Thumbs up for Charice

Ok, I admit that jaded me initially refused to be impressed with what has been happening to Charice Pempengco. Sure, she can sing but we all know that young girls who can belt out long and loud come are practically coming out of the woodwork one after the other. I know, she was in Oprah and Ellen, but big deal, those shows regularly showcase talented kids and I do not know yet of anybody among them who grew up to be another Josh Groban or Whitney Houston.

She toured with David Foster and sang with Celine Dion. Nice. But maybe they were just taken in by the novelty of this tiny, young girl from a third world country who has this big diva voice. She had millions of hits on YouTube but I know of others who have more. As for the first single, the download hit, Note To God, it was composed by Diane Warren but was first recorded by Jojo. A cover.

There was news about Foster producing her first album for Warner Music. Great, Foster has this knack for making memorable recordings and has an excellent track record. Celine, Whitney, Groban, Buble, etc. I thought then that it is only when this happens that Charice will have the right to think of herself as a true international pop star. Not that appearance in the Chipmunk movie. But then again, it was taking him a long time to finish the CD, that there were times when I thought it will never happen.

Then last week, right on schedule, Charice by Charice finally came, preceded by the successful release of the first single, the catchy Pyramid featuring Iyaz. Sold only on digital downloads, the song overtook Rihanna’s Rude Boy and made No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance/Club Play chart.

So I thought, the album is here and when I get to hold the CD produced by Foster, then I will shout from the housetops that Charice is now indeed a true blue pop star of the international kind recording in the US. I know it is mighty difficult getting up on the roof nowadays. It is just so hot. But I like to think of the Star as the equivalent of housetops, megaphones, MMS or SMS, whatever and it is from here I’ll be giving Charice the shoutout.

Well, I’ve listened to Charice several times. It is a great debut album and, I may have gotten biased already, it is one of Foster’s best. It has this mix of pop and R&B vibe that pleases a wide range of listeners and Charice’s vocals is distinctively hers. No attempt here to make her sound like some R&B diva. Truth to tell, she sounds more amazing than most of them. And she also raps and in Tagalog at that in the song Reset. Not as great as the Black Eyed Peas do it, but good enough. Besides I find the attempt to put some Filipino flavor in the CD commendable.

The song I had been looking forward to though was the power ballad by Foster. We Pinoys love ballads and I see this as something of an imprimatur on Foster’s part that happens only when he fully believes in the artist. And lucky Charice got what most singers only dream of in their lifetime. In This Song does not only have the makings of a hit, it is an inspiring number that mirrors her journey to stardom. Expect a lot of aspiring divas hereabouts to start doing their take on this song soon.

You will also love Note To God, the moving Diane Warren composition that she sings with so much passion. Better than Jojo, you will admit. The other cuts are Nobody’s Singin’ To Me, Thank You, I Love You, In Love So Deep, All That I Need To Survive, with lyrics by Carol Bayer Sager, Nothing, The Truth Is, Did It For You, and as a bonus track Did It For You again as a duet with Drew Ryan Scott.

All these songs segue smoothly from one to the next. Some electronic thingamajigs sometimes jar the progress but these are minor interferences and were doubtless used to cater to the younger listeners. Besides, these do fade into the background by the third round. By then all you can hear is how warm and flawless Charice’s singing is.