by Pocholo Conception, Inquirer.net
MANILA, Philippines—As the program for US President-elect Barack Obama inaugural ball—the party that follows the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20—have Americans all agog for its lineup of performers, a separate set of shows preceding it has got Filipinos doubly excited.
A series of pre-inaugural parties has been organized to build momentum to the main event; one of them, to be held on Jan. 18 at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, will feature teenage Pinay singing sensation Charice Pempengco.
On the same day, another pre-inaugural concert featuring an all-star lineup including classical musician Yo-Yo Ma and rock singer Bono will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. It is said to be the event that the President-elect is expected to attend in its entirety.
Off to US
The Cabuyao, Laguna-born Charice, who is now formally called only by her first name, confirmed her participation in the Obama celebrations in an interview with a news team of her home network, ABS-CBN, on the day she was to board a flight to Washington.
Oprah’s protégé
Discovered by the world through the video-sharing website YouTube, Charice—whose international career is being handled by no less than billionaire media personality Oprah Winfrey—will sing two numbers, as requested by Obama’s staff: “God Bless America” and “One Moment in Time”—the latter originally performed on record by pop superstar Whitney Houston.
It was Winfrey, an ardent supporter of Obama’s presidential campaign, who reportedly lobbied to have Charice included in the pre-inaugural program.
Although Charice made her debut TV appearance in the US on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in December 2007, it was a guest stint on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in May 2008 where she was featured in a special segment dubbed “The World’s Smartest Kids.” In that segment Charice sang another Houston hit, “I Have Nothing.”
Four months later, Charice returned as a guest in another special segment, “Dreams Come True,” on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Charice’s performance piece, Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” was made extra special because it had the renowned Canadian songwriter-producer David Foster accompanying her on piano.
‘World’s most talented girl’
In the same show, host Winfrey described Charice in glowing terms as “the most talented girl in the world.”
From then on, it has been a dizzying ride to music biz recognition in which Charice —guided by Winfrey’s influential clout—graced a number of high-profile events: a rare duet with Dion at the latter’s Madison Square Garden concert which reportedly merited mention in the New York Times; a spot number at Andre Agassi’s “Grand Slam for Children” benefit concert in Las Vegas; a performance at the annual Carousel of Hope Ball 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, for the benefit of children with diabetes; another guest stint at the David Foster & Friends Charity Gala & Concert at Alberta, Canada; and an appearance at Macy’s 150 Years Anniversary Celebration in New York City, among others.
With music greats
America is bound to hear more of Charice with the release of a DVD/CD of a tribute concert in which the Philippines’ pride shares the stage with various stars who have worked with Foster, including Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Dion, Katharine McPhee, Blake Shelton, Kenny G, Peter Cetera and Brian McKnight.
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