David Foster on Charice: Tonight, a star is born!
abs-cbnnews.com | 05/28/2008 1:40 AM
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FUNFARE
By RICARDO F. LO
Charice’s performance (I Will Always Love You, etc.) was described as “jaw-dropping,” after which Foster told the audience which gave Charice a standing ovation, “Tonight, a star is born!”
The Philippine Star
Curtain-raiser:
Arnel Pineda (featured in this corner yesterday) and the Journey are guesting on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, airing tonight in the US and in the Philippines tomorrow (May 29) night at 7 o’clock on 2nd Avenue (Cable TV). They will sing two songs, Separate Ways and After All These Years (the carrier single from the new Revelations CD). Watch it.* * *
Two Mondays ago, Funfare reported the exclusive story about Charice’s guesting in a show famous songwriter David Foster put up for the opening of MGM Grand Casino Hotel in Foxwood, Connecticut, accompanied by exclusive photos (Charice with Foster, and fellow performers Alicia Keys and Josh Groban; not in photo was John Mayer) you see only in The STAR.
A few days later, Funfare published another "scoop," this time about another show Foster was mounting in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas last May 23, called David Foster and Friends. Here’s what happened in that star-studded event in which Charice got another standing ovation, showered with praise by her co-performers:
Charice’s performance (I Will Always Love You, etc.) was described as "jaw-dropping," after which Foster told the audience which gave Charice a standing ovation, "Tonight, a star is born!"
The other performers included Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Kenny G, Babyface, Groban, Katharine McPhee, Brian McKnight, Boz Scaggs, Peter Cetera and many others.
As soon as Charice appeared onstage, she asked (in Tagalog): "Marami po bang mga Filipino dito?", adding mesmerized by the magnitude of the event, "Sobrang masaya po ako. Parang nananaginip pa po ako hanggang ngayon. Proud po ako at nire-represent ko po ang Pilipinas dito sa ibang bansa. Proud po ako at Filipino po ako. Sana po proud din po sila sa akin."
"Never perhaps in the history of Philippine entertainment has a Filipino artist shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest performers," gushed immigration lawyer and STAR columnist Michael Gurfinkel and his wife Millie who were in the audience. (It was the Gurfinkel couple who helped "expedite" the issuance of Charice and her mom Raquel’s US visa, after they lost their passports to a bukas-kotse gang in their native Laguna).
Said a Funfare contributor who was also there, "Charice had the audience on their feet as she received a standing ovation after each of her songs. The only other performers who received standing ovations were Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban (for his finale). After the show, Charice was showered with praise by both her co-performers and the audience.
"Bocelli had already finished his performance and was in his dressing room when he heard Charice singing onstage through the monitor. He insisted that his handlers take him backstage, so that he could be among the first to congratulate Charice. He told Charice, after her performance, ‘You have a beautiful voice; I was moved!’ "Asked how he felt having performed twice with Charice, Groban said, ‘I was backstage, getting ready to go on, and not really paying attention to the act onstage, when all of a sudden I heard the voice of a beautiful siren, and my jaw dropped. I had to stop everything and just watch her from the wings. It was marvelous!’"
An excerpt from a Vegas newspaper:
If Groban is one of Foster’s most renowned discoveries, this night truly belonged to a newer one, doe-eyed 16-year-old Filipino belter Charice, whose voice is like a jetliner taking off from her sternum.
She turned in a stunning rendition of the Whitney Houston-by-way-of-Dolly Parton hit I Will Always Love You, singing with such power and poise, it was hard to believe that she wasn’t even yet alive when the song originally became a hit on The Bodyguard soundtrack in 1992.
"Tonight, a star is born," Foster gushed after her brief set, another grand sentiment from a man defined by them.
Rick Astley coming for concert Aug. 1
Astley fans can expect their idol to sing his hit songs, including Together Forever and Never Gonna Give You Up, on the show called Rick Astley: Here and Now, produced by Mossimo Music and DMC Philippines.
Here’s a refresher backgrounder on Astley, courtesy of the producers:
Born Richard Paul Astley in Lancashire, England, Astley made an impact with his first solo outing, Never Gonna Give You Up, which was released in 1987. The song was an instant success, spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming that year’s highest-selling single. Never Gonna Give You Up also topped the singles chart in the US, followed by a second number-one hit in Together Forever.
In 1991, Astley cemented his growing reputation when he was nominated for a Grammy award as Best New Artist of the Year.
Astley specialized in bouncy dance pop, but showed he was just as good at ballads when he released 1991’s Cry For Help, which reached the top of the charts in both the UK and the US. It proved to be a good year for Astley, because in 1991, he had another major hit with Whenever You Need Somebody, which sold two million copies.
To date, Astley’s total record sales have reached almost 40 million worldwide. His latest release, The Ultimate Collection: Rick Astley, which hit the market in April 2008, has already reached #17 on the UK Top 40 albums chart and is still going.
He’s even become an Internet phenomenon—in 2007, an anonymous poster tricked an estimated 25 million users into watching a video of Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. The video was on endless repeat, giving rise to a phenomenon now known as "Rickrolling."
(Note: Rick Astley: Here and Now is supported by MYX Music, ABS-CBN and Magic 89.9 as media partners. Before the Big Dome concert, a kick-off party will be held at Dolce Bar, at Tomas Morato, Quezon City, on July 8; at Hard Rock Makati on July 16. Lots of gimmicks, surprises and prizes await lucky Astley fans. For ticket inquiries call SM Ticketnet outlets at 911-5555; and DMC Philippines c/o Cris at 0916-3958112 and c/o Mads at 0922-7892345. Ticket prices are P5,250 for VIP, P4,200 for Patron, P3,150 for Lower Box, P2,100 for Upper Box A, P1,050 for Upper Box B and P525 for General Admission.)
The Golden Divas strike again
My friends and I watched the show at the Music Museum and it was oh-so-good that we promised to watch it again at the MOA.
More than just sing songs from yesteryear and current ones, the three divas joke around and poke fun at themselves, proving beyond any reasonable doubt that veteran singers, unlike soldiers, never fade away — they just keep on performing.
Tempered by the test of time and honed deeper by the ups and downs of loving and living, the three divas obviously now perform without the pressure of having to prove themselves, but only for the fun of it, for their own enjoyment and yours.
Do watch them. You won’t regret it. You will even ask for more, more, more — and, happily, Pilita and the two Carmens will oblige with one encore after another.
(Note: Tickets to Golden Divas are priced at P2,000 for gold seat, P1,500 for silver seat and P1,000 for bronze seat. Call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.)
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(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)
