And I Am Telling You
It wasn’t long ago (actually just last December) when my brother told me the news about Charice Pempengco, a 14 years old girl, becoming a new craze in youtube and he invited me to watch the video together. I didn’t care much so I passed the invitation; I thought it was just one of them music videos showcasing vocal prowess on a show or something. So I went along with my ordinary routine and washed the dishes that evening, after that I had nothing much left to do and I was bored! In response to my boredom my magical feet (having a life of its own) led me to my brother’s room. And there I found her, a brown round faced girl dressed in a pink sweater and skirt on the computer screen belting her way to a song entitled “And I Am Telling You” as popularized by Jennifer Hudson in the movie Dream Girls.
“Yes, I already know she can sing, big deal?”, I thought to myself. That’s why the news and her performance did not really shock me, I’ve seen this girl before at some contest on TV like that one in a noon time show on which I forgot the title (screw my memory!) and the Little Big Star where she won 2nd place.
FYI my brother is crazy about singing and everything related to it, that’s why he is so hooked up with videos of that matter. Right now he is crazy about the different renditions of “And I Am Telling You” originally by Jennifer Holiday, and yeah, inspired by Charice Pempengco’s singing.
You might probably smell something fishy: my brother + And I am Telling You? Hmmm…You can smell all you want, to hell I care! For he is indeed gay! Well enough with my brother, this is suppose to be about the Pempenco girl, right?
I requested my brother to repeat the video again for I wasn’t able to watch the whole thing. After I watched the video I learned that she was singing at a variety show in Korea called Star King which she left the crowd amazed by her big voice, diva attitude and total control of the stage! The Korean’s could not believe that a child like that could be such a performer! I couldn’t blame them, I was pretty amazed myself. I even got goose bumps after hearing and seeing her perform. And that triggered me to start browsing everything about the new “It” girl in town.
While waiting for this one video to upload, I found myself entertained with the comments posted by the viewers. There were fans praising the young girl as well as haters dissing her. It was also there that I found out that she was going to be featured at the Ellen DeGeneres Show on December 20, 2007! And we waited till midnight just to watch her international exposure. As always after watching the video Charice did not let me down, she gave a superb performance which earned a standing ovation. I think that lead her to be compared with another young girl who was also featured on the same show last September 24, 2006 and her name is Bianca Ryan. 
Bianca Ryan, a 13 years old girl became the first winner of the show called America’s Got Talent which the main purpose is to find new acts of any age all over America. She got America’s votes because of her lovely rendition of the song “And I Am Telling” (same song). America was amazed that this girl at a very young age could possess such a strong voice and carry such a strong song!
There wasn’t really an actual competition; it was just the fans that kept on posting their opinions as to who is better. They made a huge point about the age of the girls.
And if you ask me who’s better? Well it’s really hard to answer without sounding “goody-goody” or bias. Unfortunately, I have got to make a stand, right?
Before answering that I made a thorough comparison between the two by watching their videos on youtube.
· I observed that Charice can control her voice a lot better than Bianca. Bianca sounded like she was going to burst on some parts of the song (but she didn’t).
· Charice’s diction is bad she has to work on it, while Bianca’s diction is flawless (duh? She’s American).
· Charice has great stage presence, she walks around and interacts with the audience when performing while Bianca is not that good with it, she moves less.
· Bianca has good looks, she’s going to be a beautiful lady when she grows up, while Charice looks so Pinay (a not so pretty Pinay) in a lighter note lets just say she’s not tele nor photogenic. According to my friend she too can become a pretty lady when she grows up, but that is only with the aid of science and technology, lol. This is the reason why she did not have a career in the Philippine Industry after she joined Little Big Star, while some of her batch mates had. This is solely because Filipino’s have very high standards concerning beauty.
After thinking hard (really hard) I came up with a conclusion that I’ll stand for Charice. Not that I’m a Filipina or Asian or something it’s because she’s sings better and that’s a period. Regarding to the difference of their ages, true though, Charice is older and got more experience than Bianca but take a look at this video of her singing Listen by Beyonce on youtube, you’ll be amazed that she was the same age as Bianca now and still sounding better than her.
Nevertheless both of the girls are great singers.
If Charice Pempengco wowed you, then I suggest you to come to the Philippines. She is only one among the many talented child singers in the country and that is because the Filipino’s are musically inclined ever since history started. Here you’ll find many great singers not just on TV but on the streets as well. So don’t wonder why there are loads of karaoke machines everywhere.
Filed under: CELEBRITIES, Charice Pempengco, MUSIC, Philippines | Tagged: America's Got Talent, And I am Telling You, Bianca Ryan, Charice Pempengco, Dream Girls, Ellen DeGeneres Show, FILIPINO, Jennifer Hudson, Little Big Star, LUTYKUH, Philippines, Star King, Youtube
omg, its funny coz I recently “discovered” Charice too, I honestly think she’s just ok, not sure, she has a good voice but yea, nice blogs, as you can tell I’m really into them, e.g commenting everything haha
Nicely written article.
Ok first of all, nice post and you picked the right one. However I have two points to pick up on. The first, is that Bianca Ryan is prettier? Now I am caucassion but have been to The Philippines many times as my wife is Filipino, so I am well versed in the Filipino culture. Let me tell you Charice Pempengco is very attractive, far more so than Bianca. Now Filipino’s may have there own standards on what is attaractive but to the rest of the world, often what you think is attractive, is quite frankly not. You have to understand that your culture is very different. and as Charice is looking at worldwide domination, that’s going to be what counts. Obviously she is still young so will mature too and I’m sure, become very beautiful.
My second point is on the comment “If Charice Pempengco wowed you, then I suggest you to come to the Philippines. She is only one among the many talented child singers in the country” While this is basically true, I am actually getting a bit fed up hearing it. Singing isn’t just having a good voice. Or should I say, being an international superstar isn’t. It’s about many other things. How many world famous Filipino singers are there? None, now don’t get me wrong, I would love for this to change. But right now there are none. Now for a country with so many great singers thats a bit wierd right? Even Lea Salonga (if you were about to mention her) is not known enough by the general public. I honestly only know here name because I married a Filipino. However Charice is something different and that is why she has been watched five million times on Youtube, and that is why the Korean’s went crazy over her and that is why she was asked on the Ellen show and is being represented by Ed Shapiro. There are great voices up and down most countries, They are also everywhere in America, however there is only one Micheal Jackson and that’s the difference. As Filipino’s you should be raving about this girl to anyone that will listen because she could be your first worldwide superstar. When a performer glues you to the tv or stage and you can’t take your eyes of them, you know they have something special as a performer. Charice Pempengco has that. She is the whole package and she is more importantly, extremley rare. You will not find her in every bar in The Philippines. Please don’t make that mistake and start knocking her down. The Philiippines needs her. So embrace her. She is single handedly, via a youtube video, making people talk about the country. Don’t underestimate that. When I travel to any other Asian country, I am one of many tourists travelling, when I go to The Philippines, I am the only one on the plane. It’s all about awareness, and believe me, Charice, can change that.
I have been writing and working with great singers as writer and musician for over 20 years in Austraila and Europe… and I have NEVER seen a performer like Charice.
Unbelievable already , and still more room to go !
A voice like this with her personality comes along once every decade and this one will belong to her.
I will be first in line for tickets if she ever tours Australia and for her debut CD too.
Absoloutely astounding talent and passion. Get out the tissue , she will make you cry every time !
Best of luck Charice and don’t sing any songs you don’t love.
Funny, when Charice needed support where are the Kababayans..
Koreans and Americans accepted her with an open arms.
Now everybody gravitate toward her. Its like winning the
Super Lotto and everyone come out of the woodwork and
claiming they are all his relatives.
Thats our mentality.
Anyway comparing two performers is not nice, it just breed
hatred then racism. Enjoy their performance and respect them.
They sing to entertain you not to wage wars against each other.
Godspeed to you Charice and all other aspiring kids.
well mind you terminus113, (by the way i’m not mad)
i did this post way back those days when the “Charice and Bianca” thingy was so hot, especially on youtube… (if you’ve read some of the comments then you’d probably understand)
but now i think the two girls are growing gracefully in their own respected rights…
both of them are great…
For your information guys the girls are now friends !