Yesterday, we watched an Oprah episode on YouTube. This particular show was dedicated to Charice Pempengco (she now goes by her first name), a 16-year old Pinay singer who has won hearts all over the world.
If you don't know her fame story yet, I'll give you the gist of it. Someone from Oprah's staff discovered Charice's video on YouTube. Oprah was having a show about talented kids all over the world. She invited the young singer to appear on her show and Charice's life was never the same again.
After Oprah's show, Charice was invited by Andrea Bocelli (yes, the famous Italian tenor) to sing a duet on his show. Then, Oprah asked big-time music producer David Foster to help Charice out.
David Foster then asked her to join his show, with music sensations Josh Groban, Michael Buble, and Katharine McPhee.
Oprah invited Charice to her show again. This time, she had more surprises for this sweet, talented girl. Oprah showed how popular and how loved Charice is by everyone who watched the first show. Who wouldn't?!
So, on this particular show (videos below), Celine Dion invited Charice to sing a duet with her at Madison Square Garden!
How lucky, right? But, I believe Charice is simply blessed because of everything she experienced. Aside from her talents, I completely admire her strength, her being a survivor, her deep and unconditional love for her mom.
While watching her videos on YouTube, we read some comments about Charice. Some were praising her, some were completely negative. Reading those negative comments really irritated me.
CRAB MENTALITY - We, Filipinos, seem to have this deep into our systems. Alright, I don't want to generalize. I mean, c'mon! Can't we just be proud and happy for Charice, one of our kababayans, who became successful and famous abroad? (Kaya si Leah Salonga, sa ibang bansa pa na-discover eh. Tsk tsk!)
She's been through a lot. She survived. God blessed her and made her famous and loved by people all over the world. And, she's 16 years old! Sheesh! That says a lot about Charice!
I don't believe she'll ever be big-headed. She's got her mom to guide her towards staying humble despite all the success she's getting. And I don't think Oprah will allow her to be that.
About her English grammar, MY GOSH! She's a pure Filipina, not born or raised in any English countries or by English families for that matter. She's from Laguna. She's only 16 years old. So why the hell are these self-righteous, envious people expecting her to speak English fluently? I've been working in call centers for the past 4 years and I've been witness to professional and regular Americans' grammar slips. How come it's okay for Latinos or Chinese people to speak in barok English while Filipinos are expected to speak the language fluently? That's how damn westernized we are!
And I can assure you that American accent can be learned. Pinoy call center agents have been doing that for the past years. But those pipes, if you don't have them naturally, you won't even get close to Charice's talent.
I just learned that Oprah agreed to manage Charice's career in the US. Ang swerte grabeh! I just hope and pray she'll stay as successful as she is.
Sa mga detractors ni Charice, MAMATAY KAYO SA INGGIT!
Watch the Oprah show on Charice on YouTube videos below and at the bottom is the Celine Dion-Charice duet at Madison Square Garden.
The much-awaited Celine Dion-Charice Duet
@ Madison Square Garden (Sept. 15th)
Do love that videos a lot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for publishing!