After Charice amazing performance all over the world, She shine again at 13th Annual Andre Agassi Foundation’s Grand Slam for Children benefit concert held at the Wynn, Las Vegas, Nevada last October 12. Many singer is in the benefit concert like Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow
It's been a long time since I feature the last Filipino singer from YouTube vid. I featured Gabe Bondoc in my past post about his wonderful voice and amazing talent in playing acoustic guitar, also...his a good composer. I've watched his amazing performance at YouTube and music video, every song that he play is great. Those who don't know, he lives at San Mateo, California (I live the same city), age 23. Play his video here and watch whats I'm talking about.
Young singer-actor Sam Concepcion shared his excitement as he readies for his debut concert "I'll Find Your Heart" at Music Museum on Saturday, October 18. "It's my first concert and I'm very, very excited and I hope to see you there," he said. Concepcion said that his concert that will happen a day before his 16th birthday is dedicated to all his fans and supporters. "It's for the fans for all of them.. it's about them my thank you sa kanilang lahat," he said. Concepcion said for his birthday he wishes for good health and for him to continue to do good in school and in his career. Dubbed "Singing Crush ng Bayan", Concepcion said that Star Magic talent Jessa Ortega, Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2's expelled scholars Iñaki and Bea Munoz are going to be part of his concert as guest artists. Concepcion who started his career when he joined ABS-CBN's Little Big Star is also known as the boy who beat the country's pride international singing sensation Charice.
When asked if he would like Charice to be her guest star, he replied: "Nakakahiya naman. Hindi po, Iba international na siya eh. Mahirap na siyang kunin. The singer said that if he would be given a chance he would really want his friend -- Charice to be her guest and he would really be happy to perform a duet with the young diva. "Kung may chance o may opportunity yeah," Concepcion said. He admitted he admires Charice for her outstanding achievements and for giving the country honor and pride . “Of course what she has done, wala pang nakakagawa na ibang artista sa Pilipinas. So I admire her talent and her achievements at saka inspiration din sa mga singers na mayroon tayong chance talaga to make it,” he said. Like Charice who already performed with her idols Andrea Boceli and Celine Dion, Concepcion is also dreaming to do a duet with his music idols Michael Jackson and Chris Brown.
Hi Charice. Hi sweetheart. I have to tell you that I am speechless, to start with--and it's not a good way to start--I have, hmm, I have heard you sing. I have seen some, a little bit of your life story. And I am extremely ecstatic like the rest of the world who is watching right now. I can tell you that we have lots of things in common. And I also had a mother, still have a mother, who is my strength. My passion I carry in my heart. And so my beauty. And David Foster, you cannot even think of finding somebody even better than that to bring the best out of you. You have more talent than most people."
These were the words of a mother with a seven-year-old son who spoke to 15-year-old Filipina singer Charice Pempengco during an episode of Oprah. Charice, who has been the toast of music lovers all over the world, has probably heard similar praise before. The difference is, the mother speaking via video conference from Washington, D.C. happens to be Celine Dion. The magical moment, the words, the shocked expression on Charice's face when she realizes it's Celine Dion talking to her, are all captured in a YouTube link sent to abs-cbnNEWS.com. It's all there at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkLjVJOH41U But that's not all. Dion goes on with her message to Charice with even more good news for the young Filipina: "You can sing. You can speak and sing with your heart. You can play the guitar... And you can have dreams because your life story is quite a painful one. Thank God your strength comes from your mother and your heart will go on and I'm pretty sure of that. "And if I may I would love to propose something. I would love to do something very special with you. Next week, I'm gonna be singing at Madison Square Garden and I would love to ask you to come and sing a duet with me. And we can sing together. Maybe we can sing "Because You Loved Me", and maybe we can dedicate this song to your mother. So I hope you can travel and come in New York to meet with me," Dion told Charice.
According to www.oprah.com, Dion will perform at Madison Square Garden on September 15 and 16. (For the complete list of tour dates and venues go to this link: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20080908_tows_celine)
Dream come true
Charice has met with a measure of international success but that moment with Dion is so far the peak experience for the former. Charice has always been open about her admiration for Dion, revealing that the very first song she learned to perform was the Canadian superstar's "My Heart Will Go On" which was the love theme of the Hollywood global blockbuster "Titanic". It wasn't exactly God speaking to Charice, but that was probably the closest the Filipina singer could get to a similar experience. This was Celine Dion inviting her to sing a duet in Madison Square Garden! No other Filipino singer has ever been bestowed with such an honor by a singer of such immense, global stature as Dion. Dion in her message also told Oprah, "You have somebody amazing", referring to the Filipina. Dion, who earlier told Charice that she could find no better person than David Foster to bring out her talent, then told Foster: "David, take good care of that girl."
Dion is currently on a worldwide tour and will perform in every major city in North America. Dion's Madison Square Garden performance is part of that tour--and now Charice has received a personal invitation from the superstar to sing there as well.
Under wraps
abs-cbnNEWS.com a few months ago already received unconfirmed reports that there were talks for Charice to perform with "somebody really, really big" in the musical firmament. However, there was no way to confirm if the news was true, nor the identity of the "really big" music superstar. All sources available to abs-cbnNEWS.com were keeping information about the talks very tightly under wraps. Until the YouTube links were emailed to abs-cbnNEWS.com by an alert reader. The Oprah episode did a substantial report about Charice, her career and the painful experiences in her life and her triumphs, including an exclusive performance with international tenor Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany. You can watch the report on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii4jUSmFwUA Perhaps, this story of a young Filipina singer's success is just what we need to hear to make us feel better, especially with all the bad news coming to us about our Court of Appeals, which has begun to seem very unappealing by the day.
If only, like Charice, more of us could reach for better, loftier things for ourselves and our fellow Filipinos, at a time when even some supposedly honorable members of the judiciary seem to have become comfortable debasing themselves.
Fortunately, one Las Vegas FilAm student defied this stereotype. In fact, she recorded her rendition of the Alicia Keys hit single If I Ain’t Got You and submitted it to a competition online, and won big. I did feature her video at this site before and here she now making a sound again.
Last month, Erika David was declared as the winner of Colgate’s MaxFresh Karaoke Contest. The 19-year-old education major at UNLV won a trip to New York City, where she recorded a demo with Grammy award-winning songwriter/record producer, Bryan-Michael Cox, and the opportunity to perform at the Z100 Jingle Ball pre-party, an annual concert hosted at the Madison Square Garden this December.
“The whole experience was really awesome and I had a really great time,” David told the Asian Journal after her studio recording session in Manhattan. The whirlwind experience also afforded had David having a photo-shoot and some press interviews. David said she found out about the online competition two days before the deadline so she had no time to prepare well. She knew she had to join the competition so she recorded her performance and sent it at once. She was eventually voted into the top five by MySpace users. A panel of judges, which included Cox himself, made the final decision.
“That video I submitted wasn’t the one I really wanted to send in, but I had sung it so many times already,” she said. David can be considered as one of the internet’s rising stars. She is the 45th most subscribed musician on YouTube, with more than a million views, and the three tracks posted on her MySpace profile have been listened to more than 30,000 times. “I am glad she won. She is the next fresh thing to happen. She’s a great artist. I’m keeping it real,” Cox said in a video taken in the recording studio posted in David’s site.
Erika said that she started singing when she was a very young kid, and her dad used to ask her a lot to sing during family gatherings and parties. She also joined talent shows when she was in elementary school, made it to the choir when she was in junior high and said that she loved the stage and performing. In college, she auditioned and performed in various programs and shows. She also discovered YouTube and MySpace and decided to share her talent for the rest of the world to see. Originally from Fremont, California, Erika and her family moved to Las Vegas six years ago. She considers Keyshia Cole, Amy Winehouse and Alicia Keys as her favorites because of their individuality.
Erika hopes to pursue a professional career in singing and she thinks that given the opportunity, she will be able to fulfill her dreams. In the meantime, she intends to finish her education course at the UNLV while waiting for her big break to come. Becoming a teacher is also one of her dreams because as she said, she adores kids. Her message to the younger ones who also dream of making it in the music industry?
“The Internet is really big. Putting your stuff out there is the biggest thing and getting everybody’s feedback is great because you can learn from it. If you believe in something, just go for it. As long as you believe in yourself, something good will happen. Always have a positive attitude,” Erika said.
Erika David’s songs and profile may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/user/ekaiann.
| fly.co.uk | cheap flights from the uk to the whole world |
| Athens Flights | Flights to Kos |
| Flights to London Gatwick | Flights to Nice |
The good news was confirmed by the Pinoys’ fathers.
Through a text message, Manila-based Rey Decena said his daughter Madonna is set to compete on Friday. “The finals show is on Saturday — by then the Top 10 finalists would’ve been chosen,” he said.
In an e-mail sent on Tuesday, Charlie’s dad, Roger Green, said the 11-year-old was set to perform on Wednesday (today, Thursday, Manila time).
“The semi-finals are aired live, so viewers can vote for their favorite acts,” he explained.
Charlie’s dad said the kid prepared a new song, “All I Wanna Do is Sing,” for this round.
The two Pinoys were among the 177 aspirants who competed for the Top 40 slots.
On the show’s official web site, judge Piers Morgan described the Top 40 as a “varied” bunch. Fellow judge Amanda Holden noted that they made “brilliant” choices. “Like last year, the Top 40 will bring the country to a standstill,” she said.
Narrowing down the 177 to 40 semi-finalists was “the most difficult part of the job,” said Morgan. “There were lots of debates and rows,” he recalled.
Show co-creator and judge Simon Cowell agreed: “It’s draining, exhausting. And depressing … Unless the contestants deserve [to get the boot].”
Charice met with the famous composer/producer in Los Angeles last year before she taped her Ellen guesting. They flew together to Las Vegas on a private jet to watch the farewell show of Celine Dion at the Caesar’s Palace Colosseum.
All these seem to be happening so fast for the diminutive diva, after her ground-breaking guestings on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Paul O’Grady Show in London, and just recently, Oprah.
Noted immigration lawyer Michael Gurfinkel and his wife Millie were with Charice and her mom Raquel in Connecticut and they shared their story with the Asian Journal. Atty. Gurfinkel helped expedite the issuance of US visas to Charice and her mom.
"David Foster put together and produced the very first show, featuring Alicia Keys, Josh Groban, John Mayer and, of course, the International Singing Sensation and pride of the Philippines, Charice. She appeared just before Josh and sang a medley of Whitney Houston hits (I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You, from the movie The Bodyguard which starred Houston herself and Kevin Costner)," Millie shared.
Charice received a standing ovation, the only performer to receive one that night, and ovation, the only performer to receive one that night, and Foster asked the crowd after Charice finished her rousing rendition, "Would you like one more song?"
The audience cheered and shouted an enthusiastic "Yes!" The crowd’s request for an encore led David and Charice to do an unrehearsed performance of And I’m Telling You.
After they performed, the audience once again gave Charice yet another standing ovation.
Among those in the audience were Quincy Jones, and Michael Douglas with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Backstage, David, Alicia and Josh congratulated Charice for her "phenomenal performance." For her part, the young diva was just so happy to be a representative of the Philippines on such an important world stage, with some of the biggest names in entertainment. "I hope I make my kababayans proud," Charice said.
Next stop: Las Vegas
Touted as one of the music industry’s most celebrated producers, David Foster, will be honored by a historic onenight-only live concert, David Foster and Friends this Friday, May 23.
This special tribute to Foster —the man and his music—is scheduled to take place at the Event Center at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
The show will feature a host of acclaimed performers, including Andrea Bocelli, Babyface, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Kenny G, Katharine McPhee, Brian McKnight, Boz Scaggs, piano virtuoso William Joseph, Renee Olstead, Cheryl Lynn and Charice among others. Foster, along with the above artists, will be performing some of his biggest hits.
During Foster’s 35-year career as a songwriter, producer and 14-time Grammy winner, he has discovered and nurtured the careers of scores of artists, as well as creating chart-topping hits for Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, The Corrs, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Josh Groban; Earth, Wind and Fire; Natalie Cole, Michael Buble and many others.
"I am honored to be recognized in this way by so many of the artists I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the past three decades," Foster said, "Not only are they supremely talented, but I also consider them dear friends, so I’m really looking forward to getting up onstage and spending the evening with some of my favorite people in the world."
David Foster and Friends
will be filmed for broadcast in December on PBS stations nationwide. A CD/DVD of the show will be released by Warner Bros. Records this fall. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster and the Mandalay Bay box office online at www.mandalaybay.com.
Little Jasmine is not an athlete though – and certainly, far from being a boxer. She sang the national anthem at the WBC super featherweight title encounter between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez last March in Las Vegas. As a singer, she’s devoid of the queenly hints of an audacious diva yet her glorious vocal range could easily silence a rowdy stadium. This church choir-nurtured, San Jose native and L.A. resident is a natural. She doesn’t hurtle across octaves and loiter around four-note verses like how most young talents tend to explore, yet the quiet magic is there. Still raw and searching, but her singing is undoubtedly teeming with promising allure and graceful grit.
The young chanteuse’s credits include spots at opening rites of professional basketball and baseball games, as well as top-rated championship boxing bouts. She has sung before tip-off of NBA games by the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings, along with choice major league games by the Anaheim Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers. Her diminutive physique but powerful presence has also graced important pro boxing fights, such as the Winky Wright-Jermain Taylor and Paul Williams-Antonio Margarito title bouts.
“The moment we heard her sing (at the fight), there’s only one thing left to do,” says Filipino talent spotters Jing Oliva and Danny Dizon. “We immediately sought out her manager.” As of press time, agents of major networks in Manila are currently negotiating with Jasmine’s manager, Gabriella Mosci (of the LA-based Mosci Music Management), in regards shows in the Philippines. A May visit, however, is already laid out.
The Philippine News had a brief chat with Jasmine and her Filipina mother, Bernadette, at a Burbank restaurant last week.“I’ve never been to the Philippines, I’m excited to visit,” Jasmine said, adding that she’s never been without a taste of Filipino culture in her young life. “My grandma Sofia brings this little rice cooker when we travel and we eat Filipino food.”Her music, however, is an obvious mix of her parents’ culture. Bernadette’s family was very involved in the church choir, while her husband used to play in a band.
“Jasmine has a very good ear for music, she easily picks up notes,” Mom adds.For a budding artist, Jasmine has a mature sensibility in terms of musical standards. “I like Alicia Keys because she’s all talent. She doesn’t have to sell her body to be a good performer. She plays the piano and she writes her songs.”These are not pronouncements from an overzealous kid. Jasmine’s earnest and focus are matched by professional, no-nonsense management and guidance, not counting dear mom’s fulltime attention. Her May calendar, for instance, is already filled with gigs in Miami, LA, and Manila—plus studio recordings and an opening spot at a Ludacris concert in Atlanta. Jasmine also travels with a personal choreographer, Brian Drake.
Jasmine began touring at the age 11, and to date, has done over 200 shows in the last 18 months. Apart from performances in over a hundred elementary schools in the Los Angeles area, Jasmine has been featured in print advertisements for Target National, Mary Kate and Ashley, American Girl, Levi’s, Hilary Duff, Robinsons May, Macy’s, Mervyns, Girl Scouts, Sparklets Drinking Water, Kohls—as well as principal roles in television commercials for Chevrolet, The Dog, Kellogg’s, Zellers, Marshalls, and McDonald’s.
Along with guest appearances in Kanye West’s music video, “Jesus Walks” and Frankie J’s “How To Deal,” Jasmine has also made guest starring appearances on Disney’s “That’s So Raven,” Touchstone Pictures’ “My Wife and Kids” (starring Damon Wayans). She has recently finished shooting a pilot for the Disney sitcom, “House Broken,” a spin-off of Disney’s “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody.” Meantime, she also has a reoccurring role on the ABC’s primetime show, “The Nine,” and a guest role on the television series, “Threat Matrix.”
The singer is the latest Filipino-American from Hawaii to crack into the popularity radar and receive recognition for his musical gift after snagging a trophy at the 11th Annual Hawaii Music Awards in the Gospel/Inspirational Music category for his musical album, "Thankful."
In his acceptance speech, Jon began by telling the story of a kid who knew nothing but sing praises to the Lord.
"I'm one of those kids who sang in church all his life so I'm used to singing gospel (music)," a visibly ecstatic Jon shared, as he clutched the coveted golden statuette.
"But I'm not used to getting an award for it and so this is something else and I'm so glad," he ended shyly, before breaking into a soulful and soaring rendition of the Christian classic, Great Is Thy Faithfulness.
But Jon meant every word he spoke – from stories of melodies and even tales of struggles. Coming from a humble missionary family in Nueva Ecija, music and values surrounded Jon's life.
Struggling with the language
He recalled how he would juggle his time between his classes and his work behind the cashier at a local fastfood chain.
"It was scary for me. Two weeks after I got here in Hawaii, I had to find a job right away so that my family could survive," he told GMANews.TV in an interview.
But paying the bills was not the sole obstacle that the Almosaras had to hurdle. Though equipped with apt skills in speaking English, Jon distinctly recalled how he got treated with the real "American" accent whenever he dealt with customers.
"I remember struggling with the language and it's almost seemed like I was hearing birds when my customers spoke. They talked so fast I couldn't understand," the young crooner recounted.
To brush up on his accent, Jon said he would hang out with his younger cousins and friends, who grew up in the US, and watch English-language cartoons.
From working in book and chocolate stores to teaching music in high school, John admitted that he has laid his hands on almost every job imaginable for a guy like him.
And while he currently works part time as a legal assistant at a local law firm, Jon said the universal magic of sound and tunes keeps luring him more and more into music.
Early music binds
Jon began his official entry into the show business in Hawaii when he was 17 years old. He was initially recruited by a local television producer to belt a song at a popular variety program there called ‘Filipino Beat.’
Even early on in his musical path, John has never failed to strum the musical cords of his Filipino roots through his repertoire, as he starred in a TV musical special that celebrated the Philippine Centennial, called 'Musical Ties That Bind.'
Incidentally, Jon also has, at one point in his career, took on a role in their version of the highly-acclaimed Miss Saigon, the war-themed musical that propelled another Filipino, Lea Salonga, into international fame.
He received formal training in music at the University of Hawaii, where he majored in elementary Music Education. Later on, he would venture into the realm of arias and recitatives as he trained Operatic singing in the same school.
Like most eager starters trying to break into and seal their names in the industry, Jon was also not saved from dodging setbacks. Not having a backing from multi-million-dollar recording companies or PR machineries, Jon said things got extra harder for him in the
beginning.
"I don't think it matters whether you're a Gospel or Secular singer. There's always going to be struggles especially with independent artists like myself," he explained.
But once the wheels started spinning for Jon, everything went pretty smoothly thanks to crucial components that seemed to have fallen in place.
For obvious reasons, his sharp features (tall, dark, and handsome right on the dot) had girls swooning over him. As one entertainment writer in Hawaii wrote, "With his wholesome good looks, Almosara is a messenger that young folks (and oldsters, for that matter) would
welcome."
And aside from his appearance, his following have also pointed out the striking resemblance between his voice and that of Erik Santos, the famous product of a singing competition in the Philippines, which Jon took as an utter compliment.
"I always get a kick out of people asking me if I was Erik Santos at the end of every performance! I've never met the guy before but I'm sure he's a great singer," he chuckled.
But more than the hunky good looks, fans adore Almosara for the sheer overflowing message
of faith, trust, and love instilled in every song that he does.
So much so that he had been invited to sing at this year's Miss Hawaii USA and Miss Oahu as well as appeared in the favorite Hawaiian talk show program Nite Time with Andy Bumatai.
For his latest musical set, Almosara said the subsequent events wrought by the September 11 World Trade Center tragedy pushed and inspired him to weave music into a real, poignant picture that saw people seeking refuge back in places of worship.
"It's kind of like a wake up call in a way, I would say, because people started going back to church. And I think that's the positive side of it all, what the terrorists had done only brought people closer and back together as one," he said.
Jon said he found the perfect opportunity to embed the hopes offered by music in the hearts of embattled individuals from the young to the old, from drug dependents to out-of-school children.
So he formed "The Rock," a ministry that gathers people from all walks of life to hear and share stories of love and hope as well as sing praises to the Lord.
The entire experience formed the cornerstone for his album "Thankful," a mixture of contemporary Christian music and love songs that also had the 32-year-old heartthrob teaming up with some of the biggest names in Hawaiian music.
Renowned entertainment critic John Berger describes the set as "beautifully-crafted debut," which packs religious anthems that were inflicted with a mainstream pop flare including catchy, up-tempo, infectious tracks like the lead-off single, "I'm Thankful."
At first, Jon did not expect to be able to shore up as much support from the Filipino community in Hawaii with his first debut offering given the character of the genre of his craft.
"I was kind of reluctant to think that they would support a Gospel Album. But so far so good," he said.
Almosara admits he has yet to conquer the territory of his native land. As he revisits the country in August, next in Jon's agenda is to promote his album in the Philippines, a country that has recently seen the cropping up of Christian movements.
For Jon, music is not the sole vehicle that would propel him further into the venerate realms of stardom.
Aside from keeping up his sleeves staple Filipino practices like the use of 'po' and 'opo,' Jon's undying respect and love for life and God, rife with humility and gratitude, are his other weapon. "These are just the values that I'm never going to lose in me," he assured
Four years ago, history was written by two ladies from the land of luaus and hulas. And now, Jon prepares to rewrite it as he blazes to the top of his game in the international gospel music arena.
WEBSITE:
http://www.jonalmosara.com
Myspace
| Posted in »
