She stands barely 5 feet tall and won't be legal for another four years. But when 17-year-old pop singer Charice opens her mouth, out pours a voice as burly and sure as Whitney Houston's in her "I Will Always Love You" prime.
That surprise twist made this teen singer from the Philippines a YouTube phenom throughout Asia last year and, more recently, led to appearances on "Ellen" and even "Oprah."
The girl born Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco just released her self-titled debut, featuring a Rihanna-sound-alike single, "Pyramid," that has already hit the Billboard dance chart's top five. The News met Charice to talk in her favorite place in New York: the ESPN Zone in Times Square.
When people look at you, no one expects that huge voice to come out. Does this make you the Susan Boyle of teen pop?
Oh, that's such a compliment. But in the Philippines, it's not such a big deal because there are a lot of little people there and a lot of them have big voices. It feels weird to me that people are so surprised. But I do think it's one of the reasons I made it.
The only thing most Americans know about the Philippines is Imelda Marcos' gigantic shoe collection. What should we know about the place?
The Philippines is a very musical country. If you go there, most everyone sings. And even if they don't, they know who's great at it. Also, there are great tourist spots. The weather's always warm. You should go.
Are you from Manila, the capital, or from somewhere else?
I'm from Tagaytay, which is four hours away from Manila. It's a little higher, in the mountains. We're close to volcanoes, which is one of the tourist parts. It's perfect weather for a singer, because it's not too hot and not too cold.
You got your first break on the kid-oriented talent show "Little Big Star." Is that entirely a singing competition, or do some kids do other stuff, like swallow swords?
Oh, no — it's all singing. It's pretty much like "American Idol" for kids. They have two divisions: 5 to 8 years old and 11 to 13. I was 12 when I went on. I passed the first auditions, then made it to the final screening, then went to television and got all the way to the finale. But I didn't win.
How close were you?
I came in third.
So how did you end up getting so much attention?
A guy named David in the Philippines — who I didn't know at the time — posted one of my performances from the show on YouTube. I was singing "I Will Always Love You." It got like a million hits. That's why I got discovered for a Korean talent show. Then I was performing in Korea and David posted one of those on YouTube, and Ellen DeGeneres saw that and after a week I made it on her show. Then friends posted the show from Ellen, and I got on "Oprah."
No comments:
Post a Comment