Charice Pempengco's International Stardom

June 8, 2008-June 14, 2008

This week’s “YouTube Videos of the Week” has something to do with my kababayan named Charice Pempengco. Do you have any idea about this girl? If you don’t, it’s a pretty shame on you. How come you don’t? She’s one of the hottest icons to date on YouTube.com, you know. You’ll be missing one-third of your life without knowing her. I guess you better read her simple biography I’ve provided below. The world has just done it. :)

Charice Pempengco, popularly known by her stage name Charice, is a 16-year old Filipina singer who rose to fame through her jaw-dropping performances posted on YouTube. She was born in Cabuyao, in the province of Laguna, Philippines.

At age four, Charice was noticed by her parents to have a powerful voice. Shortly thereafter, she underwent voice lessons. Charice’ singing career began when she reached the age of seven. At her young age, she was already exposed to several local singing contests and later, to competitions airing on national TV such as the defunct Birit Bulilit (IBC), Batang Kampeon (RPN), Bulilit Popstar (GMA) and Junior Star Quest (ABS-CBN). Little Big Star (ABS-CBN), the last contest she joined in only awarded her third place

Charice decided to take a break in music after the dissatisfying result of her last performance. However, a surprising moment came to her when some stranger posted her videos and YouTube and caught the attention of the Swedish record company Ten Songs Production. Last June 2007, she flew to Stockholm to record seven songs to be released digitally.

Since then, Charice’ international popularity skyrocketed. She was then invited by some world’s most famous talk shows and concerts including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Oprah and David Foster and Friends.

Currently, she’s into negotiations with leading music industry executive Clive Davis for a record deal and contract. Davis was responsible for the success of Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson.

If you haven’t seen any of the awesome performances of Charice Pempengco, I’ve embedded my top 3 favorites exclusively for you.

Video #1: This video is a footage of Charice’ first performance on Star King, a famous talent show airing in South Korea, last October 2007. This was her very first international exposure and the one that paved the way to several appearances and offers. Here, Charice performed Jennifer Holliday’s "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".

Video #2: This next video was taken from the December 19, 2007 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Here, Charice showcased her talent in singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and Whitney Houston’s "I Will Always Love You". She earned her first standing ovation from the American audience after her performance.

Note: The interview before her performance was a bit funny. But hey, that’s not the talent she’s supposed to show. Never mind that!

Video #3: This last video was taken from Oprah’s May 12, 2008 episode entitled “World’s Smartest Kids”. Here, Charice performed Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing”. Just like what happened on Ellen, she received a standing ovation from the audience as well as from Oprah Winfrey herself.

Make sure to leave a comment, ok?

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