What's Da Buzz?

Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Karen Carpenter, and Charice are all solid singing role models. Since I left off yesterday’s post with Josh Groban joking that he was a “dead man walking” because of following Charice, I think it is only fair that I have him follow up Charice here.

This first song is something that I hope to follow with my actions both here and back at the Philippines. Each of us can make a difference in the lives of others even if it is just bringing a smile to someone who is down.

Then we have this song which is all about positive attitude and how to lift your head up and plow forward. Success is not measured in terms of wealth or power but in the amount of lives you have helped to rise up.

Enjoy!!

Thanks much,

Anah

Charice is at it again. This time at a charity event called Carousel of Hope devoted to raising funds for combating diabetes. In order to get in, you had to pay $10,000 or half a million PhP to get in per ticket.

I become more and more convinced that the Philippines has a truly untapped resource that can be presented to the world and elevate the Philippine standings internationally. When more people learn of the system in which such talent is produced, more attention will be brought back to the good old hard work with a positive attitude many in the Philippines have.

You really have to be good to have people tell Josh Groban that he is a “dead man walking” because he had to follow her. Even Jay Leno was stunned at Charice’s skills.

Way to go girl!!

As for did it break out in rehearsals? The answer is a definitive yes.

Thanks much,

Anah

As I have said before, music is at the heart of most in the Philippines and the competition is fierce.

In a relatively new contest Pop Idol 2, one of my 27 (oo andami!) cousins on my Mom’s side of the family is in strong competition. So yes, I’m proud of my cousin and may she do quite well.

If I make mistakes in this next part, please educate me as to how it is structured as I haven’t been home for a while. The Internet searches are not all that helpful as there are 132,000 hits for Pop Idol and Philippines when you check out Google.

Similar to the British original Pop Idol, it is a talent search for singers. American Idol and Pinoy Idol are extensions of it. In the Philippines though we are a bit tougher on the competition requirements than what you see each year on the American Idol try outs. On AI, you get to see the tens of thousands lining up to try out if they think they can sing. Naturally, we get to see a good sampling of those who thought they could sing but should have kept the singing to their shower stall. At the end of the show, Ryan Seacrest says “We have X number of who have made it from X city on to the next city.”

Well, the Philippines require that you prove yourself through other singing contests first. No “Worst Singer in the World” title gets handed out when they butcher an old Madonna song. You prove yourself on the larger city level, island level and then national level.

Minimally, this version of Pop Idol is for the island or greater General Santos area for you to prove yourself. I’m still trying to research it but I am uncertain if it feeds into a national level. At the very least, placing well in this version of Pop Idol will help the top performers to build their “musical resume”.

So without specifying who she is, I am proud to introduce my cousin who is consistently in the top 5 of this contest. To track how this contest is going, please visit this Pop Idol blog. She is one of those pictured below.

You go cousin!! May you win more than I did!!

Thank you,

Anah