Best of Charice

Welcome to Best of Charice!

2020-02-01T11:15:00.000-08:00

Why another site devoted to videos of Charice? Simply put, this blog is dedicated to the true connoisseur of Charice video and audio recordings. Each of the videos posted here has something special about it. What makes a Charice video special? I look for one or more of the following qualities:

Quality of performance (or perhaps better put, my favorite performances)
Quality of recording, both video and audio
Historical significance
Uniqueness

In some of these, I have personally edited and combined video and audio from two or more sources to create a recording that you won’t find anywhere else. If you know of any videos that you think deserve to be featured here, let me know – I’m always eager for suggestions. I also want to hear what you think about my choices. If you have any interesting information about a particular performance, please share it.

2020-01-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of Charice Pempengco (now known simply as Charice)? If not, I guarantee you will after her first international album is released. I'm so enthusiastic about this girl that I feel that telling others about her is giving them a gift. Despite being just 4'11", she has the most powerful, amazing voice you'll ever hear. She has fans of all ages around the world and can put so much emotion into a song that she'll make you cry.

Charice, who turned 18 on May 10, has appeared four times on Oprah, sung with the famous tenor Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany, performed with Celine Dion at Madison Square Garden and, more recently, three times as the featured guest on a popular Italian TV show, Ti Lascio Una Canzone. The show got a 60% market share when she performed; the hostess ran out of superlatives to describe her, and the orchestra conductor was initially speechless but later said, "She doesn't have a gift from God, she IS a gift from God."

Charice grew up in poverty, in a barrio in the Philippines. When she was three, her father attacked her mother, so Charice, her mother, and her younger brother left him. They moved from place to place, at times even living in the street. Her mother worked in a garment factory, 16 hours a day, six days a week, to support the family. When Charice was four, her mother noticed her extraordinary singing ability and began devoting her life to nurturing her talent. Until she was nearly 17, her only vocal coaches had been her mother and her aunt! Charice began performing at age 7, eventually appearing in over 80 singing contests. She used her winnings to help support her family.

Here is Charice at age 9, singing Celine Dion's "To Love You More" on the TV show "Bulilit Starquest." Her performance placed first, giving Charice her first major contest win.

2019-12-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

HER FIRST INTERNATIONAL ALBUM

2019-12-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

WAS RELEASED MAY 11
THE DAY AFTER HER 18TH BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARICE!

Charice at Serramonte Mall 5/7/2010

2010-05-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Late Thursday, May 6, Charicemania announced that Charice would be performing the following day at Serramonte Mall in Daly City (south of San Francisco). I took the day off & drove to the Bay Area to see my favorite songstress. I managed to get next to the stage, where I took a number of stills. I was right next to the person who taped the next three video clips, so what you see is exactly what I saw. After she finished her too-brief performance, Charice sat at the edge of the stage signing autographs. GM of Chariceworld had told me to say "hi" to Charice for her; before I could do so, she recognized me (!) and said GM had told her I'd be there. Believe me, that got a lot of looks from those around me. ("He knows Charice!") Sue Bee honey is one of Charice's sponsors in the PI so I gave her a Sue Bee "honey bear" with a red bow around its neck. Mommy Raqz asked "Did you give this to her?" When I said I did, she got a big smile and let me take a picture of her holding it. Before Charice had to go to this appearance's "meet 'n' greet," she signed the photo of us that was taken at the San Jose "meet 'n' greet." It's at the top of the column to the right.

Charice ''In This Song'' and a "Medley'' @ Serramonte Mall 05/07/2010 - ...

2010-05-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

Charice ''Pyramid'' @ Serramonte Mall 05/07/2010 - Full Performance Part...

2010-05-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

2010-04-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

-- A STAR IS BORN --

My Ming Moments

2010-04-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

In February 2009, Charicemania announced that there would be a Chaster "gathering"/luncheon in Las Vegas on May 10 (the day after the David Foster & Friends concert) to celebrate Charice’s 17th birthday. The announcement hinted that Charice might attend, but cautioned that there were no guarantees that she would.

I decided I'd design an invitation and e-mail it to her manager. I was shocked when he replied, telling me to send him the time and place and he'd pencil it into Charice's calendar. He imposed two conditions, though: (1) Charice wouldn't be able to sing and (2) no tickets could be sold. I then contacted "GM" at Charicemania to tell her the news. She replied that she had similar information. Because Charice's attendance still wasn't certain, though, we agreed that it had to be kept secret.

On May 10, about 200 Chasters gathered at Ristorante Giorgio at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. By then, I knew Charice was coming. I was very surprised to find that almost all the attendees were Filipino. (I'd guess there were no more than a dozen non-Filipinos in the whole gathering.) In fact, when I joined the others at my table, one guy said, "Wow, I didn't know you were white!" (Now I know what it feels like to be a member of a minority group!)

Despite the best attempts of GM & the other organizers to keep order, Charice's arrival triggered pandemonium. Not that people crushed her -- they all kept a respectful distance (which may have been due to the presence of her huge bodyguard), but everyone wanted to get close enough to see her. Cameras were flashing non-stop as she blew out the candles on her cake and all present sang multiple choruses of "Happy Birthday" to the accompaniment of the karaoke machine.

Charice was escorted to the guest of honor's table, accompanied by a blonde friend. Standing on a chair, she began speaking -- in Tagalog. Suffice it to say that Charice speaks English a lot better than I speak Tagalog. (All I know is "mabuhay" and "marami salamat po.”) This being her party, though, I wasn't about to say, "Hey, how about some English for the white boy?" So, I shared in the experience vicariously as all of the Tagalog speakers laughed at her jokes and were delighted by her engaging personality.

Charice clearly loves her fans. Despite the fact that her manager said that she could only stay 20 minutes, that there was only time for group photos at each table, and that there would be no autographs, Charice promptly broke all three rules. She gave each table the promised group photo opportunity, but then proceeded to honor as many requests for autographs and individual photos as she could. (I managed to get my photo autographed.)

After about 45 minutes, she was hustled out the back door. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Gurfinkel (her attorney) appeared and told us that Charice wanted to return and formally say good-bye; it wasn't “Filipino culture" to leave without doing so. She returned and, in her best chipmunk voice, declared “I love you. I love you so much.” (That I could understand!) Many Chasters begged her to sing something a capella. Despite her manager's earlier admonition that she would not do so, she sang a brief version of "Always You," (which had just been released) and was gone.

Fast-forward to November 6, when the David Foster show appeared in San Jose, California. GM was handling the "meet & greet" in which 50 lucky Chasters would meet Charice in person, get her autograph, and have their photos taken with their idol. We had stayed in touch since meeting through the Las Vegas gathering, and she reserved me a place.

Although I was near the top of the guest list, I lingered at the end of the line, thinking of what I would say. I remembered Charice’s comment about Paul McCartney on the Paul O'Grady Show and that she had returned from England wearing a shirt with the Beatles logo on it. There also was a Dodger Stadium connection: I had seen their next-to-last performance there in August 1966. I thought it would be fun to tell her that I had seen the Beatles perform at the same stadium where she sang our national anthem 43 years later.

Curiously, the same blonde girl I had seen Charice with in Las Vegas was sitting to her left, with an empty space between them. I had heard that she was Charice's good friend, which seemed pretty obvious. I also seemed to recall that there was a David Foster connection -- his stepdaughter, perhaps? I didn't know her name, though.

I walked to the table and took my place between the two of them. Before I could say anything, Charice turned to me and asked, "Do you know Gigi?" My mind raced through every bit of Charice-related minutiae I knew (and I know a lot). Was it her pet? No -- I'd heard her pet's name and it wasn't Gigi. Even if it were, I wouldn't risk a guess. "I don't think so." She continued, "You know, from YouTube." Now I really felt stupid. Who could it be? "No." I was too flustered to say anything about the Beatles and Dodger stadium. So, she autographed the photo of her that I had brought and we had our picture taken.

You've probably guessed that the girl sitting to my left was Gigi. And there is a relationship between her and David Foster: she's the daughter of his girlfriend. If only Charice had asked, "Have you met Gigi?" or, after my first answer, introduced us.

I still think Charice would enjoy hearing about her Beatles connection but, having already had two "Ming moments," I'm well over my quota.

Charice Stuns Oprah

2010-04-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

Based on the recommendations of staff who had seen her on YouTube, Oprah invited Charice to perform on a segment titled "World's Smartest Kids." Until Charice stepped on stage and began singing Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," Oprah had never seen her perform. When the little girl gave Oprah a flirtatious, sideways smile, she didn't know what to think. But as Charice's voice soared higher and higher, Oprah was blown away.

Few of us can identify a single moment that was truly life-changing. Charice has had two: first, when FalseVoice posted her Star King performance on YouTube and second, when Oprah decided to help her. After this performance, Charice's Philippines-bound plane was about to depart when two of Oprah's staff boarded it and escorted her and her mother to Oprah's office. When they arrived, Oprah told them that she didn't know much about the music business but knew someone who did. With that, she called David Foster and insisted that he give Charice the opportunity to perform with him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Charice Storms Singapore

2010-03-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

Charice thrilled the audience of Singapore Idol as the guest star of the show's grand finale. Here she performs her trademark Bodyguard Medley ("I Have Nothing" and "I Will Always Love You") and her first single, "Note to God."

13 Million Hits... And Counting

2010-03-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

This is the performance that put Charice on the map. Her incredible rendition of "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" from the musical and movie Dreamgirls ultimately received 13 million hits on YouTube and led to her discovery by Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah. Many YouTube comments stated flatly that Charice could not possibly have been the one singing this song. At least one "expert," who claimed to have seen a lot of lip-sync'ed videos, proclaimed it a fake. (The situation wasn't helped by the fact that the person who posted the video went by the name FalseVoice which, rather than being a commentary on Charice's performance, simply referred to falsetto singing and had nothing to do with her.)

2010-03-02T00:24:00.000-08:00

This is the performance that put Charice on the map. Her incredible rendition of "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" from the musical and movie Dreamgirls ultimately received 13 million hits on YouTube and led to her discovery by Ellen Degeneres and Oprah. Many YouTube comments stated flatly that Charice could not possibly have been the one singing this song. At least one "expert," who claimed to have seen a lot of lip-sync'ed videos, proclaimed it a fake. (The situation wasn't helped by the fact that the person who posted the video went by the name FalseVoice which, rather than being a commentary on Charice's performance, simply referred to falsetto singing and had nothing to do with her.)

David Foster & Friends 2008

2009-08-30T00:14:00.000-07:00

When Oprah called Foster, she asked if he had any gigs in which Charice could perform. He said that there was an upcoming tribute to him ("David Foster & Friends") featuring many of the superstars he had worked with over the years. Oprah insisted that Charice perform, to which Foster's reply was "Whatever Little O wants..." And so, on May 23, 2008, in Las Vegas, Charice took her place alongside some of the greatest luminaries in popular music: Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Michael Buble, and Kenny G, to name but a few. To say she rose to the occasion is an understatement. Charice absolutely wowed the audience, singing a medley of "I Have Nothing" and "I Will Always Love You." As Charice finished, she was receiving a huge standing ovation -- the only one of the evening.

"Ugly Duckling" to Beautiful Swan

2009-07-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Charice had been told that she would never be a success because she "wasn't good enough" and "wasn't pretty." In fact, it was worse than that. Some of Charice's classmates were so cruel as to call her "ugly" and "loser." Just for comparison, here's a video of Charice singing "To Love You More" at age 9 and seven years later, at age 16.

Charice's performance at age 9, on the show Bulilit StarQuest, earned her the grand prize. I love Charice's exaggerated gestures and choreography, which were created and coached by her mother ("Mommy Raquel"). In a smoother and more refined form, many of these would continue to be incorporated into Charice's repertoire. Unfortunately, Charice did not fit the Filipino ideal of beauty -- tall with European features, light skin, and long tresses.

Compare this to Charice's performance seven years later. Not only is her voice much more powerful, her ability to improvise around the melody is exceptional. Charice's obvious pleasure and confidence shine. And look what a pretty young woman she's become! Just like the ugly duckling who was relentlessly criticized for being different, Charice is now a beautiful swan. This performance aired on Umagang Kay Ganda (TV show), 11/13/2008.

Note to God

2009-07-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

"Note to God," the first single from Charice's international debut album, was released on May 12, 2009. It peaked at first place in sales on iTunes and Amazon.com and shot to number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can support Charice by downloading "Note to God" from either of these sources for just $0.99.