Filipino singer Charice Pempengco may be only 17, but she has performed with Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, and is deemed “one of the most talented kids in the world” by American talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey.
Singaporeans may remember her guest performance in the finale of Singapore Idol in December last year.
Lauded for her strong soprano voice, the teenager had won third place in the Philippines’ children talent show Little Big Star when she was 14. But she lapsed into relative obscurity until a fan started uploading videos of her performances on YouTube in mid-2007. Some of the videos have attracted up to 13 million hits.
Speaking to Life! from the Philippines,
Charice said: “YouTube started everything for me. I had no idea that my videos
were online until I accidentally stumbled upon them. It was completely unexpected, and I’m grateful to my fan.”
She was then invited to perform on the South Korean variety show Star King, and
the video of that performance caught the attention of American talk-show host
Ellen Degeneres, who invited her to perform on her show in December 2007.
Charice said: “I didn’t know about the show at that time, and when I was invited
to perform, I went online to find out more and got really excited.”
In May 2008, she performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show and met the talkshow host, whom she described as “really motherly and nice”. Winfrey introduced her to 15-time Grammy award-winning music producer and singer David Foster, who has worked
with the likes of Mariah Carey and the late Michael Jackson.
Charice said: “It was because of David, who invited me to perform at his concert
David Foster And Friends that I could meet performers such as Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion.”
She performed a duet with Bocelli during his birthday concert in Italy in July
2008 and with Dion during her Madison Square Garden show in September 2008.
Her upcoming US debut album titled Charice, comprises mostly pop songs, and a ballad titled Note To God, which was produced by Foster and written by acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren.
It will be officially launched on Winfrey’s show. Charice will be making an
appearance alongside teen sensation Justin Bieber.
The album will be available for sale in Singapore tomorrow. She has been working on it for the past 11/2 years, shuttling back and forth between the Philippines and the US to record it. She has released two albums in her home country and this will be her first in the US.
She said: “I wanted a fun pop album for my fans to sing and dance along to, a change from singing ballads, because I’m a teenager and this is something I wanted to try.”
Already, her single Pyramid featuring rapper Iyaz has made its way to the No. 2 spot on the US Billboard dance chart.
The most memorable thing she has accomplished so far, she said, is buying her mother, who used to be a singer, a car and a house for Mother’s Day last year.
The talented teen also juggles her singing career with school by taking college
classes online. She added that while she is kept busy jet-setting around for performances and promoting her album, she stays grounded by finding time for normal teenager activities.
“I go online, shop at the mall, hang out with my friends and I’m still doing the
things that I used to do before everything started.”
Fame is something that is still relatively new to her, she said.
“I’m not really used to it yet. I’m just enjoying it as it comes. Everything happened so quickly, it’s been like a crazy rollercoaster ride for me so far.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
