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 on youtube. During that time he was about to view this little girl’s video and he was inviting me to watch it 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 that consists me washing the dishes. After doing that chore, 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 on the computer screen, a brown round faced girl dressed in a pink sweater and skirt belting her way to a song entitled “And I Am Telling You” as popularized by Jennifer Hudson in the movie Dream Girls.
The fact that she can sing did not really surprise me for I have seen her on several contests 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. And yeah, my brother’s gay.
I requested my brother to repeat the video again because I wasn’t able to watch the whole thing. After I watched the video I learned that she performed at a variety show in Korea called Star King which she left the crowd amazed by her big voice, diva attitude and control of the stage! From what I saw, 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 again. This 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! On the day that she was performing, my brother and I 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. Her apperance on the show lead her to be compared with another young girl who was also featured just last September 24, 2006 and that girl 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 between the two girls. It was just the fans that kept on posting their opinions as to who is better. Based on what I’ve read they made a huge point about the age of the girls.
I guess you’re wondering who’s the better girl for me right? Well that’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. And these are the points that I observed.
· I observed that Charice can control her voice a lot better than Bianca. Bianca sounded terrible on some of the songs that she sang.
· 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 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. I think this was the reason why she did not have a career in the PhilippineTV/ Movie 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. Furtheremore, the issue regarding to the difference of their ages doesn’t seem to put Bianca on the upper hand. True though, Charice is older and got more experience than Bianca but if you 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. 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.
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
shes incredible! it’s not even a year since her starking performance exploded on the net and shes rocking madison square garden already. last sept 15, charice performed with celine dion that blew the roof off the garden.
last may, charice was in mandalay bay, lv on david foster and friends concert and stole the show from a $20million worth of stars line up.
all of this in less than one year and only 16 yrs old. she is phenomenal! she might become one day the greatest female singer that this generation will ever see.
eversince my officemate introduced this young lady (charice) to me in her youtube performance, i cant help but open the youtube site for all her live performances.. she has this God-given talent that amazes me… i rarely go crazy with artists but she really can touch my heart and soul whenever she sings…May God continue to bless her and inspire others (like me) to dream big and believe that all things are possible through God who strengthens us..
For your information guys the girls are now friends !
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…
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.
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.
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.
Nicely written article.
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