People mag gives Charice's CD a 2.5-star rating

MANILA, Philippines - After reading a positive review given to Charice’s eponymous debut US album by a People mag music critic, I will promptly listen to the complimentary copy sent to me by Warner Music. The review, reprinted below in full, is accompanied by a ‘with-it’ photo of Charice’s (above):

If ever one note could make an album, then it may be the very last one Charice — the YouTube phenom who just made her fourth appearance on Oprah — hits on her self-titled debut. Her big moment comes on the Diane Warren ballad Note to God, which finds the 18-year-old Filipina reaching for heavens, backed by a gospel choir. A powerhouse performance, it’s the stuff of a young Celine, Whitney or Mariah. But Charice is torn between being a begowned diva and acting her age on songs like the Iyaz-assisted single Pyramid, which sounds more like something off a Jordin Sparks CD.

By the way, for the information of Funfare readers asking why Charice and her brother Carl are being baptized only now (on Saturday, May 22, at the Pasig Cathedral): The siblings were members of the Iglesia ni Kristo until their mom, Raquel, decided to be converted to Roman Catholicism. Thus, their baptism as Catholics.