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| Filipina entertainer wows audience in New York show |
By Jun Medina
NEW YORK—Filipina prodigy Charice Pempengco continues to win international acclaim, earning rave reviews for her recent guest performance with pop diva Celine Dion's "Taking Chances World Tour" stop here.
New York Times music reviewer Jon Caramanica said, "Ms. Dion mostly stayed out of the way as Ms. Pempengco explored the song's heretofore unheard rougher edges, with ample gesticulations and melisma."
"As Ms. Pempengco brought the crowd to its feet, Ms. Dion struck poses behind her: awestruck wonder, heartfelt empathy, ambient triumph," wrote Caramanica in the Sept. 16 issue of the Times.
In a separate review, Dan Aquilante of the New York Post described Charice's performance as the "brightest moment" of the Celine Dion concert at the cavernous Madison Square Garden.
"One of the most interesting turns in this show was the MSG debut of 16-year-old vocal prodigy Charice Pempengco, whose manager, Oprah Winfrey—that's right—secured the Philippine singer a duet with Celine for the song Because You Loved Me," Aquilante wrote.
"The Charice segment was the night's brightest moment," the Post review said. "The teen was able to blast notes with Celine-like power, but she was also able to get in touch with the song's emotions."
Before they performed, Dion introduced Charice to the audience as a Filipina whose voice "can literally blow the roof off Madison Square."
"Charice vowed to save her mom from a life of desperation and despair. You know—through prayers and dreams and God-given talent, an incredible voice—Charice entered and won every singing contest in her native country and eventually, was noticed by such influential people such as Oprah and Oprah took her under her wings and David Foster joined in," Dion said.
She said Charice got her attention after seeing the girl perform on the popular The Oprah Winfrey Show.
"You did amazing, and the roof of the Madison [blew] up tonight," Dion said after the performance, adding that she could not wait until Charice had her own concert in Madison Square Garden.
"When you do perform in Madison Square, are you going to invite me? I love you and I cannot wait to see perform here for a whole concert," she added before a smiling Charice left the stage to more applause.
Gifted with a powerful, soulful voice, Charice began to sing at the tender age of four, according to her website. Coached by her mother, the young singer joined and won amateur singing contests not only to hone her vocal skills but also to augment the family budget with her prize money.
The first major break in Charice's rags-to-riches story came in 2005 when, at the age of 14, she finished second runner up in the Little Big Star talent show of ABS-CBN, Manila leading TV network.
Curiously, the voice prodigy began to get international notice through the Internet. An avid fan kept posting videos of her performances in YouTube, which caught the attention of popular US TV host Ellen DeGeneres, who featured Charice's performance before a popular TV program in South Korea on Nov. 28. This was followed by a live performance on DeGeneres' popular afternoon show on Dec. 19 during which Charice delighted host and the audience with her magnificent rendition of And I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going" and I Will Always Love You
But it was Charice's performance in the Oprah Winfrey Show last May that catapulted her to fame. After hearing Charice sing, Oprah said she couldn't get the little girl with the powerful voice out of her head and invited her back to the show. This was when Oprah decided to put her under her wings, and asked legendary producer David Foster to see what the star-maker could do for Charice.
The teen-aged singing sensation has guested on London's Paul Grady Show, shared the stage with pop opera star Andrea Bocelli in Las Vegas and in Italy, and performed at the one-night only live concert in honor of new mentor David Foster at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino with big entertainment artists. These artists include Michael Johns, Andrea Bocelli, Babyface, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Kenny G., Katharine McPhee, Brian McKnight and Boz Scaggs, among others. The special will air sometime later this year and a DVD and CD should be available in the next few weeks.
Charice has certainly come a long way from the little town amateur singing champion to what her patron Oprah Winfrey called "the most talented girl in the world."
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