Being a Filipino these days isn't so bad, with the peso improving against the dollar and children like Charice Pempengco giving Filipinos a better name other than domestic helper. Here are some details on her:
Just as 2007 came to a close, Charice Pempengco, the 14-year-old Filipino singer whose YouTube videos wowed audiences here and abroad, guested and sang in the American television show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" where she sang "And I am Telling You" from the musical Dreamgirls.
Pempengco was a former contestant on the ABS-CBN show "Little Big Star," a children's singing contest hosted by Sarah Geronimo. She placed 2nd in the show's Big Division (for 10-13 year old competitors), behind Sam Concepcion and Gian Barbarona. Lifted from an ABS-CBN article.
According to Inquirer.net, Charice impressed Ellen and the studio audience so much with her show-stopping performance that they gave her a standing ovation. Americans are among the more demonstrative people in the world, but standing ovations don't happen every day on live TV shows in the States, so Charice's performance was truly special.
What made it unusual wasn't only her amazing vocal range--indeed, the US has many (usually black) singers who can hit those high notes with prodigious skill and unerring accuracy. Birit or belting wasn't the only factor that made listeners' day when Charice performed on "Ellen."
We think that what blew their socks off was her unique combination of vocal power and petite youthfulness. That's a pretty rare mix to find on US TV, so it really was cause for admiration and celebration.
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