the Child Jesus (Sto. Niño) on the 3rd Sunday.

A Christmas concert on the second day of December, therefore, is right smack in the middle of celebrations at a time when offices and companies have started holiday parties and vacation plans are underway. It is but fitting.

More Christmas: a Charice repertoire

Charice's recorded Christmas repertoire includes songs previously released as solo and/or a duet, starting with "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" with David Archuleta on his Christmas from the Heart (2009) album.

That song was followed by her version of the classic "A Christmas Song" on A Very Special Christmas Vol. 7 compilation, a brainchild of Jimmy Iovine (American Idol), the proceeds of which benefitted the Special Olympics. Started in 1987, A Very Special Christmas compilations have been "the largest financial source in Special Olympics’ history."

Charice's latest collection of Christmas songs were released as an EP titled Grown-up Christmas List on November 30, 2010 and carries three of the best-loved contemporary Christmas classics:

Grown-up Christmas List
JIngle Bell Rock
Happy Xmas (War is Over)

Then there are the live performances and taped shows of some past Christmas shows and specials she guested in, including:

2008
❇Pamaskong Handog (December 21/ABS-CBN/Araneta Coliseum) - O Holy Night - truly a class act, I must say. Accompanied by the Mandaluyong Children's Choir.
❇Boy and Kris (December 22/ABS-CBN) - an early and complete performance of David Foster's Grown-up Christmas List with the FEU Chorale.
❇Canyon Woods Christmas Mass (December) - a rare footage of a mass celebration which Charice attended and agreed to sing "O Holy Night" during communion. An attendee, Rosanna Valenzuela, said of the impromptu performance:

❝ I almost forgot to upload this! Here's the vid of Charice singing during communion in mass when I went to Tagaytay Canyon Woods last 12-27-08. :> It's not complete since we had to take communion first. :P

She sounded so much better live! Everyone there was so starstruck! @-) It was really funny! There was even this guy who stopped by Charice after taking communion and smiled for the camera. =)) ❞ Source / Watch on her YouTube page

2009
❇Early Morning Show Second Cup Café (November/CBS) - A Christmas Song - David Foster feat. Charice
❇On ABS-CBN's ASAP - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - with Christian Bautista and Mark Bautista (David Archuleta version)
❇SMART Telecoms Christmas Party - O Holy Night - a private event, World Trade Center, Pasay City. Video courtesy of FalseVoice.

2010
❇J-Wave 81.3 Christmas Special: LOVE & PEACE: Wishes do come true (November 2010/Tokyo) - Podcast: J-Wave Happy Christmas Live (Audio) courtesy of Harry Clark

❇CBC Season of Songs: The Canadian Tenors and Friends (December 2010/Canada): - The Prayer - with David Foster The Canadian Tenors
See other previous Christmas-related performance schedules here

Guilty pleasure

The audience attending Christmas with Charice surely won't mind giving in to a bit of guilty pleasure. Meanwhile, I look forward to the televised version on December 11.

All links, references and sources open in new window.

* note by the author re: stage size

Credits for Resorts World/NPAT images used in the top photo montage:
> Shane Chong - for Troy Laureta and Chris Wrate pics / Flickr
> Paola Kathrina Marpuri / Blog
> Ourawesomeplanet.com / Kaos the Musical

Credits for NPAT interior photos in the gallery:
> Joseph Sy and Associates

Top and bottom image montage are by the author.

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Charice ∞ Infinity インフィニティ - The Album

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:17:00 -0800

∞ Infinity (インフィニティ)

2nd International-release album
Product Title: ∞ / Infinity (First Press Limited/Special Price Edition/Japan Version)
Release Date: 2011-10-05
Disc Format(s): CD

01. LOUDER - Daniel Jamas, Leah Haywood, Shelly Peiken Dreamlab 3:01
02. NEW WORLD - Kōichi Tabo (多保孝一 of Superfly） 6:11
03. BOUNCE BACK - Lars Halvor Jensen, Kasia Livingston Bloodshy & Avant 3:39
04. FAR AS THE SKY - Yusuke Tanaka (田中ユウスケ) 5:22
05. LOST THE BEST THING - Carsten Schack, Sean Hurley, Cathy Dennis 3:37
06. HEARTBREAK SURVIVOR (feat. JoJo) - Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque 4:04
07. BEFORE IT EXPLODES - Bruno Mars, Ari Levine, Phillip Lawrence 4:00
08. LESSON FOR LIFE - Jason Derulo, Kara DioGuardi, Alex Francis, Dinavon Bythwood, Jordan Kyle The Ghostwriters 2:58
09. NEVER ALWAYS - Frankie Storm, Warren “Oak” Felder Oak 4:05
10. ONE DAY - Dan Muckala, Jason Ingram, Nick Jonas 3:13
11. LIGHTHOUSE - Natasha Bedingfield, Mike Elizondo, Danielle Brisebois The Y’s 3:59

Like her first international album, the collection of songs in ∞ (or Infinity), her second, are intense and big; some, with complicated arrangements few singers her age can ably hurdle, and most, laced with interesting background vocal and instrumental overlays that make the tracks acoustically multi-textural.

As in her first, Charice tackles each track in Infinity decently as expected. It is surprisingly a more mature pop album in look and sound than earlier presumed, i.e. a CD targeted towards a younger (early teens-to-young adults) market segment.

The collection, though, sounds more invigorating and current than her eponymous 2010 debut album which should give it the energy her first didn't have much of to jostle its way deeper into the crowded mainstream music.

[ ↓ Jump to Tracks]

As with her first album, the songs seem carefully chosen in the sense that each is reflective of Charice's real-life resilient nature or are carriers of positive messages despite the tried and tired pop themes about heartache, love or longing. No sex (implied or otherwise), violence or drugs in this one, themes that are sure recipients of commercial success in a tightly competitive music industry.

It is significant to note, however, that, unlike her first CD, Charice sings solo and provides very pronounced counterpoints on all tracks including its latest carrier singles "One Day" and "Louder," whereas she had to be paired with R&B singer Iyaz for her debut-album carrier single "Pyramid" back in 2010 after a leaked (and unreleased) version with Sean Kingston didn't make the final cut. Then there's Drew Ryan Scott of Varsity Fan Club who sang with her on "I Did It for You."

For Infinity, only singer JoJo is credited as featured vocalist on "Heartbreak Survivor" but can be heard in minor parts. Songwriter Kara DioGuardi, meanwhile, appears in fine print as additional vocalist for "Lost the Best Thing." Both are likewise acknowledged as songwriters for "Heartbreak Survivor" (JoJo) and "Lesson for Life" (DioGuardi).

Solo

That Charice's carrier singles off Infinity are all sung solo speaks volumes in terms of establishing a more definite identity and acoustic ownership and bears a bolder stamp of confidence Warner Music has placed on Charice as a singular performer this time around, without her riding on other artists to carry out chart and sales performance, even going to the extent of providing her four single releases ("Before it Explodes," "One Day," "Lost the Best Thing" and "Louder") and two music videos thus far. (Okay, make that three official videos including "Far As the Sky" shown in Japan only.)

In contrast, her debut album came out with just two official singles, namely, "Note to God" and "Pyramid" — plus two great-sounding official dance remixes of "Pyramid" (Club and Radio) and the enthralling club mix of "I Love You" by no less than Barry Harris, Jonathan Peters and Dave Audé, respectively — even if other songs from that album had strong potential as singles for radio airplay such as "Reset." She also came out with just one official music video (two versions of it), again, for "Pyramid" in 2010.

Add to that David Foster's admission in August of not being part of the over-all production of this second album, no doubt a result of changes affecting the music industry that is continually challenged by an indulgent consumption for digital music and dwindling worldwide record sales. Foster's departure from Warner (along with sister Jayme and Charice A&R guy Tommy Page) is among a great deal of reshuffling happening between the major labels.

Foster's departure leaves Charice's solid 50-year-old-and-above niche familiar with covers of (or who associate her with) Dion-esque ballads on the look out for songs they've been accustomed to Charice singing. "Far As The Sky" or "New World" may be the closest cuts in the album for them with "Before it Explodes" also a likely selection, followed by "Lighthouse."

With David Foster out of the picture for Infinity, the album has instead become a collection of today's chart-making song producers and songwriters of equal calibre no less, and more attuned to the Top 40 led by former American Idol judge, Arthouse Entertainment's co-founder and 15-time BMI awardee Kara DioGuardi.

DioGuardi not only co-wrote "Lesson for Life" and provided background vocals to "Lost the Best Thing" but is the album's A&R as well — in tandem with Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys discoverer Jeff Fenster — DioGuardi having been a Warner Music A&R senior VP since joining its division in 2008.

Fenster, now Warner Music A&R EVP, came to Warner in late 2010 after leaving the recently-dissolved Jive Records. Currently working on new discs for Cher, "Lesson for Life" co-writer Jason Derulo and Iyaz (WM), his past A&R works include Bon Jovi's Crush for Island Def Jam and American Idols debut albums by Jordin Sparks (AI6), David Archuleta (AI7), Kris Allen, Alison Iraheta (AI8) and Crystal Bowersox (AI10) for Jive.

Charting Charice, the second time around

With this new team in the bag, Infinity had, in fact, reached #1 on Japan's iTunes charts in September (pre-release), settling at #8 overall which, in turn, was convincingly strong enough to pull up Charice's 2010 debut album back on the Japanese charts. (Both albums landed in the Top 10 in the opening weeks of October 2011.)

Infinity debuted at the Oricon charts for Week 41 (13 Oct. 2011) at #9 with more than 13,000 album sales and stayed in the top 20 for 4 weeks.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Infinity does not pretend to be a J-pop album and I believe there is no intention for it to be strongly marketed towards that direction. Charice's acceptance by the Japanese market just happens to be incidental and a surprisingly positive development for her as an Asian embraced by the world's #2 music market, and as a singer whose identity is more as product of American music than OPM.

Japan-only

Having said that, two songs written by Japanese and featured in Japanese franchises are in this Japan-release CD, "Far As The Sky" and "New World," but which may not be in the US/International releases come 2012.

"Far As the Sky" is the theme for the Japanese hit TV drama Bull Doctor. It has strong J-pop-ballad appeal, not to mention a strong hint of an OPM song as well, in arrangement, sentiment and instrumentation. As mentioned, Warner Music will most likely drop "Far As the Sky" from the track list in favor of another (yet un-announced) track — or taken off the list altogether — when Infinity is released in the US and international markets in 2012.

"New World," on the other hand, is the English-language theme song of the international version of "Final Fantasy XIII-2," the multi-media online role playing game (MMORPG) for the XBox 360 and PS3 consoles. The market rating for "Final Fantasy" has been in the age range of 16+ (another packaging, such as the image referenced above, has an ESRB rating of "T" for 13-and-above) which means that not only has the game a dedicated following but that the song has potential to cross boundaries between avid teen-young adult gamers and followers of pop music.

Range and genre

Most songs in the album continue to explore Charice's range and makes use of her developing yet distinct style of vocal runs — layers of it in song choruses of majority of the tracks in Infinity, "Lost the Best Thing" being a good example — or pace shifts, syncopation and such now more recogizable as a familiar "Charice style" in live performances, to the maximum.

As with her first album, Infinity is not strictly stuck in one genre. There's dance ("Louder"), there's pop ("One Day"), slow- (or soft) and mid-tempo pop-rock numbers — "Heartbreak Survivor," "Never Always," "Lesson for Life" with a very strong, playful bassline, "Lost the Best Thing" — and power ballads, most of which have a hint of adult contemporary undertones in them and which, in total, is a better package for Charice than simply going the young, trendy route. I believe this will help set the album apart from records of singers her age.

Because of the inclusion of the two Japanese-penned songs in this album, Infinity cannot strictly be classified as an R&B disc. The forthcoming international version/s may have more of that flavor, though.

Infinity is significant in that the songs, most likely recorded in late 2010 all through early 2011, capture many levels of Charice's maturing voice that are especially marked in tracks with low notes, notably in "Lighthouse," a hands-down personal favorite in this album and which I hope will be released (and be as heavily promoted) as a single.

Riding out the second album syndrome

From my brief but indelible stint in theatre, I know that pre-opening nights are always full of apprehension and premieres are significant but not necessarily a gauge of a production's success.

What theater veterans warned most about was the second-day jitter because the entire production crew is supposed to have been drained of energy in the run up to a good opening show, and good words (or bad) might have already spread.

Its cliché equivalent in the music world is the second album syndrome (sophomore slump) and producers always take extra caution in working on a follow-up either to a hugely successful debut or an entire new package after a failed one — assuming the label has kept the artist on the list for a second bid, of course.

Since Infinity offers something fresh and appropriate for Charice this time, I believe it will make more pop music skeptics take a second, in-depth look at Charice beyond just the naive Sunshine Corazon hitting the high notes on Glee or Oprah's and David Foster's girl.

Generally more catchy than her first CD, Infinity is infused with stronger R&B influences ("Heartbreak Survivor" and "Never Always" but particularly with "Bounce Back"), is punchier on the basses with generous servings of guitars and percussion. Also, there's "Louder," "One Day," and, more importantly, the evocative "Lighthouse," the most genuine of all songs sung in the album.

Charice is unquestionably a bona fide versatile singer and her collaboration with younger, prolific producers and musicians more responsive to prevailing yet variable market tastes, coupled with aggressive promos she most likely will undertake without question, makes this CD way more listener-friendly.

Infinity, therefore, may yet set a surer, definite career path for Charice in the evolving pop music genre faced by demanding challenges. The DioGuardi-Fenster tandem may just see their work pay off.

My only misgiving, and that which has baffled me most since the album art came out: Frederick Goudy's Copperplate Gothic. But that's another story.

Tracks

Read the tracks post here.

Purchase Infinity (Japan / Asia Ed.)
Online via iTunes (11-track) | Amazon Japan (11-track) | HMV (10-track Asia Edition) | Amazon.com (Import)

Inquire for availability in record bars*: Philippines : Metro Manila
Odyssey Records | Astroplus / Astrovision | Music One | Radio City
*Note: Veracity of all contact info in links listed above for PHILIPPINES are unconfirmed.

LINKS and REFERENCES

(All links open in new windows)
Inquirer.net: US hitmaker David Foster searching for new Charice Pempengco
HollywoodReporter.com: David Foster To Be Named Head Of Jazz Label (Exclusive)
Billboard.biz (Feb 2011): Rumored and Reported: The Latest on Major Label Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions
SongwriterUniverse.com: Interview with Jeff Fenster, Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Bros. Records
Taxi.com: A&R - Getting a Record
LA Times Blog: RCA to close Jive, Arista and J label imprints [Updated]
Generasia.com Oricon Wiki: Week 41 | Week 44
Oricon.com Artists Profile: Charice
In-site: The Filipino performer in Japan: "Louder" this time with Charice...
Entertainment Software Rating Board: Ratings guide
Billboard.biz: Universal Music Sees Recorded Music Business Near Turnaround
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE:
A&R > Musiccareer.com.au: Artist and Repertoire (A&R) Manager
Second album syndrome >
Qthemusic.com: The Difficult second album syndrome
The Guardian.uk: When bands fall off cliffs

All images and collages by the author.

> This post comes with very special thanks to @beda026 and @tintol of charicemania.com

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Charice confirms Teen Choice Awards 2011 attendance (+ notes on TCA & giving back)

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:03:00 -0700

After weeks of speculation, Charice finally confirmed her attendance via Twitter to FOX's 13th Teen Choice Awards, to be aired live on August 7, 2011 8/7 central (US). The confirmation was in answer to Twitter user and Charice fan @Invictus19 who asked her today about being on the show.

Since The Teen Choice Awards introduced the ACUVUE® Inspire Awards, a new special category that "recognizes charitable contributions made by a celebrity teen," on 19 June 2011, talk was rife about Charice attending the televised event owing to her involvement with the ACUVUE® brand. However, no confirmation was made until today.

[BREAK - 08 Aug 2011] Charice is a Teen Choice Awards 2011 ACUVUE® Inspire Awards presentor according to Dusty Starks, her event make-up artist

The ACUVUE® Inspire Awards

ACUVUE®, by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, is the only branded partner for the 2011 Teen Choice Awards. In sponsoring the Award, ACUVUE® aims to

...recognize[s] the achievements of a celebrity teen and his/her outstanding charitable contributions over the past year. By using his/her celebrity positively, this honoree inspires teens to give back and strive to attain their goals, proving that one day everyone can achieve their dreams.

Source

The recipient will be exclusively disclosed during the live telecast of the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday, August 7, 2011.

[See Charice's own partial list of contributions below]

An Endorsement, "One Day," and empowerment

Charice is one of five celebrity endorsers of the ACUVUE® Brand for its 1·DAY ACUVUE® MOIST® Contact Lenses with actor Sterling Knight, actress Meaghan Martin, musician Joe Jonas and World Champion runner Allyson Felix.

ACUVUE® partnered with the Teen Choice Awards 2011 to strengthen its brand and further reach out to its intended market, starting with brand engagement through the ACUVUE® 1-Day contest. The contest picked lucky winners who submitted videos of themselves with their "What would you do 1-Day?" stories, and were flown to Los Angeles to star with Charice in her "One Day" music video.

The song "One Day" was commissioned by Johnson & Johnson for Nick Jonas (of the Jonas Brothers) to co-create a song not just for its brand but as a single for Charice. It was released in April 2011. Its music video, meanwhile, premiered online on July 28, 2011 via AOL Music.

Of the partnership with Teen Choice Awards, Dave Brown, president of the VISTAKON® Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. said:

...ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses is committed to helping teens achieve their dreams, and we’re excited to be working with TEEN CHOICE 2011 to recognize and honor this year’s teen talent.

Source

The Teen Choice Awards

The Teen Choice Awards, a production of FOX which was first held in 1999, recognizes outstanding achievement in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and the web, among other fields, in a variety of categories as voted on by teens from 13–19.

in 2010, the Teen Choice Awards was not broadcast live but obtained a viewership share of 3.96 million when it aired at 8:00 p.m. on Aug 9, 2010 (Sunday), and 4.15 million for its 9:00 p.m. telecast on the same night. The viewership covered adults 18-49 years old (up 7% from 2009), and had 4% more teenagers viewing than in 2009. | Source

The Teen Choice Awards: LIST OF GUESTS
The 13th Teen Choice Awards 2011 will be hosted by actress Kelly Cuoco of "Big Bang Theory" and will feature the following performers and guests:

Catch the full list here via shallownation.com

Performing a special number will be "Glee" stars Cory Monteith, Darren Criss, Ashley Fink, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Chord Overstreet and Harry Shum, Jr. as they present an exclusive clip from the motion picture GLEE: The 3D Concert Movie | Source

The Teen Choice Awards: VENUE

The Teen Choice Awards will be held at the Gibson Ampitheater (formerly the Universal Ampitheater) in Universal City, Los Angeles where it has been held since 2001. As guest to this annual show, Charice returns to this venue on August 7, 2011.

She performed at the Gibson Ampitheater, one of the venues of the "David Foster and Friends Tour," in November 2009. The Gibson Ampitheater seats more than 6,000 and is the third largest indoor theater in California after the Nokia Theater and the Shrine Auditorium. It also hosts the annual MTV Movie and Video Awards.

The Teen Choice Awards: The SURFBOARD trophy

The Teen Choice Awards is the only celebrity award-giving body that gives out real surfboards for trophies since it began in 1999.

Unofficial details from Wikipedia.org states of the surfboard trophies:

Since the ceremony's inception, the show has given out genuine custom-made surfboards to individual winners (they cost over $800 each to manufacture). They create a new original design every year. The surfboard was chosen as the award because it represents the freedom of the summer vacation for teens, whether they surf or not.

Source

All the world's a stage: Charice at The Teen Choice Awards: Recipient, a live performance or presentor?

Unlike the guests and performers for the 13th Teen Choice Awards listed above, Charice's inclusion in the event came rather late on August 4, 2011, just three days into the event.

Owing perhaps to a series of ACUVUE®-related marketing activities on the brand's timetable, Charice was initially non-committal when queried about her participation in the popular teen-oriented Awards show. Her music video "One Day," the one in which lucky contest joiners "Darien," "Rona" and "Kevin," appear, had just premiered online, and a major parallel activity by ACUVUE® for its online 1·DAY Contest is in the works for the same event on Sunday.

Whatever reasons there are for this late but very good news, Charice's appearance at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, a participation very much anticipated as soon as ACUVUE® announced its partnership with the Teen Choice Awards on July 19, 2011, will be a most significant platform for her especially in establishing her presence in the 13-19 market segment.

Will she be a (co-)presentor or announcer of the ACUVUE® 1·DAY Contest video winner? Will she perform "One Day" live with contest picks "Darien," "Rona," and "Kevin"? Or maybe considered a recipient of the ACUVUE® Inspire Awards for which she very much deserves recognition for the numerous giving-back (charity) work she has done since 2008? [See a partial list below]

We'll know on Sunday when the 13th Teen Choice Awards airs. Break a leg, Charice!

Charice: Partial List of giving-back activities

World Vision [PHL] news clipping, May 11, 2010 and Operation Smile [INTL]
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) [PHL] news clipping, Dec. 09, 2009 for its Bright Minds Read and Bahay Bulilit programs
Involvement with the David Foster Foundation [CAN] news clipping, Dec. 09, 2009 programs
Look To The Stars: A partial list of Charice's charity-related involvements
Charicemusic.com (official website): In-forum - List of charity activities with videos
Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Ayala Foundation environmental campaign [PHL] (2010): My Backyard
Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation [USA]: Diamond Ball & Concert to fund the creation of an Ion Channel Epilepsy Program (ICEP) - 2009
Carousel of Hope (since 2008) [USA] - Photos
Woman's Day [USA] - Red Dress Awards 2011 to benefit the American Heart Association (AHA)
Charice at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) [USA] - 2011 to raise funds for art acquisition

Added

Philippine Star: [PHL]: Charice gives back to her Gulod neighbors - 2010
Spending her 18th birthday [PHL] with children from: World Vision, Operation Smile and Bantay Bata 163 - 2009
Andre Agassi Foundation [USA]: 14th Annual Grand Slam for Children - 2009

Support our artists by purchasing only original music.
Love "One Day?" (and her 4 other new singles)? BUY it on iTunes or Amazon.com
❧

LINKS and REFERENCES for this post are cited as "Source."
All images are composites made by the author for this blog. All photos and logos are copyrighted to their owners.

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"One Day" music video: Charice breaking out - What took you so long, Warner?

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:15:00 -0700

Charice's official video for "One Day," the catchy tune co-written and co-produced by Nick Jonas for ACUVUE®'s 1-Day contact lenses targeting the youth and youthful lifestyle, was finally premiered on 27 July 2011 through AOL Music.

Commissioned by Warner Music for ACUVUE and Johnson & Johnson, the video is directed by Marcus Raboy (Santana feat. Rob Thomas/"Smooth," Avril Lavigne/"What the Hell," and the heart-wrenching "Tears In Heaven/2005 Tsunami Relief" all-star benefit video, etc.) and choreographed by Fil-Am Gil Duldulao (Christina Aguilera/"Genie in A Bottle," Janet Jackson/"Feedback," Britney Spears/"I Was Born to Make You Happy," Jennifer Lopez/"Waiting for Tonight," etc.).

Breaking free: a joyful carpe diem

The "One Day" music video is a light and vibrant take on the life of high school students who are encouraged to break free from the mold (or from physical/social limitations, whether self-imposed or otherwise) and to just go ahead, be positive or be themselves and pursue their passions—a kind of an abridged and very upbeat, modern version of the "carpe diem" spirit (as in "The Dead Poet's Society," in the Byronic sense minus the deep-seated angst and platitudes).

The video shows Charice among a diverse group of students in a high school setting in the U.S. (shot in an L.A. high school according to AOL Music). More importantly, Charice gets to finally dance in this video, something not many know about her especially if they are weaned into watching her in old videos of The Oprah Show, Celine Dion's "Taking Chances" concert video in Madison Square Garden circa 2008, or even in "Glee" in which Charice appeared as one of the special guests in the recently-concluded Second Season (she is not announced to be in the Third Season as of this writing).

Speaking of which, the video also brings with it influences of "Glee," especially since the other talents who are featured in the video are themselves portrayed as marginalized.

These talents, "Darien," "Rona" and "Kevin," are from the contest conducted by ACUVUE® in May this year. In the run-up to the video's official release, other videos and photos were released as well, particularly of Charice and Nick Jonas in a recording session for "One Day" (there are two versions; this is the more recent one), an official lyric video, and of her in another ACUVUE TVC in consultation with an eye doctor.

This is a tricky music video to pull off because it is essentially a product endorsement (i.e. a branded video) than a music video intended to promote just music or Charice's song which, some say, may be in her second album.

Staying close to the marketing strategy of "One Day" with the videos of the recording sessions made available earlier, and perhaps in response to many of Charice's fans who had waited for almost 3 months since a video was announced to be in production, the "One Day" official music video release is also accompanied by a behind-the-scenes footage.

Breaking out: seeing Charice in a new light

The official word is that Charice appears in "One Day" as the students' angel/guardian (or "her school's fairy godmother," so wrote Hollywood celebrity site Popdust.com).

However, with the video treatment of Charice in a typical high school set-up, dressed in comfortable street wardrobe (distinctly in ACUVUE-blue leggings at one point) with natural make-up, and in a generally feel-good atmosphere with dance sequences, what it is, really, is that Charice herself has broken out of her big-voice, adult contemporary power-ballad mold that she's been kept in too long despite her grooving to "Pyramid" in the video in 2010.

Uniquely talented as she is, Charice has at last been presented in "One Day" as a "normal" teener among average teenagers and not as a super-human "big voice in a small, explosive package" singer few "normal" teenagers will actually ever be which may have contributed to her disconnection from potential fans despite her inspiring life story.

The "One Day" video, therefore, puts Charice right smack on the mark of her intended market and is a milestone of a video itself because it shows more of her as a compleat, natural-born performer — a wise move by Warner Music. It's truer to the nature of Charice in real life: a bubbly live wire with music constantly spinning in her head.

Simply put, Charice just became more accessible. Charice in "One Day" will resonate stronger and stay longer in people's minds this time, and the appreciation will not just come from her long-time hardcore followers but from those who have been in the sidelines, observing or still trying to figure out how best to identify with her. With this video, the choice to heed Charice's appeal will not be difficult to make.

What took you so long do this, Warner?

[updated 31 Jul 2011]

Watch the "One Day" official music video via AOL Music:
(or watch it on Charice's YouTube channel here - The video has been set to private. / 04 Aug 2011)

"One Day" Behind the scenes

Nick Jonas talks about the One Day campaign and working with Charice.

Support our artists by purchasing only original music.
Love "One Day?" BUY it on iTunes or Amazon.com
❧

LINKS and REFERENCES

In-site: About "One Day"
AOL Music blog: Charice's One Day video
DNALA.com: Marcus Raboy
YouTube: Santana feat. Rob Thomas - "Smooth" official video
YouTube.com: Avril Lavigne - "What the Hell" official video
YouTube.com: VA - "Tears in Heaven Tsunami Relief/2005 for savethechildren.org" video
The Pulse on Tour: Gil Duldulao Faculty profile
YouTube.com: Christina Aguilera - "Genie in a Bottle" official video
YouTube.com: Janet Jackson - "Feedback" official video
YouTube.com: Britney Spears - "I Was Born to Make You Happy" official video
YouTube.com: Jennifer Lopez - "Waiting for Tonight" video
Phrases.org: "carpe diem" http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/carpe-diem.html
In-site: "Glee" entries and Season Finale
Deviantart.com: Darien's Journal entry on "One Day" [updated 01 Aug 2011]
YouTube.com: Kevin's Behind the Scenes video [updated 01 Aug 2011]
Facebook.com: Acuvue 1-Day Contest® [link updated 01 Aug 2011]
Hollywood.com: Nick Jonas and Charice goofing off in the studio for "One Day"
YouTube.com: "One Day" official lyric video
YouTube.com: "One Day" TVC (Eye doctor)
Popdust.com: Charice's "One Day" video
YouTube.com: "One Day" official video on Charice channel

EMBEDDED MEDIA

Top image: krvilla/07.2011
AOL.com - "One Day" official video
AOL.com - "One Day" Behind the scenes
MTV.com 10 on Top 10 - Nick Jonas talks about the One Day campaign and working with Charice.

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Charice: the iPhone Apps, the devs and a call to action [Q&A]

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:55:00 -0700

Charice has come a long way since Ellen DeGeneres gave her an iPod Touch as a gift on The Ellen Show in 2008 to replace the one Charice lost enroute to America for the first time.

From an avid gadget user, Charice has now become an iOS App category herself, found under "Music" at Apple's App Store and other online iOS Apps directory sites. [↓ Jump to interviews with the Charice Apps developers]

Fun company with gadgets

A self-confessed gadgeteer (and quite a techie, I note), Charice has been featured with just about every mid-Millenial, Cloud-generation gadget available, owning a few brands and pro models not typically associated with teenagers her age.

She's been seen with a Mac laptop on stand-by even during live shows (and also to tinker with music and home-recording on GarageBand®), a Flip video camera (a great, handy device I've personally used, but its production and support sadly discontinued just this April), played with a PSP for relaxation before going onstage or on-cam. She has posted on Twitter from a BlackBerry, carried a Samsung Galaxy phone tablet, and wears a Dr. Dre headset during travels.

Charice also collects a few digital cameras, has a penchant for older models of the iPod and carries an iPhone—of course—among many other gadgets. (By the way, she does own an iPad, too, she says. Small wonder.) But more than just a list of gadgets, what's important is Charice seems to be able to operate each product with ease and enjoys them to the maximum.

Speaking to Mike Thiel in June 29, 2010 of Fox Cities Hub/Postcrescent.com in Appleton, Wisconsin (two middle images, top row, in photo above), Charice says about her iPhone (and Apple products in particular):

Mike Thiel: Now I came in here (and) I saw you playing with your iPhone...for quite a while ignoring me, just playing with your iPhone...

...So you have a lot of fun with that out on the road I would think?

Charice: Yeah, you know...that's why I love Apple products, especially (the) iPhone. Like, I do have an iPad, too, but I forgot it...

But you know, if I'm bored, I could just—even without Internet—I could just play around...

Click for video interview about "Glee," her 2nd album, and having fun with her iPhone

Charice in the mobile ecosystem

As Charice moves from avid gadget consumer to being featured on the gadget itself with Apps that bear her name, she has essentially become a part of an active and evolving mobile ecosystem.

A heads up from (and with much thanks and credit to) fellow Apple user-and-Posterous-blogger Harry Clark who posted about a new iOS App on Charice on June 15, 2011, an alert he got through his Feed, led me to the developer's site of this App and the interesting exchanges with them.

Harry's App alert, however, is not the first such "Charice-based" iPhone App on Apple's App Store. An earlier one released is a game application by TourBuddy Systems; the second (the one Harry posted about) developed by Dutch-owned Yellow Dice NL, is a data-fed application that features news, videos, lyrics, Social Network updates and photos of and about Charice.

The long and short exchanges with the developers of these two Charice Apps reveals that they were also admirers of her first before they developed Apps about her.

Behind the App:
Interview with Steven van Loef, YELLOW DICE | Charice App

APP NAME: Charice
iTunes CATEGORY: Music
RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2011
UPDATE: June 23, 2011 v. 1.0.1
DEVELOPER: Yellow Dice (Netherlands)
LANGUAGE: English, German
SIZE: 1.2MB
COMPATIBLE WITH: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad / iOS 4.0 or later.
Twitter: @yellowdice
GET THE APP: $0.99

Who/What is Yellow Dice?

Yellow Dice is a company I started in 2006 while I was still employed full-time at a bank.

I started programming for fun at 13 on a Sinclair ZX81; later, I got a MSX homecomputer system for which I created some games and tools which were published in a computer magazine here in the Netherlands. After that I got a 'real' PC, and also developed some software for that, mostly for the Windows platform at the time.

I started programming websites for clients as a hobby back in 1999 just for fun, not so much on the graphical side but mostly on the technical part: database, HTML, CSS, Javascript and of course the PHP programming language. Funny that PHP is also the Philippine currency.

I continued to do programming on the side while still employed because it has always been something that I wanted and enjoyed doing more than any other IT job. When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, I couldn't wait to get one, but we had to wait for a year in the Netherlands before we could officially buy the iPhone 3G.

Thereafter, Apple announced the developer program to create a thing called 'Apps' (third-party applications) for the iPhone. That sounded very interesting and I wanted to do that so I signed up and have been an official Apple developer since 2008. But because of my full-time day job and web development work I could not find the time to start creating Apps.

So that's why I'm now so happy to work for my own company and have the time to create Apps, not just of my own ideas, but later, also for clients.

Yellow Dice, based in Arnhem, the Netherlands, is involved with website automation, development and applications based on clients' needs. It also develops iOS-based applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. This year, I decided to make Yellow Dice my full-time job and so far I'm enjoying it very much.

Why a Charice iOS App? What led you to develop one and how do you plan to sustain interest among possible target market and make it different from other celebrity-based apps currently available on the AppStore?

Well, I looked in the AppStore and there was just one App about Charice which is a game. But there was no Charice App for fans with all kinds of information about her.

Another reason, of course, is because my girlfriend is Filipina; otherwise I might not have heard about Charice or even if I did, not get the idea to create an App of such nature.

The Charice App uses a web backend (database) that contains most of the information that you see in the App.

With this backend, we can post new pictures, videos pulled from YouTube, song lyrics and news. The Twitter and Facebook feeds are taken from the public feeds of those sites. So by regularly adding videos, pictures, lyrics and news about Charice we hope to keep the users interested and also get new users.

We have some ideas for extra features in the App, but we first have to see how it goes with the current App and its features.

A new version has been uploaded to Apple and is awaiting approval.* The new version has some minor fixes concerning Facebook and orientation and iPhone 3G support. I'm also trying to get the App to work on iOS 3.1 (for older iPhone models - K), but that needs some more work.

We have a (sort of) working version now, but there are some layout issues with the older iOS version. There is one active user at the moment testing it, a big Charice fan living in Hong Kong.

[*the update was approved on June 23, 2011]

Considering that Apple is famous for its "non-traditional/non-conformist" ways of approving and/or disapproving iOS-based apps, how was your process like and what did it entail from your end to get the Charice App approved?

No problems at all getting the App approved, it took about 6 days after uploading it and then it got approved and was available for sale in the App Store. That's really all I can say about the approval process; you mostly just have to wait.

Unlike the "Glee App" which was made in collaboration with Fox, are you in talks with Warner Music Group about the application, or do you plan to get their official endorsement and releases of Charice's songs, photos and/or videos?

We are not in talks with anybody concerning the Charice App.

We just see it as an App made by Charice fans for Charice fans. So we try to keep out any copyright material, that's why, for example, the videos are all links to YouTube videos.

However, the official Charice videos on Youtube can't be included because YouTube does not allow that. I see a possible feature of including the real songs, which you could download with in-app purchase or adding 'iTunes Buy This Song' links, but that would require approval from Charice and her record label. Therefore, I don't think that will happen yet.

Of course I would like to be compensated for the work spent on developing the App and maintaining it.

So for now we will just keep it like it is: the App for Charice fans.

What is your elevator pitch for the Charice iOS App?

This App has everything about Charice in one place: videos, pictures, news, lyrics, Twitter, Facebook.

How did the name "Yellow Dice" come about?

Well you need a name for a company and it's hard to find something that sounds good and is not used by someone else already. And I wanted something with a color; yellow seemed nice. The Dice part just came to me somehow. The whole name sounds nice I think, and I also hear that from others and that it is also easy to remember. Other than that, no special meaning to it.

~ 20 June 2011

Behind the App II [added]:
Short corresponcence with Gabe Nadel of TourBuddy Systems LLC | Charice Games

APP NAME: Charice Games
iTunes CATEGORY: Music
RELEASE DATE: October 02, 2010
VERSION: v. 1.0.
DEVELOPER: TourBuddy Systems LLC (USA)
LANGUAGE: English
SIZE: 4.3MB
COMPATIBLE WITH: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad / iOS 3.0 or later
GET THE APP: $0.99

What made you decide to include Charice in your line-up of Apps?

We decided to feature Charice when we saw her perform on "Ellen." She was so incredibly talented, it seemed like a natural fit.

How has it done at the App Store since you launched it?

Unfortunately for us, the app has sold very few copies, though I think that is perhaps because most of her fans are from countries where users mostly download free apps, rather than paid apps. Do you think that is true?

~ 18 July 2011

For the record, I sent TourBuddy Systems the same set of questions as Yellow Dice but my mail was received by Gabe Nadel while he was on vacation. His response was short but he raised a good question.

I've replied to Gabe and it wasn't a simple "Yes" or "No," of course, as many factors come into play with the kind of situation Apps are in vis-a-vis App type, location, customer satisfaction, etc. The means of buying, specifically of Apple-based products via the App Store, also plays a big factor with regards purchase (i.e. downloading) of Apps, and, in the case of Charice, of her music, by fans outside of the U.S.

Coming near full circle and some notes
on reciprocal interdependence

Not only has Charice come near full circle of her gadget-driven life—the Millenials (or Gen Y) are, after all, tethered to and live by their gadgets more than any other generation—by becoming the gadget content herself, but as celebrity/musician/gamer/horror movie junkie/success story, etc., she can, for example, provide even more content than how she is currently featured especially to Philippines-based iOS apps developers whose number is slowly increasing, and pave the way to developing apps specifically on/about Filipino musicians.

At the moment, I am personally not aware of existing iOS apps about Filipino musicians, whether "official" or "unofficial" (like the Charice App and Charice Games). Correct me if I'm wrong or if I might have missed any.

A good example is The Black Eyed Peas (BEP), of which another Philippine-born singer, Apl de Ap, is a member, which has an official iOS app "Dubbed BEP360" (Talent Media LLC/Entertainment/Rel. Jan. 24, 2011) and another full dance game, "The Black Eyed Peas Experience" to be released shortly by Ubisoft Entertainment but for the Xbox360 and Wii. (This is the second "Experience" series after Michael Jackson's.)

As such, Charice, becomes the first Philippine-born solo performer to have iOS Apps that bear her name even if they happen to be developed by non-Filipinos who are, incidentally, admirers of her talent.

Developing for both sides

As of June 5, 2011, there are around 400,000 iOS applications available for download from Apple's App Store, including some of the more popular games actually made by Filipino developers like TurboSubs and CakeMania Mainstreet by the award-winning AninoGames.

Games and to-do apps dominate the iOS category; celebrity-related apps, meanwhile, are centered around trivia games, photos, or gossip apps if not "official" ones pushed for creation or directly endorsed by the artists themselves, their management or their labels, like Metallica Revenge® in 2009 (of which US-born, Tagalog-speaking Fil-Am guitarist Kirk Hammett is a member), or the BEP's mentioned above.

Apps also do not have to be created solely for iOS, though it's since been reported that Apple has made iOS app development easier and more accessible for developers than other platforms. Apps for or about our musicians should as well be developed for the flipside, the Android platform, despite its multi-device challenges.

A profession of passion

Anyhow, what is certain is that celebrities, specifically musicians, make good content because they make music and music provides great user experience.

On the developer's side, music is known to induce out-of-the-box thinking and crazy moments of innovation. Musicians and developers make up a community of reciprocal interdependence because both are the creative type, or to quote Filipino developer Pennylane of AninoGames:

"...Game developers, REAL game developers, are like William Miller (of "Almost Famous"). No matter how risky, scary and dangerous the game industry is, they still do it. They are smart people in their fields (art, design, or programming) in an unconventional job..."

"...I would equate game development to be like being a musician, a writer, a painter, or a sculptor. This sounds cliché, but it's a profession of passion. It's an undertaking that gives us fulfillment. It's risky. I may not get money out of it. It may not give me better benefits than in other industries but I want to do this. This is what I want to be..."

Interesting how this rings true with the two developers of the Charice Apps and, as someone now immersed in another "profession of passion," with the skillful, serious (yet playful) performer they feature: Charice. Kudos to both devs.

PS. An issue the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mangaawit (OPM) and PARI should help solve

On another note, as a personal advocacy on the side of music which Charice and other Filipino singers make vis-a-vis downloads, I would like to see better and more efficient channels to make digital purchases in the Philippines accessible to more Filipinos (use of Philippine currency, for instance), given that the culture of online transactions is yet to be more prevalent among local buyers.

The OPM and the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) should be more proactive and forward-looking in its promotion of original Pilipino music through online channels especially in the digital age. Right now, most legitimate digital music purchases outside of iTunes or Amazon.com are strictly producer or record label-based (i.e. Star Records) but even these sites are not widely promoted to the local market.

It seems that album sales and ownership in the Philippines still rely heavily on physical purchase from record bars, which means there is no process to legitimately own just singles the way Amazon or iTunes does it; or perhaps the OPM, PARI and record outlets can collaborate with these established sites, though they may have a better chance with Amazon. Should that happen, these channels should also be able to track and make sales ranks and chart numbers official (if not merged with international sales data) if collaborating with these bigger sites.

The OPM and PARI, together with other music organizations and the authorized music outlets, can tap the pool of local developers not just in apps that promote local artists but make better, more secure distribution channels to actively promote and, more importantly, sell the music that they make.

Whatever final form this takes, there is no better time than now.

Support our artists by purchasing only original music.
❧

LINKS and REFERENCES

Businessinsider.com: Cisco Kills the Flip Camera
Appleton Post Crescent: Mike Thiel of Fox Cities Hub chats with Charice | June 29, 2010
Betanews.com: IDC: Developer interest in Android nearly equals iOS
Harry Clark: Charice app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad now available
Yellow Dice site
oldcomputers.net: Sinclair ZX81
Retro-games.co.uk: MSX computer models
iTunes: The Charice App
TNW: Big news: Apple to reveal app approval process, relax iOS dev rules
iTunes: Charice Games
iTunes: Dubbed BEP360
Official game site: The Black Eyed Peas Experience
Official game site: The Michael Jackson Experience
Appadvice.com: Breaking: 400,000 iOS Applications Now Available In The App Store
iTunes: Metallica Revenge
iphonehacks.com: Is Android Losing App Developers To iOS?
AninoGames.com: about TurboSubs and CakeMania Mainstreet
Pennylane on AninoGames.com blogs: A Thousand Words on Black Sabbath
OPM official site
PARI official site

IMAGES

Top image by kvilla.2011
The Ellen Show: video grabs from YouTube
Charice and gadgets montage: kvilla.2011 with source credits on each photo
The Charice App screen grabs: Yellow Dice NL, image by krvilla.2011
Charice Games screen grabs: TourBuddy Systems LLC, image by krvilla.2011
Chart: Appcelerator IDC Mobile Developer Report, January 2011 via betanews.com

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[Some old] Notes on "Charice: A Journey Begins," 27 June 2009

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:26:00 -0700

Indulge me on this post.

I finally found a file I thought had been long gone with a dead hard disk.

Long story short, embedded below is a 24 (inside)-pages story on Charice's first major Philippine concert, Charice: The Journey Begins, staged on June 27, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center which I am finally able to share.

Some of the points raised in this story may sound familiar to those who have read a 3-part post which I previously wrote in another site. The embedded story below, titled "Following the Journey: The Gift of Charice," provided the seed that was expanded into Part 1 of that earlier 3-part post (and which remains a blog-in-progress).

Here are a few notes lifted from the last section of "Following the Journey: The Gift of Charice":

[Charice serves]...as inspiration to talents who are looked upon as plain-looking and not falling within the typical standards of “beauty” as prescribed by the entertainment industry.

...Nor is Charice like much of today’s current crop of young celebrity and entertainment headliners: bratty, angry, counter-culture pop icons who misbehave and land the papers for the wrong reasons. Instead, Charice has been given due recognition by the Americans, i.e., for her singing and for what comes through not so much as being merely a singer but a giver, the instrument through whom the song’s message and meaning are delivered...

...In fact, she makes every effort to connect and reach out to her audience not just by the obligatory waving and smiling or memorizing speeches and ready answers to interviews, but really, physically and emotionally as I had witnessed.

Read "Following the Journey: The Gift of Charice" here:

Note that clicking the embed file above will bring up another browser window on issuu.com, a great publishing site. I suggest clicking on the full screen mode. Zoom in for the reading experience and use the ← left or right → arrow keys to flip through the pages.

This story would not have been possible without the following to whom I express my belated thanks:

Chay O, kindered soul, a fine designer and photographer, for reading through the very rough version of the story and layout (along with my colleague from work) - thanks. | Appin, ever generous, for additional photos | Smee for grabs from his videos, some of the earliest uploads after the concert (via chasters.us) | a few others whose names appear at the end-page of the story | KyotoV for helping, and without Narita of Charicemania.com, for a great evening and great company, the experience would not have been complete.

A high-resolution copy of the e-book in PDF format (15+MB) is available. If you would like one, please use this form.

Charice's journey continues as she prepares for her second (US) solo album.

Some songs to be included in her second album are already out. Check out a list from here or buy them at your local record bars.

Support our artists by purchasing only original music.
❧

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Long live! - a Michael Jackson tribute

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:00:00 -0700

[This post has 9 videos embedded]

Pop, rock and roll, dance, Motown, rhythm and blues — call it whatever. Everyone across genres, across oceans, remember modern-day music legend Michael Jackson because he embraced all forms of music, gave much to it, and lived by it almost all of his 50 earth years until 25 June 2009 when no man or machine could revive his selfless, giving heart.

His demise, as many unexpected deaths are — who is to say one's passing is "untimely," especially of people who are acknowledged to be more gifted with youthful energy, vision, ingenuity and doses of originality? — caught everyone unprepared particularly since he had just announced a come-back concert and had reportedly been rehearsing for it.

When he passed on, he left a multitude of followers and the world at large in disbelief.

And when people from all walks of life, who celebrated their lives through his music, came to peace with the realization that Michael Jackson would appear in the flesh no more, acceptance of his (and one's) mortality set in, though, without doubt, it was acceptance with more questions than answers.

Tributes

Yet the world, despite these harsh realizations, have, and will continue, to pay tribute.

(2010) "Remembering Michael Jackson - A Billboard.com Video Tribute" Via user BillboardMagazine

And from this little corner are mine.

Michael Jackson lives just as the great composers and performers before him do. He lives in this part of the world with Charice and some of the Philippines' finest singers (and some of the best, internationally) as shown in the series of videos below - in chronological order, from uploaders' notes:

☆ Ben, You Are Not Alone, Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller

(02/2009) "Charice - Michael Jackson Medley @ Boy & Kris February 6, 2009" (Ben, You Are Not Alone; Beat It (with Nina), Billie Jean (with Aiza Seguerra), Thriller (with Gary Valenciano) via ChariceMing2

☆ Billie Jean

(03/2009) "Charice - Billie Jean (Ali Shuffle Move 2) / Fight Night Performance" (March 2009) via Charice

☆ Michael Jackson Medley

(07/2009) "Charice - Michael Jackson Medley Wowowee July 4 '09" via ChariceMing2 (*one of my favorites).
[INTRO: "...and to give tribute to the youth and to the early days of the one and only King of Pop, Michael Jackson, here is another young person who continues to wow the world. Please welcome, Charice!"]

☆ Heal The World

(07/2009) "Michael Jackson Tribute" (Cropped to Lea Salonga and Charice's performance accompanied by Philippine vocal ensemble, The CompanY), July 5, 2009 via ChariceMing2 also featured here.

☆ I'll Be There

(08/2009) "Charice sings "ill be there" live @ Robinsons Novaliches" (Philippine album tour) via brodbambao

☆ The Earth Song

(10/17/2010) "Charice & Ne-Yo - Earth Song (MJ tribute) David Foster & Friends Mandalay Bay Vegas Oct. 15, 2010" with David Foster, Robert Randolph and Ne-yo via s2pidluv4u

...my time with Michael, I wish...

I have one regret and that was that I didn't cherish my time with him more because none of us could have imagined, in our wildest dreams, that he would just be gone...like that.

He was the greatest song and dance man in the last 50 years in my humble opinion.

~ David Foster, 23 Oct. 2010

☆ The Earth Song

(10/23/2010) "Charice - The Earth Song,Tribute to MJ, David Foster Manila Philippines Oct 23 2010" with David Foster, Natalie Cole, Ruben Studdard, Peter Cetera, and The Canadian Tenors via chariceconserts/lantaoislands Also featured here.

☆ Billie Jean

(02/2011) "Charice Home For Valentines T.V.Special @ GMA 7 Part 6/11 (Feb-13-2011)Billie Jean W/Michael V" via tmgtwlitepci

[INTRO: "One of the greatest regrets I have is that I wasn't able to perform with one of my idols, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. But tonight, I am given the chance to perform with one of my favorites whose name is also "Michael." This is for all of you.]

LINKS and EMBEDDED MEDIA

Top image by krvilla using MIchael Jackson background graphic from psgamesthemes.com

The New York Times: 06/25/2009 Michael Jackson, 50, Is Dead
Musicrooms.net: 06/25/2011 No plea bargain for Michael Jackson doctor trial

VIDEOS (All via YouTube.com)

/BillboardMagazine: "Remembering Michael Jackson - A Billboard.com Video Tribute"
/ChariceMing2: "Charice - Michael Jackson Medley @ Boy & Kris February 6, 2009"
/Charice: "Charice - Billie Jean (Ali Shuffle Move 2) / Fight Night Performance"
/ChariceMing2: "Charice - Michael Jackson Medley Wowowee July 4 '09" / "Michael Jackson Tribute"
/brodbambao: "Charice sings "ill be there" live @ Robinsons Novaliches"
/s2pidluv4u: "Charice & Ne-Yo - Earth Song (MJ tribute) David Foster & Friends Mandalay Bay Vegas Oct. 15, 2010"
/chariceconserts: "Charice - The Earth Song,Tribute to MJ, David Foster Manila Philippines Oct 23 2010"
/tmgtwlitepci: "Charice Home For Valentines T.V.Special @ GMA 7 Part 6/11 (Feb-13-2011)Billie Jean W/Michael V"

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Lea Salonga, "Broadway legend" redux (and "A Whole New World" of stuff)

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:33:00 -0700

[This post has 8 videos embedded]

There's been very little mention of the fact that "A Whole New World," the ballad from the 1992 Disney animated film "Aladdin," somehow provides the cosmic string that pulls Lea Salonga and Charice together.

The song connects Lea's and Charice's stories like a multi-stranded chain of events in their impressive performing careers, and adds a fortuitous depth to the mutual support and admiration they have for each other.

Animated recogition

"A Whole New World," written by Alan Menken (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics) won the "Best Original Song" award in both the 65th Oscar Awards and the Golden Globes in 1993. It also won the following awards and recognitions:

• 1993 MTV Movie Awards - Best Movie Song (Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle)
• 1994 BMI Film and TV Awards - Most Performed Song from a Film (Alan Menken)
• 1994 Grammy Awards - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television (Alan Menken and Tim Rice)
• 1995 ASCAP Film and Television Music Award - Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures (Tim Rice and Alan Menken)

Source

Lea Salonga, 22 at the time, sang the singing voice of the character "Princess Jasmine" in the movie. Brad Kane was the singing voice of "Aladdin/Prince Ali Ababwa."

Via user jambajuiced

When "A Whole New World" was nominated at the Oscars, Lea Salonga and Brad Kane performed the song, live and in character, together.

Lea Salonga and Brad Kane Live at the Oscars 1993 via user Yensidnaf

The R&B single

After the theatrical release of the movie "Aladdin," a recorded version of "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle (as used for the closing credits in the movie) was released as a single.

This version would be the adult contemporary R&B version of the one from the movie (the one originally by Salonga and Kane) and became, for Bryson and Belle, their highest Billboard-charting single. It peaked at #9 in the UK Singles Chart.

Via user xPrincessAriel101x

There is a video on YouTube that captured the rare duet between Peabo Bryson and Lea Salonga in what appears to have been filmed at the Disney grounds.

Via user diabolicsmily

Synchronic, serendipitous

When "A Whole New World" zoomed to #1 in the charts, it knocked off another film song from the top slot of the Billboard Hot100 in March 1993, Whitney Houston's remake of a Dolly Parton original, "I Will Always Love You" (a position it held for 14 weeks) from the movie "The Bodyguard."

"The Bodyguard" also produced another Oscar Best Original Song nomination with "I Have Nothing" but lost to "A Whole New World."

Via Oscars' official YouTube channel. Quincy Jones and Lena Horne, presentors

"I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing" — the latter written by David Foster and former wife Linda Thompson (Foster also produced and arranged both songs for the soundtrack and single releases) — later became popularly known as "The Bodyguard Medley" as sung by Charice in the repertoire of the concert series "The Hitman: David Foster and Friends" which opened at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008 and was shown on PBS under its "Great Performances" series.

Foster never fails to interpose a story or two about the songs from "The Bodyguard" in the subsequent tours and live performances of "David Foster and Friends" concert series before Charice's performance of these songs.

Via chariceconcerts/lantaoislands YouTube channel (Quincy Jones (1993 Oscars presentor for "Best Original Song") is mentioned here by David Foster)

Incidentally, "A Whole New World" was also sung in Manila by Peabo Bryson at the 1994 Miss Universe pageant. He sang it with Dayanara Torres, outgoing Miss Universe (1993) who, later, would jump-start her career in show business in Manila. She would have a short-lived affair with Filipino actor Aga Muhlach who starred opposite Salonga in two films in the Philippines: "Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal" (1992) and the more popular "Sana Maulit Muli" (1995) for which she won Best Actress.

The love theme for "Sana Maulit Muli" was sung by Gary Valenciano who Charice sang with on stage in her first live Phillipine performance for 2011 in January.

"A Honey World," impromptu

The end clasp to this link of events in connection with "A Whole New World" that started with Lea Salonga is the duet between Charice and K-Pop star Kyuhyun, then a member of the all-male Korean superband Super Junior, during Charice's first appearance in SBS Network's talent show "Star King" in 2007. She was 15 at the time, fresh out of the Philippine talent show "Little Big Star" (ABS-CBN Network) in which she ended up as finalist.

When prompted by the panel of judges in "Star King" to pick someone from their group to sing with, Charice offhandedly pointed to Kyuhyun ("I heard that he has a good voice, maybe I can sing with him," she said). Kyuhyun graciously yielded to his bandmates' request for an impromptu number of "the theme from Aladdin, 'A Honey World'."

They sang the R&B single version. (This has actually caused much envy among the young female Super Junior fans who come upon this video.)

Via Patofredes07 YouTube channel

Though not commonly known by the general public familiar with the "Star King" segment shown on "The Ellen Show" when host Ellen DeGeneres sought Charice on air to make an appearance, the duet between Charice and Kyuhyun stands as one of classic, unscripted and unrehearsed live performances in Charice's cache of recorded performances.

I'm pretty sure these song facts aren't just fancy novelty or ephemera floating in a sea of information about Lea Salonga and Charice. They are actually happy complements to what are the admirable, above-standard career accomplishments for both Filipinas.

Not the least, I would like to end this strand of videos and beads of information on "A Whole New World" with the rock-ballad interpretation by Charice and another powerhouse singer whom Lea Salonga often mentions in her interviews, Arnel Pineda of Journey in Feb 2010.

Via TheNH23 YouTube channel

LINKS, REFERENCES and EMBEDDED MEDIA

IMdb.org: Aladdin full credits and cast
IMdb.org: Lea Salonga filmography
Oscars.org: The 65th Oscar Awards list of nominees and winners
IMdb.org: "Princess Jasmine" character bio
"A Whole New World" list of awards and recognition on IMdb.com
"A Whole New World" on wikipedia.org
"The Hitman: David Foster and Friends" on PBS via IMdb.com
Dayanara Torres bio on IMdb.com
"Sana Maulit Muli" on IMdb.com
"Sana Maulit Muli" Awards and recognition on IMdb.com
In-site post: Gary V and Charice, [1@11] (Part 1)
"Kyuhyun and Charice Duet" video via massie136

EMBEDDED MEDIA

Image: Poster of "Aladdin" / Walt Disney Pictures
Video: "A Whole New World Recording Session" via jambajuiced
Video: "Lea Salonga & Brad Kane Sing Onstage Whole New World" via Yensidnaf
Video: "A Whole New World - Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson" via xPrincessAiel101x
Video: "A Whole New World - Lea Salonga and Peabo Bryson" via diabolicsmily
Video: "Alan Menken and Tim Rice winning Best Original Song" (Quincy Jones and Lena Horne: presentors) via Oscars
Video: "Charice - Bodyguard Medley, David Foster Manila Philippines Oct 23 2010" via chariceconcerts
Video: "Kyuhyun & Charice - A Whole New World 071013 Star King" via Patofredes07
Video: "Charice and Arnel Pineda - A Whole New World (ASAP XV - 2/7/2010)" via theNH23

EDIT: 27 June 2011 ("the biggest pop hit for each artist...[and] peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 6, 1993." TO "1993")

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Lea Salonga, "Broadway legend" on Charice, Glee, Darren Criss, video games (+ related videos)...

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:44:00 -0700

The Broadway.com article "Miss Saigon Legend Lea Salonga on Being a Zombie Killer, Charice Supporter and Glee Hopeful" links a full video interview, a copy of which is embedded below titled "Show People: "Miss Saigon" Broadway Legend Lea Salonga on Charice, Glee and Kicking Zombie," in which Lea Salonga chats with Broadway.com's editor-in-chief Paul Wotorek animatedly, spontaneously.

In New York for a return engagement of her Cafe Carlyle series of shows Lea had been writing about in her column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer just weeks before, the June 2011 engagement, titled "New York in June," closes the Cafe's winter/spring season of performances.

Intimate

She follows the celebrated soul and 2008 Blues Music awardee/53rd Grammy nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album (2011), the vocalist Bettye LaVette in a rare, intimate show much like Lea's "New York in June," which Lea describes in the interview below as being [from 7'29"]:

...very naked, up in a room like that, where you have about 75, 80, 90 people very, very close to you...like performing a magic trick where everybody can see how the magic is happening and your task is how to make it still be magical for the audience, so it's interesting...

...they can see you singing, there's no smoke and mirrors; they can see everything. So how do you make it still be an experience that they can take home and, hopefully, remember?...

Asian

Lea talks about being Asian in Broadway when asked "how it feels, and if she has a hard time getting people to see [you] for things like that* over here?" (*i.e. for other classic Broadway roles ~ author):

Uhm, unless you're Cameron Mackintosh, the answer would be Yes.

Yeah. And I mean I've not gotten seen because I'm Asian. I mean, I've gotten the "Agent would call [me] on the phone and they'd say, 'They're not gonna see you because you're Asian. They can't see you doing this role or that role..." and that's kinda sad, you know, because there's a lot of people of so many different ethnicities who have these big bombastic perfect-for-Broadway voices but are not given a break simple because, well, "You don't 'fit the role'."

So, to be cast as "Éponine" in Le Mis and later on as "Fantine." I'm grateful. Because in another universe, I don't think I would "be seen" for that if it wasn't Cameron producing it and if he didn't have as much faith as he did.

Charice: a random question

At 12'51" Lea answers a "random question" posed to her by Wotorek: "What do you think of Charice?"

She's wonderful. She's from the Philippines.

She's from the Philippines and, yes, we proudly own her. We will proudly own her.

And, you know, obviously none of us can take any credit for..for her talent and for her ability and for her skill. That's really just hers and her mom's and her family's. Yeah. And everybody that's trained her and taught her to do what she does.

But you have an entire country who is just proud of this young woman. I mean, she's been on "Glee," I mean, she's doing concerts, she's toured the country with David Foster. I mean, she's got the whole world opened to her. It's pretty darn awsome!

PW: I remember when you were that age, you were in that kind of attention....so, have you met her?

Oh, yeah. We've actually sung together a couple of times. She's just amazing. Amazing singer and amazing musicality. So, she has no problems getting to where she wants to go. She'll do just fine.

And also randomly mentions Fil-Am actor Darren Criss who "...may get to Broadway, as a (song) writer...":

I love "Glee. Well, there's a half-Filipino in the show who has just kind of burst out, Darren Criss. I adore him and I adore his character. I'm a huge Klaine fan...

He's such a lovely, lovely young man...just nice and a good guy and incredibly joyful and grateful for the opportunities that come his way...

Consistently vocal

Lea Salonga has, in fact, been very vocal about her support and admiration for Charice, and answers questions about her typically thrown at Lea in interviews without batting an eye, for Lea is the closest comparison people have of Charice, not just of making it "big" outside of the Philippines, but for being able to sustain such recognition in a stiff and competitive industry, using their opportunities to their advantage and having the most influential and respected mentors in their respective fields: Cameron Mackintosh for Lea and David Foster for Charice.

Both gentlemen, by the way, have been recognized by their respective countries for their individual achievements and contributions: Cameron Mackintosh received knighthood in 1996 for services to musical theater; David Foster became an Officer of the Order of Canada for his humanitarian activities in 1996.

Too bad, she didn't mention "Grizabella" (from "Cats: The Musical") as among the theater roles she told Paul Wotorek she has had the privilege of doing outside of Broadway or The West End. I think she scored big in that one.

Video courtesy of Broadway.com via its YouTube channel Broadwaycom

Lea and Charice perform (2008)

Below is one of the performances that feature Lea and Charice together as captured on YouTube:

(Video upload has been cropped to their performance (accompanied by an equally talented Philippine vocal ensemble, The CompanY) on July 5, 2009 "Michael Jackson Tribute" on ASAP/ABS-CBN, aired in the US on TFC, by ChariceMing2

Lea on "Moments" (2009)

Lea mentions Charice in the Philippine UHF channel NET25 program titled "Moments" in 2009 (the segment is mostly in Tagalog), starting at 4'45":

Video above is part 6 of 7 via bonbel09

Lea in Malaysia (2010)

In an artists' talk held at the Borneo Rainforest Cafe in Malaysia when Lea performed for "An Evening with Lea Salonga" in May 2010 just after her Cafe Carlyle debut "The Journey So Far," in May 2010, she mentions Charice as an example in answer to a question from the audience:

Video upload above has been cropped to the segment in which Charice was mentioned, May 2010, via Chanuckster. The original 3-part video upload can be seen here via abubakarismail, PART2

Lea's spiel during her concert (Manila, PHL / 2010)

A spiel during Lea's concert mentions Charice and Arnel Pineda

Video taken from iam.charice.tv via walalangchannel

Lea on Philippine radio (2011)

In a more recent interview on Philippine radio, Lea again mentions Charice when prompted by the host about Lea's views on "...actors, soap opera (star), whatever, who come out with albums (terrible voice, but sells a ton load albums)..." Needless to say, Lea was very transparent in her thoughts about the local Philippine entertainment industry:

Uploaded video (audio only) has been cropped to the segment in which Charice was mentioned, via ChariceHQ

Uploaded video (audio only) has been cropped to the segment in which Charice was mentioned, via

ChariceHQ

LINKS, REFERENCES and EMBEDDED MEDIA

All transcriptions are by the author

Broadway.com: Miss Saigon Legend Lea Salonga on Being a Zombie Killer, Charice Supporter and Glee Hopeful
Broadway.com video link
Lea Salonga, Inquirer.net: Going back to Disneyland
Lea Salonga, Inquirer.net: Cafe Carlyle
Bettye Lavette official site
Cameron Mackintosh on Wikipedia.org
Archive.gg.ca (Canada): Entry on David Walter Foster
Spelling Tuesday: Cats in Manila

VIDEOS

Broadway.com: "Show People: "Miss Saigon" Broadway Legend Lea Salonga on Charice, Glee and Kicking Zombie"
ASAP/ABS-CBN: "Charice & Lea Salonga - Heal The World @ ASAP (July 5 '09)" via ChariceMing2
Moments/Net25: "Net 25 moments feats Lea Salonga part 6/7 mentions CHARICE" starting at 4'45
YouTube user abubakarismail via Chanuckster: "Lea Salonga on Charice"
Lea Salonga concert/Net25: "Charice and other artists,mentioned by Lea Salonga in Her concert (Dec-25-2010) @Net 25" on iam.charice.tv via walalangchannel
"Lea Salonga mentioned Charice" on Magic 89.9 via YouTube user ChariceHQ

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Season Finales: "Glee" Season 2 and AI Season 10 [Part 1]

Tue, 24 May 2011 23:43:00 -0700

Seems like it was just yesterday when "Glee" Season 2 premiered on Sept. 21, 2010 (Sept. 22 match-airing in the Philippines) with the introduction of new characters in the persons of Cheyenne Jackson (Dustin Goolsby), Dot-Marie Jones (Coach Shannon Beaste), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans) and Charice (Sunshine Corazon), and the promotion of Heather Morris (Brittany S. Pierce) and Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez) as regulars, to its highest rating in the 18-34 adults category and second-highest for 18-49 adults category since its introduction to the public in 2009.

An AI clarification

But before more of "Glee," there's some clarification regarding the finale episode of "American Idol" that I wish to document, specifically that which came out in the last 24 hours (from 9 p.m. of 23 May, 2011) which generated much buzz on Twitter and other popular sites.

The post appears to have originate from a Twitter update by user "@jpbbernardo" thus,

which was then re-Twitted several times, reworded in other posts, and/or credited as source of blogs about this possible event. Some clarificatory replies were sent back to him which led to this reply:

Collective wish

No sooner had the Top 2 been announced on the show just days earlier (May 19 (US)/Episode 36) than a combination of collective wishful thinking, almost campaign-like by many of Charice's fans, emerged on Twitter about her possibly singing (a/any of) her just-released singles on "American Idol." Successive Tweets about it lasted a few hours, then appeared to have taken a life of its own when a Wikipedia entry of "American Idol" Season 10 (May 20, 2011) included Charice's name in the List of Performers for the show's finale.

The appearance (and subsequent disappearance (or deletion) and re-apperance) of Charice's name under Finale Performers category fueled the desire of many of Charice's supporters for her to be on "Idol," even as much as speculating on which of her new singles she'd perform ("Before It Explodes" was the popular proposal).

At the time, the first inclusion of Charice's name on the aforementioned Wikipedia entry seemed authored by anonymous contributor/s on Wikipedia. No other site mentioned, confirmed nor issued an official statement about Charice appearing, in accordance with and considering the fact that the show's producers are famous — or notorious, as the case may be — for keeping the finale episode under wraps, as they do the voting results week after week in the run up to finals.

Charice's name on the Wikipedia entry of Finale Night performers was kind of a bizarre development, of what seemed like a meme that was initially born from within a clique, subsequently bursting out of its bubble, and catching the attention of many others outside of that clique, re-told and re-crafted to suit many a Twitter users' intense desire (or dismay — again, as the case may be) to have Charice be on "American Idol."

That isn't a bad idea in itself and I would as much as go all the way to fully support such a momentous television guesting.

Charice on "Idol" (from hollywoodlife.com to Good Day NY/Fox)

A Pia Toscano-Charice "duet," presumably on "American Idol," actually started when Season 10 finalist Pia Toscano mentioned Charice exclusively on hollywoodlife.com as someone whom she hoped to sing with at the AI finals and in which she described Charice as an "...out-of-this-world amazing" singer and a big influence: “When I was covering all of my Celine Dion songs, I would watch her videos,” she was quoted as saying, to which Charice acknowledged with a Tweet:

The network program referred to above by @jpbbernardo as his source is the May 23 edition of "Good Day New York" on Fox 5.

The program in fact states, quoting the Fox 5 "American Idol" correspondent Courtney Friel, at 2'11' into the segment, "...and we are hearing that Charice from the show "Glee" is going to team up with her for a song for the finale as well", to which I boldly assume that "hearing" referred to the online conversations about a "duet" that started after April 12 without cease.

Below is the full transcript* of the May 23, 2011 segment of Fox's "Good Day New York" hosted by Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotty with reporting by Cortney Friel under its post "American Idol" Season 10 Finale Week, published Monday, 23 May 2011, 9:11 a.m. (EDT) and updated at 10:14 AM (EDT):

Greg Kelly (GK): Okay, "American Idol." We are going to know who the American Idol is this week. it's down to the final two.

Rosanna Scotto (RS): Can't wait.

GK: ...Yeah.

RS: Scotty and Lauren. They're getting ready to face off tomorrow night...

GK: ...And we go to Courtney Friel. She's in Los Angeles with her report. Hello, Courtney, where are you and what's going on?

Courtney Friel (CF): I'm standing outside the Nokia Theater. That is where the finale will happen on Wednesday night; and tomorrow, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina will go head-to-head here in front of about 7,000 people.

I got to tell you the odds: pretty much all of them, Vegas[?] odds, websites, wherever, they are all in Scotty's favor.

And if you saw the "Going Home" episodes, and just saw how many people came out for Scotty versus the other two, it was just incredible and, for what its worth, his Twitter account has the most followers.

But I want to talk about some of the performers for the finale. Fox is not confirming any of this but these are the rumors: Bono and The Edge might be performing some song from the musical "Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark" musical; its having so many problems in New York.

Lady Gaga and Stevie Nicks might team up for a song; and Taio Cruz wrote a song with some of the voters, some of the fans on idol.com. So looking forward to that,

Steven Tyler says that he might sing his song but without Aerosmith, David Cook is coming back to perform, ah, a song that contestants walk out to at the end of the show.

And the, guess what? Hailey Reinhart, who I was so disappointed to see that she was kicked off last week 'cause she was my favorite; I know that a lot of people loved her, a lot of people hated her, but she is recording a song according to her parents who, at a charity concert in Illinois, said that she was recording it and they're gonna test it out on the finale, so I'll be looking forward to that.

What about you guys? Who are you rooting for?

RS: Well, we wanted to hear from Pia Toscano? I mean, you know, she was one of the hometown favorites, very popular on the show. How does Haley have a record deal already and Pia doesn't have anything in place? What do you know?

CF: Oh, with Pia? Oh, Pia! Yeah, there were rumors a while ago that Interscope Records wanted to sign her the day after she was voted off [from 2'11'] and we are hearing that Charice from the show "Glee" is going to team up with her for a song for the finale as well.

GK: Alright, Courtney, thank you very much. We'll be watching...

CF: Good to see you guys...

GK: ...Courtney Friel reporting from Los Angeles. See you later.

"American Idol Season 10 Finale Week" via MyFoxNY.com

With so much going on almost simultaneously with Charice especially in the past few weeks, an "American Idol" appearance would be great, of course. As it stands, an official statement from Simon Fuller and FreemantleMedia/North America (producers) or Charice's label/Liz Rosenberg is much awaited.

.............

Edit: Why a Pia-Charice duet won't likely happen on AI's finale episode

Pia Toscano was eliminated on April 7, 2011, and her most significant position as finalist is at #9 (Top 10).

For solos or duets, either the Season Finale episode give each Top 10 finalist a number, or, with so many of probable guests' names being confirmed successively in the past few hours, give the Top 5 significant solo/duets each which is what happened in past American Idol finale episodes; but Pia does not belong to the Top 5 Finalists' list. It's not a forecast; it's just reading some recurring AI stats and informed AI-Finale discussions.

. . .

[Added 28 May 2011] Finale: The Top 6 finalists were those given numbers (duets/groups) as follows:

James Durbin (#4) and Judas Priest
Jacob Lusk (#5) and Gladys Knight & Kirk Franklin
Casey Abrams (#6) and Jack Black
Haley Reinhart (#3) and Tony Bennett
Scotty McCreery (#1) and Tim McGraw
Lauren Alaina (#2) and Carrie Underwood

The Top Seven Girls (minus Lauren Alaina) sang with Beyoncé Knowles and TLC; the men sang with Tom Jones.

.............

And back to "Glee." [Continue to Part 2]

CREDITS and REFERENCES

*Transcription of the "Good Day New York" FoxTV episode by the author / kvilla
Top image: Todd Heisler/The New York Times 2010 from "A Sneak Peek at the New Season of ‘Glee’"
Twitter updates via Twitter.com (links to original posts provided)
Embedded media: "American Idol Season 10 Finale Week," MyFoxNY.com

Season Finales: "Glee" Season 2, some "Emmy" talk [Part 2]

Tue, 24 May 2011 22:03:00 -0700

And so back to what seemed just like yesterday 8 months ago, with "Glee" Season 2 facing its finale episode in a few hours.

The finale, Episode 22, is titled "New York" in which all the efforts, determination and life-defining dramas of each of McKinley High School's glee club members, their mentor/s, tormentor/s, families and rivals, are expected to culminate, transform or be resolved, yet hopefully leave some room for characters and plots to develop into the 3rd Season.

However it is that "Glee" 2x22 turns out, the minimal appearances by Charice — a total of 3 out of 22 Season 2 episodes — have left lasting impressions on "Glee" viewers worldwide.

After all, 3 4 Glee Cast songs that feature Charice gave her solo singles "Note to God" (#44 / May 2010) and "Pyramid" (#56 / May 2010, #12 [Dance/Club], #32 [Digital Songs], #41 [Canadian Hot 100]; #4 Japan Hot 100) some Billboard Hot 100 company, with:

"Telephone" (duet with Lea Michele, #23 / Sept. 2010) - "Auditions" episode
"Listen" (#38 / Oct. 2010) - "Auditions" episode
"All By Myself" (#87 / May 2011) - "A Night of Neglect" episode
[ADDED: May 29, 2011] "As Long As You're There" (#93 / May 2011) - "New York" episode

Although her acted scenes (and much of "Glee" Season 2) got mixed reviews, her song spots unanimously earned critics' approval.

Character conflict and dimension: will it carry over?

Nonetheless, Charice's character "Sunshine Corazon" gave Lea Michele's "Rachel Berry" some added dimension and conflict, starting/especially with the now classic, much talked-about — and funny — "Telephone" bathroom showdown scene in Season 2's premiere episode. (Incidentally, it's also one of the most parodied Glee scenes on YouTube, with most of the actors obviously having as much fun with their parts as the original scene itself, a joy to watch.)

Charice, currently filming "Here Comes the Boom" in Hollywood East (Boston and Quincy Massachusetts, specifically), and revealed that she prefers doing movies than television because "[t]here’s more time for me to get to know the people...a chance to be with [my] co-stars more...," has nevertheless generated support for inclusion on "Glee" Season 3 which just picked up another contract for the next season.

"Glee" Season 2: the run was fun

And so with Charice's "Glee" real-life episode on Season 2 soon to be tucked away for the meantime like weather-specific wardrobe, she not only gave life to "Sunshine Corazon" (the character even got her own Twitter account), proved that her voice can carry songs to join the chart-ranking "Glee" hits, made short scenes memorable, thereby effective vanishing two pre-"Glee" controversies into oblivion — does anybody even bother to look back to that unfortunate botox-related news or believe the fan-generated "Glee audition song" fallacy still? — Charice has, more importantly, added yet another life-enriching experience to her list, plus made a few new friends on the side, most, fortunately, closer to her age and market.

...and some "Emmy" talk...

With "Glee" Season 2's last episode in the horizon came yet another series of collective wishful thinking in online social discussions about Charice that spurred over at Twitter last week when her name came out on a list under "Guest Artist - Musical / Comedy Series ("Glee")" via goldderby.com forums for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards (2011); this was subsequently picked up by sites as Teen.com twice.

The list in the goldderby.com forums, in fact, was posted as early as March 22, 2011. It was preceded by the release of the Daytime Emmy pre-nominations list on Feb. 28, 2011. Meanwhile, a Primetime list was also posted weeks ago as a thread for purposes of discussion, on the oldest Charice Fan Site on the web, charicediva.com.

The recent posts and exchanges about the goldderby.com list just last week, however, had gone around faster and more publicly unlike the forum-to-forum posts, and was almost treated as "official" news.

And why shouldn't it be?

To be nominated itself is an honor, in what is the most prestigious awards-giving body for television achievement in Hollywood recognized around the world. Besides, "Glee" had 19 nominations and 4 Emmy Awards (plus, picking up some Globes) in its freshman year, given to:

» RYAN MURPHY (Director) OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES, "Pilot–Director’s Cut"
» JANE LYNCH ("Sue Sylvester") OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
» NEIL PATRICK HARRIS ("Bryan Ryan") OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES, "Dream On"
and
» OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (One Hour), "The Power Of Madonna," PHILLIP W. PALMER (Production Mixer), DOUG ANDHAM, JOSEPH H. EARLE (Re-Recording Mixer)

Emmy Source1 / Emmy Source2

What it may mean

The final and official list of Emmy nominees is set for a July 14, 2011 event traditionally done by the Emmy Awards along with a parallel announcement to be posted on the Emmy site. (For reference, view the official 2010 list of nominees here.)

What that means is that the list, the one with Charice's name on it as mentioned above, is a pre-nominations (or contenders) list for which a deadline was set: April 29, 2011 for online entries. Save for show (or title) entries which are submitted by networks or producers, individual contenders are submitted by the performers or production members themselves or their representatives, and a "tape," more like a DVD disc for viewing specific scenes or episodes, submitted thereafter.

Within March 14 - the start of online entries - to April 29, 2011, a contenders' list had already been built up from the online entrants (as the one referenced from goldderby.com forums). Meanwhile, other shows, actors' names, production and creative crew, categories, etc. which have not yet been submitted could still undergo a campaign for inclusion, typically referred to as "For Your Consideration" entries (examples: "The Good Wife": For Your Consideration site and usanetwork.com).
[UPDATE: June 2011: Alternately, watch "Glee"''s own video campaign below or here - Live as of the time of posting.]

What it also means is that Charice, being the tenacious and responsible performer that she is, may well be a bonafide member not just of an accredited Hollywood actors' organization such as the Screen Actors' Guild — which would have made her eligible for auditions and casting (as she had with "Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Sequel," "Glee," and "Here Comes the Boom") — but as well a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) which administers the Emmy Awards through peer selection.

Being "Hollywood"

How much more "Hollywood" can Charice get at this point, specifically with a bonafide membership in accredited film industry organization/s that enable/s her to work legitimately, genuinely and equitably, in Tinseltown?

In case some people are missing the point, what that means is that Charice, like any other worker in a legitimate industry, has to work within the set industry rules, regulations and standards, including, perhaps, dealing with media outside of the U.S. and other issues.

Seriously, it's no mean feat, like when she gets into a gig, bags a deal to endorse or does collaborative work — these do not just pop magically out of thin air, especially since she does all of these as a minority; a "foreigner," competing with natural-born or naturalized Americans in an industry created for and by them, yet manages to not get eaten up by that very system to still keep her ethnic roots and native connections intact.

She does, therefore, have all it takes to be "Hollywood," in case members of Philippine gossip media are still itching to know.

No submission, eligibility, and other things "Emmy"

It seems, however, that not all television performers are ATAS members, like "Glee" cast Harry Shum (as "Mike Chang," pictured off-cam with Charice above, left-most, 5th image from the top), who, perhaps as a consequence of his not being a member, was left out of, or remain un-submitted to, the initial list of Emmy contenders. Conversely, not all ATAS members participate in voting.

"Chasters" who fed the buzz created by Charice's name in the contenders list, still up for final selection into an official "Official" list to be announced on July 14, 2011, have all the reason to be happy for this "news." First, she is, after all, in great company with fellow "Glee" guest stars Carol Burnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Ashley Fink, Dot Marie Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow: Hollywood veterans all, submitted contenders all.

Another is that she, along with all the other contenders, will be screened by her peers in the industry (more like "peer group" according to the category/ies they are nominated under - READ the 63rd Primetime Emmy 2010-2011 Rules and Procedures HERE) more upclose, in the comforts of their homes. This is surely a good exercise in peer review for Charice at this point in her career. They can be critical or discerning all they want and they will be, expectedly.

I wonder, though, which tape of the three "Glee" episodes she appeared in will be submitted for at-home viewing by the peer group. What is certain is "Glee," its producers, performers and creative team are aggressively into the Emmys this season with all the right reasons, despite the fact that they are all in serious contention in the same categories from other Comedy/Musical productions who continuously strive for quality and good standards. It is, after all, what being "in Hollywood" is all about.

We hope the Charice does make it to the final and official list of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards nominees on July 14, 2011, though her inclusion will be up to the peer group.

And, yes, that Ryan Murphy and his team do have something up for "Sunshine Corazon" in the succeeding "Glee" seasons.

[Back to Part 1: Season Finales: "Glee" Season 2 and AI Season 10]

ATTACHMENTS

2011 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS CALENDAR*

June 1, 2010 – May 31, 2011
Eligibility period

Week of March 14
Online entry process begins. Rules and Procedures available at www.emmys.tv

April 15
Deadline to reinstate or apply for membership in the Television Academy and be eligible to vote in the 2011 primetime competition

April 29
Entry deadline for ALL entries that were originally presented 6:00 PM – 2:00 AM,
June 1, 2010 – May 31, 2011

June 6
Nominating ballots are posted on the Television Academy’s website

June 24, 5:00 PM
Deadline for returning the nominating ballots to Ernst & Young

July 14, 5:35 AM
Nominations are announced live from the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre

Week of August 1
At-home judging DVDs for Creative Arts Awards categories are mailed

Week of August 8
At-home judging DVDs for Telecast Awards categories are mailed

August 19, 5:00 PM
Deadline for returning at-home judging ballots for Creative Arts Awards categories to Ernst & Young

August 26, 5:00 PM
Deadline for returning at-home judging ballots for Telecast Awards categories to Ernst & Young

September 10
Creative Arts Awards and Ball

September 18
Telecast and Governors Ball

*Adopted at the Board of Governors meeting on January 26, 2011. May be subject to change

"GLEE" - For Your Consideration video campaign via eyewonder.com for FoxTV:

Glee_2011_Emmys_300x250_v7.swf Download this file

Slideshow The Best Songs from ‘Glee’ Season 2: "Telephone" #15, from buddytv.com. Click to go to slideshow

CREDITS and REFERENCES (all external links open in a new window)

"Pyramid" chart history on billboard.com
"Telephone" entry on glee.wikia.com
"Telephone" search query on YouTube.com
"Hollywood East" on wikipedia.com
Interview on hollywoodlife.com about "Here Comes the Boom"
Entertainment Weekly: 'Glee' earns season 3 pickup from Fox (EW Exclusive)
Zimbio.com: Charice “Halo” Cover – Warner Music Claims Proprietary Rights
>> Also read a related article by the original video uploader on Charicemania.com
Goldderby.com Forums: Official 2011 Emmy Categories & Contenders List
Charicediva.com
Goldenglobes.org: Nominations and Winner 2010
Emmys.com: Primetime Emmys 2010 Winners Press Release (PDF)
Emmys.com: 2009-2010 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards Press Release (PDF)
Emmys.com: 63rd Primetime Emmy® Awards Calendar
Emmys.com: 62nd Primetime Emmy Nominations
The Good Wife: For Your Consideration site
Usanetwork.com Emmy FYC site
Eyewonder.com: "Glee" FYC video
LATimes.com blogs: 'Glee' Emmy submissions shocker: The Changs are out!
Deadline.com: Is This Any Way To Judge Emmy Awards?
Emmys.tv: 63rd Primetime Emmy 2010-2011 Rules and Procedures (PDF)

EMBEDDED Media

1. FoxTV
2. alexisneo.deviantart.com
3. @OfficialCharice, ET.com, @MsLeaMichele, @cheyennejackson
4. Emmys.com
5. eyewonder.com for FoxTV (Flash video)
6. FoxTV via buddytv.com (Slideshow)

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Tour de force ("I Believe")

Tue, 17 May 2011 23:30:00 -0700

With this song, I wanted to remind people what it’s like to dream. I wanted to recall what it was like to be a kid, to believe that there is a goal that can be achieved, at the end of the rainbow. It was taking it back to the fairy tale, but dreams can come true...
~Tamyra Gray

Encrusted within the millions of pages on YouTube are the many gems of captured moments in the young life of Filipina singer Charice both as serious performer and as one living the life of an ordinary teenager.

Depending on a user’s connection or location, it may take not hours but days just to mine and select videos of and by her — the latter, just a handful, compared to what others have in their cache of Charice videos — on this video sharing site on the Internet.

She, with the continuously growing number of YouTube consumers armed with a camera and a computer, and are themselves the stars in their own movies, exist at one’s command with the click of a button, through good or bad times, 24/7. Then again, if not for this gadget-toting, techno-savvy lot — particularly the actual witnesses and documenters to Charice’s past performances, alert and always ready to record — these moments would have simply stayed in their memory data banks forever and the experience, though mediatory, left unshared.

Priceless

One such gem is Charice’s live performances of "I Believe" in 2008 and there are at least two of these from that year from two separate commemorative events for the television network ABS-CBN that were made available on YouTube: one sung in California at the Ontario Convention Center and the other, at the Meralco Theater in Metro Manila in the Philippines.

Back then, ABS-CBN, like most broadcast networks, imposed strict prohibitions on unofficial uploads of its programs on the Internet. As such, YouTube users (called “channel owners”) ran the risk of their video uploads being pulled down or their accounts outrightly suspended, as was the case of "FalseVoice," a Filipino who uploaded Charice’s ABS-CBN “Little Big Star” (and re-uploaded her "StarKing" videos), and of “Coolsmurf,” the Singaporean responsible for translating and uploading these landmark StarKing performance segments which featured Charice in South Korea.

Coolsmurf’s account was suspended via SBS of Korea and FalseVoice’s, requested suspension by ABS-CBN. SBS-Korea sill very much imposes these restrictions while ABS-CBN appears to be selective in its policy.

A third recorded video of Charice singing “I Believe” is from a home-made video in which she is seen singing in a house dress, sans make up and microphone. Her stage was a dining area from where the residence’s living room can be seen in the background, and she, singing her heart out to family and close friends informally gathered around a large wooden dining table.

"I Believe" on stage

Her performance in California for the “One Kapamilya Network” roadshow was sung to a backtrack (a recorded minus-one music) but she, nonetheless, put her live, personal melismatic spin to it, particularly towards the end of the song.

The Meralco Theater event, on the other hand, was accompanied by an orchestra with Ryan Cayabyab as musical director, performer and accompanist.

The Meralco Theater event was a private, invitation-only 10th Anniversary event of “Bantay Bata 163,” a welfare program of the ABS-CBN Foundation in the Philippines which aims to protect disadvantaged and at-risk children and in which some of its other network talents also sang and presented. It was later broadcast on television but a commercial copy of the program was never released.

Perhaps because the broadcast date of the “Bantay Bata 163” program wasn’t as well announced as other programs with Charice’s appearances, the recorded quality of the original uploads were just “good enough,” meaning, not of high quality as those of subsequent videos of hers that came out on YouTube in later years.

However, this was also typical of the many recorded videos of Charice from that time (2008), a majority of which suffered loss of video and audio quality because of equipment and technology limitations and made worse through constant re-uploads.

I understand that the initial uploads of this particular video were pulled down on YouTube, and that its re-appearance (those available today) came up later, although uploaders, despite disclaimers on their video pages, were still at risk of account suspension.

"Dreams can come true"

“I Believe” is a song composed for American Idol in 2004 by the writing team Biancaniello and Watters together with American Idol 2002 finalist Tamyra Gray.

Gray was signed up to American Idol creator Simon Fuller’s just-launched 19 Recordings label to release an album called “The Dreamer” in which she co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs.

In an article on Singer Universe Magazine about “The Dreamer” album, the author Dale Kawashima wrote about the writing process of “I Believe” from Tamyra’s point of view:

..."I have always loved writing songs, ever since I was a kid,” explained Gray. “I started writing poetry and writing songs at a young age. When I told Simon Fuller (producer of American Idol and head of 19 Recordings) of my love for songwriting, he helped make it possible for me to collaborate with some outstanding writer/producers...

“...Sam (Biancaniello) & Louis (Watters) and I ended up writing seven songs for my album,” said Gray. “I really liked their song ‘Anytime,’ which was on Kelly Clarkson’s album. So we got together, and we really hit it off. Working with Sam & Louis was the best union, both creatively and as friends...”

...A few weeks after the album had been completed, Gray received a call from Watters. “Sam called and invited me to write with him & Louis, to come up with a song that the new ‘American Idol’ winner would sing and release as a single,” explained Gray. “We came up with the idea for ‘I Believe’ while we were driving in the car, and wrote part of it on the beach. With this song, I wanted to remind people what it’s like to dream. I wanted to recall what it was like to be a kid, to believe that there is a goal that can be achieved, at the end of the rainbow. It was taking it back to the fairy tale, but dreams can come true...”

..."I Believe” was written in one day, then the demo was completed the next day. The song was immediately submitted to American Idol, and a week later it had been selected to be the winner’s song and single. Just two weeks after Gray, Watters & Biancaniello had written “I Believe,” the song was performed by Fantasia Barrino in front of a worldwide audience. Then a month after that, it was released as a single and debuted at #1 in Billboard. “It was kind of a shock, to have a number one record with ‘I Believe’,” she said. “Sam & Louis called me up with the great news. I feel really fortunate, to have the opportunity to write this song with them. Also, I feel blessed that the whole ‘American Idol’ thing happened for me. I do believe that I would have eventually gotten a label deal on my own, but being on ‘American Idol’ definitely quickened the process.

Source

In another article from The San Francisco Chronicle in 2004, Lee Hildebrand wrote:

...Biancaniello and Watters had just begun separate vacations when “American Idol” producer Simon Fuller flew them to Los Angeles to create a song for this year’s three finalists. The producers, in collaboration with Gray, wrote “I Believe” for Jasmine Trias, Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia to perform in the competition, though they admit they had Fantasia most in mind...

Hildebrand further quoted Sam Watters, who Tamyra Gray eventually married in September 2006 and, together, been blessed with a child in 2010, thus:

“Fantasia is astounding,” Watters says. “Usually, Louis and I will take singers for hours and hours to get a great vocal down — sometimes days — but she came in there and made the record in 40 minutes and just blew us away. It wasn’t like she went in there and sang allout soul-gospel. She also got on the verses and gave it what they needed, which was a little bit more beauty, a little bit more restraint.”

Source

“I Believe” stayed at #1 on the Billboard charts for 11 weeks.

A tour de force

Proving yet again that she is a true child and product of what MTV calls "the emerging Millenial Generation," Charice and the video of her performance of “I Believe” from the 2008 Meralco Theater event on YouTube captured and preserved a tour de force of a technical yet inspiring song for all to see.

There have been many other interpretations of “I Believe” on Philippine stages but it is this Meralco Theater performance that, I believe, has yet upped the ante — if not truly set the standard (particularly of) interpretations among Filipinos — to what may be a most sincere and soulful rendition closest to Fantasia Barrino’s in terms of emotion and distinct song ownership, and to which no one has yet matched among Charice's peers.

This video, despite lacking the quality that it deserves, is what makes mining the Internet for true (video) gems a rewarding addiction.

It also makes for a perfect study of Charice’s musicality, considering that she sang this at 16, arriving just days from America to briefly fulfill Philippine commitments, with presumably a small amount of preparation time with the ensemble, yet delivering a memorable performance.

This number is reminiscent of the circumstances that had prompted Oprah to declare "You should be very proud of yourself because you brought your full game here today!" when she first appeared on The Oprah Show arriving just hours into show time from halfway around the globe, and impressed Oprah and her audience after Charice gave them a "blow-away moment."

A no less "amazing" iconic anthem

Many of Charice’s followers from as far back as 2006, as with those who have recently discovered her, consider this video of Charice’s Biancaniello/Watters/Gray opus at the Meralco Theater beholding as I myself do.

I also find this performance somewhat baffling yet affirming of the kind of performer Charice was and has become, and why she deserves more respect, particularly from fellow Filipinos, than what she’s given.

On one hand, it sets her apart — that’s an understatement, of course — from being merely a copy-cat of Barrino.

On the other, it celebrates what one serious music and Fantasia Barrino fan considers a “pop-culture anthem;” a song "crafted as pure adrenaline for such an occasion, it is, figuratively speaking, pure lead aimed at our hearts - even without the stunning performance of Barrino..." not just by being true to the spirit of the song but as Charice would interpret any other song, that is to say, make her voice THE instrument that gets into each note and lyric, at each beat and measure, blending with the rest of the orchestra through the end properly, rightfully and respectfully.

What Tamyra thinks

I had always wanted to know if the creators of “I Believe” believe that Charice had at least done the song justice, for no amount of fan-gushing will ever prove it. Charice is known to cover the difficult David Foster-arranged songs and David Foster has already put his seal of approval on all of these as covered by Charice. It’s no secret; it’s all over the place. He not only approved of these, he mentored and produced her album and co-wrote a song for her.

And what of "I Believe?"

Through Twitter, a question to Tamyra Gray was asked on Sept 14, 2010 to check out a 2-year old video through a shortened link that leads to this page.

Her response? It came a day later:

See the full gallery on Posterous

And so nothing more can be said of this performance.

To the original uploader/s of these three "I Believe" video gems, and those who continue to share them, you did no less than an amazing job for sharing. The rest of us will forever be grateful to you.

~ 29 March 2011

UPDATE - 26 Aug 2011 Embedding a cleaner, restored video re-uploaded on 25 Aug 2011 by @ChariceCubby

-----

LINKS and REFERENCES

Wikipedia.com: "I Believe" (Fantasia song)
YouTube.com: Charice "I Believe: via chasfan510
YouTube.com: Charice's best performance (I believe) via /charymander
Triumph of the Spirit: Charice—My Interview With FalseVoice By Phil Bolsta
Spelling Tuesday: K-pop, etc.: A coolsmurf Q&A
wcities.com: About the Meralco Theater and map
opm.org: Ryan Cayabyab
Singeruniverse.com: Tamyra Gray Talks About Her Album, The Dreamer, And Co-Writing #1 Hit “I Believe” for Fantasia By Dale Kawashima
San Francisco Chronicle Sunday: NOVATO'S HIT FACTORY by Lee Hildebrand 26 Dec. 2004
swisswuff.ch: American Idol Winner: Fantasia Barrino, Wolf Schweitzer 27 May 2004
oprah.com: Teen Singing Sensation Sept. 2008
Twitter.com: @aka_java status 15 Sept. 2010 (PHI)
YouTube.com: Charice - I Believe via /charicefanatic
Twitter.com: @tamyragray status 16 Sept. 2010

CREDITS

Video grabs from ABS-CBN on YouTube.com, Getty Image, Twitter.com

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19: Celebrating art & life (with a little help from friends) [updated]

Wed, 11 May 2011 23:55:00 -0700

On May 11, 2010, a day after she turned 18, Charice launched her first international solo album on The Oprah Show, her fifth appearance in 2 years, singing the carrier single "Pyramid" live with Iyaz for the first time, accompanied by David Foster on the piano.

She closed that episode with "In This Song," also from her debut CD, a cut co-written by David Foster for Charice that reflects her life and speaks about her struggles as a survivor.

A full year hence, Charice has since put in thousands of hours and mileage (quite literally) promoting her album across the globe and looks poised to do yet another tour for her second album promo, though its release is yet unannounced.

She also continued to lend her talent to more charities and causes in the Philippines (for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and World Vision) and in the U.S., including those for the David Foster Foundation, the Grammy Block Party to raise money for MusiCares’ Nashville Flood Relief (July 2010); for Operation Smile in which "Thank You," another song from her CD, was chosen for its 2010 video campaign (December 2010) and, more recently, at the Women's Day Red Dress Awards in Feb 8, 2011.

Three weeks shy of her 19th birthday and in anticipation of her much touted "Glee" episode comeback, a full feature film in the making, and 5 new singles for release, Charice took time out to perform for another non-profit event with David Foster, actor and singer Chris Mann and others, at a private dinner for The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)’s 2011 Collectors Committee at Carole Bayer Sager and Bob Daly's residence in Los Angeles, California on Friday, April 15, 2011.

The LACMA

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the largest art museum in the western United States, opened to the public in 1965 and attracts about a million visitors annually.

It holds in its collection, works of art not just from the United States but from Asia, Latin America and the Islamic world, from ancient to contemporary pieces that represent the diverse population of Los Angeles. It is known to host many significant works of Latin American artists Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and José Clemente Orozco.

Each year, LACMA holds a fundraising and collecting event called the Collectors Committee Weekend made up of dinners, curator-led presentations, an auction and a gala to showcase newly-acquired art pieces. It was at one of these private dinners hosted by former CBS, Dodgers and Warner Brothers chief executive Bob Daly and songwriter Carole Bayer-Sager at their home in L.A. on April 15, 2011 that Charice, with other performers, sang.

. . .

(EDIT: Among the attendees that night was Barbra Streisand, Chris Mann wrote. Meanwhile, website famegame.com posted a list of other attendees including actor James Brolin, celebrity chef Rene Mata (Chinois on Main), Vanity Fair contributing editor Wendy Stark Morrisey, among others, at the event.)

. . .

Carole Bayer-Sager is best known for her contemporary classic and Grammy Award-winning song "That's What Friends Are For," "Arthur's Theme (The Best that You can Do)", "The Prayer" (with David Foster), "Nobody Does it Better," the Tony nominee musical "They're Playing Our Song," and countless movie soundtracks. She also collaborated with David Foster on the soundtrack of the animated feature film "The Quest for Camelot," and co-wrote "All That I Need to Survive" for Charice's debut album. Carole and Bob Daly are members of LACMA's Board of Trustees.

Life imitates art

See the full gallery on Posterous

It is interesting that a private art-related event sits among many of Charice's career highlights, though only known to a few until after the event itself.

Charice has indicated in one interview in the Philippines that she would have pursued a career in the visual arts had she not become a successful singer. In one part of her second appearance on "The Oprah Show" in 2009, Charice showed her sketchbook — she refers to it as her "dream journal" — which has drawings of herself together with performers she idolizes (Celine Dion's was singled out). She, weeks later, had her dream-come-true moment to sing with Celine Dion on Dion's "Taking Chances" concert at the Madison Square Gardens in New York a few weeks after that episode.

Charice's career in the visual arts may have given way in favor of performing but it is her participation in events like the LACMA Collectors Committee Weekend that gives her the chance to contribute her singing talent towards not just the successful acquisition of important art pieces to LACMA's permanent collection but to art and culture that benefit the public.

Art imitates life

In the course of Charice's very public introduction to mainstream U.S. music industry, and a push for a wider global exposure via YouTube, television and live performances across oceans, Charice has made indirect but seemingly very personal connections with a variety of fans beyond just the Philippines, the U.S. and Asia.

Next 19: Celebrating art & life, Part 2: Art imitates life Q & A with May Laxamana
Jump to Part 3 19: Celebrating art & life, Part 3: Art imitates life Q & A with The Drawing Hands

[EDITED to include updated photos: 05.15.11 / 05.16.11]

CREDITS:

Top image: kvilla
Center photo: via @IamChrisMann
UPDATE: LACMA photo by pink_fish13 via Flickr
LACMA photos: kvilla from images via huma3.com, infola.blogspot.com, bayareavisit.com
Bottom gallery: Video grabs from The Oprah Show (1, 2); Carolyn Serrano (3)

LINKS and REFERENCES:

About LACMA
LACMA announces three new appointess to the board (PDF)
Images of the event with Carole Bayer-Sager, Charice, et al. via Patrick McMullan

REFERENCE UPDATE 05.16.11:
Charice on Headstart with Karen Davila, 22 July 2010 on her drawings and wanting to be a painter: YT video courtesy of user /tmgtworld, starts at 6'17"

REFERENCE UPDATE 05.17.11:
Added page grab of Chris Mann's blog about the event.
Chris Mann wrote:
"I had a great night on Friday. David Foster asked me to sing The Prayer for an evening benefitting the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). This time Barbra Streisand and Carole Bayer Sager (songwriter famous for song like “That’s What Friends are For” and “The Prayer”) were in attendance."

Updated LACMA photo used with permission from pink_fish13 via Flickr

LACMA's Collectors Committee Gala Votes On Permanent Collection Huffington Post wrote of the event:
LACMA director Michael Govan told the LA Times, "we don't have a general acquisitions endowment, which most museums of our size have, so this is an important occasion where we can buy works of art for the public."
LACMA’s Collectors Committee brings in Eight new acquisitions (PDF)

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19: Celebrating art & life [Part 2]: Art imitates life - May Laxamana Q&A

Wed, 11 May 2011 23:43:00 -0700

In celebrating Charice's 19th birthday, she is also celebrated in many ways. Two excellent artists have rendered her in both 2D and 3D, and whose works have gained popularity via the Internet recently, are featured here, lending their talents with as much artistry as Charice herself has put into her music.

Part 2 provides a closer insight into the artists behind the artworks and I am grateful for the time each has given to a simple Q&A below, starting with May Laxamana, a Filipina whose sculptures somehow remind me of a young, pop equivalent of the expressionistic works of Filipina terra cota artist Julie Lluch.

May Laxamana, sculptor and animator

See the full gallery on Posterous

1. What is your background and where are you from?

I’m a single mom, I have 2 kids.. I’m 37 years old and you can call me Maylax…I work at Tooncity Animation… I’m a freelance artist and I’m from Las Piñas City.

2. What is your media and what else do you do in real life?

I enjoy different types, Facebook-ing while watching my favorite tv series on video stream, tackle some info’s regarding conspiracy theories and interested in knowing facts about any myths of forgotten ages etc. In real life, I seek truth; I love beauty and the contrast between light and dark...playing on shadows and highlights and things between…art, music and love combined.

3. How would you describe your sculptures and other artworks?

My subjects are really special to me; I sculpt when I want to, when I feel like I need to. It is the same with my drawings, though my source of income is through art. There’s still a big difference between doing art for myself and a commissioned one. I have done a sculpture of Robert Pattinson and Angelina Jolie, among others.

4. How long did you work on Charice's sculpture and what medium did you use?

I think I did that 4 hours a day. it took me almost two weeks to finish it, plus the packaging. All was done by hand except the print (on the packaging). The sculpture is mixed media, so to speak. I used a lot of things including acrylics, tissue, wires, clay, eraser putty, boards, glue, emulsion and glittery stuff.

5. What was your inspiration for the sculpture or where did you base the figure on and why? (Or what made you choose that [pose/reference] over others?)

It's basically a commissioned work, a friend of a friend asked me if I can make a sculpture of Charice for her niece who celebrated her birthday last year here in the Philippines. She sent me Charice's photo.

6. What subject or theme fascinates you the most in your works and why?

I am fascinated with a lot of things actually, I love the moon and the stars. I am a very visual person, but the theme I like the most is doing portraits of people.

7. What types or genres of music do you listen to?

I am also a musical person. I sang at the church choir before. I sing and play the guitar and piano. I love classical music and love songs. I’ve been a vocalist for three bands of different genres: alternative (MAKINA), progressive (Guna Sattva), and goth (Ode to LaLuna). Therefore, I have a wide range of music in my iPod. I wrote a song and put notes on it too if I feel really sad...LOL

8. What books do you read?

I’m no bookworm here but when I’m interested in a topic, I read about it. I am enchanted with Paulo Coelho’s novels. I’ve read two of his books, "The Alchemist" and "Veronica Decides to Die." I bought Book 1 of Stephanie Meyers ("Twilight") and ended up downloading the four audiobooks.

9. When you made the sculpture of Charice what was in your mind? (Did you heed a fan's request to do commissioned work or was it your own?)

Exactly, a commissioned work it is. At first I was thinking if it would be possible for me to finish it within the two-week deadline given me, so there. I had been figuring out until the day I finished the whole thing. I was pretty amazed.

10. Did you know of her before you got the request? If not, what were your expectations of the figure when it got public?

Who would’nt have known about how great a star [being made] on its full brightness…its Charice shining!! I never realized, really, that it will be public at all. All I did was make the sculpture for a birthday present that was requested by this wonderful Aunt from States. The birthday celebrant came to the Philippines to watch her concert with David Foster and she told me how her niece loves Charice and how excited she was of the gift which is my sculpture.

11. What can you say stands out / is the most distinct of her "persona" while doing her image?

It’s a tough thing to be doing an image of Charice. I had second thoughts at first on whether to do it or what, but in the process of doing the wiring and forming the face, I thought to myself that I need to make her face look like it is her...like almost breathing?

With her eyes, the most important part, 'coz you can see the soul through the eyes right?? And they should be looking back at you. I knew and I felt that God guided me here; imagined Him telling me… “you can do this… nothing is impossible.” I have this prayer I wrote “I’m thanking the Lord for my hands, He does wonders I can never imagine is possible, so I promise to make my hands useful, and let it do His wonders too...whatever it is our hands can do let's put in mind that its God’s hands too…” Hoping I pretty much gave justice to making Charice “caricature” sculpture.

12. Is there anything else you'd like to say about yourself, your art or the Charice sculpture in particular?

I’m a simple person with God given talent and I thank Him for that. I am one with music and art, the same with my subject Charice, and I am really honored for making a sculpture of her which was originally for a little girl who loves Charice so much.

I learned months back from an officemate that they saw (what I made) on tv and that it was with Charice. I asked them, “are you sure it was the one I made?” so I searched the 'Net again and saw this interview of Charice on SNN, and yes, it's true. That’s the start of that being public. Originally for a little birthday girl who I think got so starstruck with Charice. Instead of asking her to autograph it, she gave it to Charice instead. WOW.

The photo above is me in my home studio. may13lax@yahoo.com

~ May 2011

"Charice" sculpture | mixed media | 9"-10" (H) | 2010

maylax2.flv Watch on Posterous

Next 19: Celebrating art & life, Part 3: Art imitates life Q & A with The Drawing Hands
Previous 19: Celebrating art & life (with a little help from friends)

Credits: All images are courtesy of and copyrighted to May Laxamana

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19: Celebrating art & life [Part 3]: Art imitates life - The Drawing Hands Q&A

Wed, 11 May 2011 23:40:00 -0700

Part 3 provides a closer insight into the artists behind the artworks and I am grateful for the time each has given to a simple Q&A below with The Drawing Hands, a visual artist and blogger whose finished image of Charice is pictured below.

The Drawing Hands, artist

1. What is your background and where are you from?

I'm a person who loves art since a very young age. I have spent lots of my time drawing, painting and also studying (who knows me, would say: “even too much time”). I just can't help but getting into this type of activities. I studied somewhere at an art school... actually, it is not important where I'm from: my heart beats for Ireland's cliffs, my heroes come from Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, UK, USA, I'm absolutely in love with Africa and I'm dreaming of Jupiter moons.

2. What is your media and what else do you do in real life?

I love traditional media, as you can figure out, because they make me have a physical approach to my work, but I absolutely like digital media too, especially 3D creations, animations, virtual reality, holograms, and whatever would come next! I'm actually working in the creative field, but I don't like to talk too much about my job, since The Drawing Hands experience is a sort of new birth for my artistic personality. I started last summer to draw this kind of stuff: before that, I used to draw with pencil only for fast sketches and studies.

3. What is the concept behind The Drawing Hands besides using MC Escher's iconic image as your identity?

It started quite as a joke. Just two drawing hands, nothing more, no “artist” behind them, neither a young and smart guy, nor an old and experienced teacher. To be honest, I never liked to put my face on video, so I thought this could be the right way to go: the world we live in is so full of celebrities, people who do great things and therefore become famous... or people already famous who, for this reason, do anything they want, and it automatically becomes art.

Here we go, then: two hands, their works, just that. In this context, the homage to Escher was a must: it's the art that talks about itself. I think that art, in some way, does need it, since today we often make artists become idols and their creations a sort of fetish.

4. It's interesting that you actually got the URL for the site. Was that difficult to do?

Not at all. Indeed, I was happy to notice that nobody felt the need to register “drawing hands” or “the drawing hands” before!

5. When did you start doing portraits of famous people/celebrities?

On August 2010, exactly (I only worked on a few private portraits before, mostly oil on canvas).

6. When did you start soliciting requests (to draw portraits of famous people/celebrities) and how did this come about?

After my Will Smith and Avril Lavigne portraits, Marina, a good friend of mine from Italy (she helped me to set up my website, too), asked me to draw the portrait of a young Italian singer, Valerio Scanu. It was my first commission. After that, a few people started to request portraits too (mainly from Italy at first), and in a few months it grew up more and more, throughout the world. Sometimes I don't even know the celebrities they ask me to portray. That's cool, because it gives me the opportunity to know a lot of good actors and singers!

7. What subject or theme fascinates you the most in your works and why?

I absolutely love fantasy themes (I'm crazy about Celtic stuff), mythology and ancient legends, nymphs, fairies, elves, centaurs and so on, but also everything related to mystery, from Kabbalah to Alchemy, to UFO (I can't wait for someone who will ask me to draw an alien!). I have always liked those subjects, maybe because my life has always been so ordinary!

8. Considering what you wrote about imperfections, at what point in your process do you tell yourself that a piece is "done?"

It's difficult to say. For this type of portraits I come to a point where I realize that I'm not adding details anymore (usually after about two hours), so I just check the likeness once more and finish my work. When I'm painting, things are different, because the whole process can take up to days or even months, so there's always the opportunity to think about new details to add. Most of the time I have to follow the advice of my teacher saying: “at some point we have to say that it's done”.

9. What types or genres of music do you listen to?

Depending on my mood, I really like any type of music. When I was a teenager, I fell in love with Genesis's and Peter Gabriel's music (and I won’t ever forget my first love). Now I'm listening mostly pop music, and I got a bit addicted to Glee's songs and arrangements (they're objectively superb!). By the way, I heard and appreciated Charice on Glee for the first time, so I was particularly glad when someone asked me for her portrait.

10. What books do you read?

I’m fascinated by fantasy novels (as it’s easy to understand), but I often dip in the reading of essays of various kinds, mostly scientific, but not only (my forbidden dream is to understand the Quantum Theory, or getting deep in PNL). Generally, a book must make me think, allowing me to explore with my mind, and leave me satisfied at the end. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there should be a happy ending, it can be an eucatastrophe (the “good catastrophe”) as in the case of Tolkien's books. Overall, one of the ultimate books for me is the Beowulf, and I couldn't do without all Eliot's poems, but I thank God that allowed Ms J. K. Rowling to write her Harry Potter.

11. What can you say stands out/is the most distinct of her "persona" while doing Charice's image?

Of course when I’m working on a portrait of someone that I don’t know, I can just imagine how he/she could be in real life, trying to understand the character from a few details (e.g. if the smile appears to be sincere, or if the eyes seem to be actually “watching”) then I compare multiple photos trying to figure out which one could be the truest. Sometimes this works, sometimes not, but it isn’t a problem, anyway, because during this process I elaborate my own vision (and version!) of my model.

What can I say about Charice? Well, from my personal point of view, Charice appears to be a very nice girl, very kind and humble, but absolutely conscious that she’s got a very special gift. Success came quickly for her and she absolutely deserves it. She appears to feel fine in the role of the celebrity, but something suggests to me that she might feel the need to be appreciated for her hard work and dedication, enjoying every success as something that she earns by engaging at her best. That is to say that she can combine sweetness and fortitude, simplicity and ability to charm, becoming an ever more complete artist.

12. How much of your time is divided between blogging and drawing?

Now that you're telling me... it's time to update my blog!!! Honestly I would like to find more time to write, and that's my goal. At the moment, I draw for most of the time.

~ May 2011

"Charice" portrait | graphite on paper | 2011

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Credits: Video and image are courtesy of and copyrighted to The Drawing Hands

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