Charise

A biography and more...

Charise has released her debut album "Charise" under the label of Star Records.
This is her first official music video.



Charise (Charmaine Charise Relucio Pempengco), the You Tube sensation from Gulod, Cabuyao, Laguna was born on May 10, 1993. She started singing at age 4, inspired and guided by her mom Raquel. She joined and won many singing contests. Little did she she know that her entry to ABS-CBN's Little Big Star would be her ticket to success.

Although she only placed third, her powerful rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" during the May 2006 finals captivated the audience. A long-time fan of hers, nursing student Dave Duenas under the pseudonym FalseVoice posted a video on YouTube which became an instant hit. The face-off video between Charise and America's Got Talent winner Bianca Ryan brought her to the attention of Ten Songs Production, a recording company based in Sweden. In June 2007, she went to Stockholm and recorded 7 songs (3 cover songs and 4 originals), which have not yet been released.

A broadcasting system in Seoul, South Korea was so impressed by her video that she was invited to perform at the talent show Star King on Oct. 13, 2007. Her rendition of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going was hailed as "the best performance on Star King". Her duet with Kyu Hyun, a member of the popular Super Junior especially endeared her with the audience. The performance was caught by E!'s The Daily Ten TV network and replayed with the headline "A Star is Born". The same performance was also featured on the Ellen Degeneres Show where she eventually performed on Dec. 19, 2007 followed by an encore appearance on Star King on Dec. 29, 2007.

More tv appearances followed, including one at the Paul O'Grady show in London on April 10, a special taping of the popular Filipino game show Wowowee in Hawaii and her "dream- come- true" guest performance at Oprah on May 12, 2008. She was also at the opening concert for MGM Grand at Foxwood.

This young diva has come a long way from Cabuyao, Laguna. And nothing can stop her now.

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride

References:
An Interview with False Voice
Rated K Interview (in Tagalog)

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride:Philippine Independence Day Celebration

Jaryd and Cara

The little dancing sensation:



Jaryd, 10 years old, a 4th grader at Our Lady of Peace in Woodbridge, is the son of Drs. Cayetano and Armie Falcon, both dentists from Princeton, NJ. He has been taking ballet lessons since he was 3 1/2 and continues to study lyrical, gymnastics, jazz and tap at the American Ballet Academy in Dayton, NJ. He is a member of the Vision Dance Team and is the youngest member of FR3SH Jrs., a hip hop dance company representing the tri-state area. He holds a 1st degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and is also an accomplished figure skater.

Cara, 8 years of age, a 2nd grader at St. Clare Catholic School in Clifton, NJ, is the daughter of Walden and Irene Campos of Nutley, NJ.

Jaryd and Cara met 15 months ago at a talent showcase in Elizabeth NJ organized by a group of mothers in the Filipino community. Since then, they have been dancing together under the tutelage of Spencer Nyemchek. In August, 2007, they competed at the USA Dance National Championship and placed first in the Amateur Pre-Teen II Silver Latin division. They also placed 2nd in the Gold Latin division. USA Dance is a nationwide non-profit organization which is the United States National Governing Body for DanceSport, the competitive version of ballroom dancing.

They have been featured at the Maury Show (Nov. 15, 2007) and have won Maury's Most Talented Kids contest. They also competed on the same show for The Best Kid Dance Award. Last December, 2007, they appeared on NBC's TODAY show.

Their biggest national exposure came when they were selected to compete at the Kid's competition segment of ABC's widely popular Dancing With the Stars. They were among 55 youths from across the country originally scouted by USA Dance for the competition. This was then narrowed down to 6 couples who appeared at the show. Jaryd and Cara captured the 10 year and under category after dancing the cha-cha. Their final dance, the samba, gained praises from the judges. "The perfect blend of entertainment and technique" Carrie Ann Inaba. "Fantastic!" said Len Goodman. "Completely adorable and totally entertaining" said Bruno Tonioli who had earlier called them "the cutest little gremlins".

They were at the Phil-US Expo '08 (May 17-18) held at the NJ National Guard Armory in Jersey City. During the gala night, they were presented an award for "Young Performing Artists".

They are scheduled to perform at the Philippine Independence Day celebration in New York on June 1.

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride

References:
Star Ledger: Small feet cha-cha their way to the stars
Good News Pilipinas
Filipino Express
2007 USA Dance National Championship results
Phil-US Expo '08: awards

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride:Philippine Independence Day Celebration

Vincent Bueno

A biography and more...

Vincent was born in Vienna on Dec. 10, 1985 of Filipino parents, Cora (nurse)and Tony Bueno.

Vincent has a Bachelor in Music and Theater Arts from the Vienna Conservatory of Music. His interest in music started early, no doubt influenced by his father who was a former vocalist and lead guitarist of a local 1970 band.

Vinz, as he is fondly called by his friends and family, started dancing when he was 4 years old. By the time he was 11, he could already play 4 instruments (piano, guitar, drums, bass guitar). Growing up in Austria in a close-knit family, he did not lose tracK of his Filipino roots and can speak Tagalog fluently. He was very supportive of the Filipino community in Vienna. He would sing gratis at gatherings and assist children's dance groups. In June, 2007, he sang at the Vienna concert of Sarah Geronimo, known as the Filipino "PopStar Princess" and considered the biggest singing superstar of this generation.

His first appearance at the Musical! Die Show was on Nov. 23, 2007 during the first round of elimination, where he impressed the crowd with his interpretation of Hair. He was the only Asian among the 10 finalists. His subsequent performances included Music of the Night (Phantom of the Opera) I Wanna Be Like You (from The Jungle Book), Superstar (Jesus Christ Superstar), Why God Why (Miss Saigon), Singing in the Rain and the German version of Supercalifragilisticexpialidosius (Mary Poppins).

During the finals, Vinz did Grease Lightning (Grease) and an encore performance of Music of the Night. He then sang a duet with the other finalist, Eva Klikovics, the Boote in der Nacht from Elisabeth. He was declared grand champion following a landslide victory, garnering 67% of televotes, winning the grand prize of 50,000 EUR.

Vincent Bueno is certainly headed for the big time. He has already released his first single Sex Appeal which comes in vintage mix, dance, swing and instrumental versions. On May 17, he is among those who will open the ceremony of Life Ball 2008, Europe's most spectacular annual charity event dedicated to fighting HIV and AIDS. Expected to attend are Sharon Stone and Kate Moss. On May 25, 2008, he and his band Convince will play for the Filipino community at Don Bosco. He calls the event MABUHAY TAYO (Long Live) . And more to come.

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride



References:

Wikipedia.org
Online Interview with Vincent Bueno
Filipino singer sweeps Europe off its feet
The official website of Vincent Bueno

Life Ball

Arnel Pineda

A biography and more...

Arnel Pineda was born on Sept. 5, 1967 in Sampaloc, Manila. He started singing when he was 5 years old, his parents encouraging him to enter amateur singing contents. His family came into hard times when his 35-year old mother died of a prolonged illness which plunged them into serious debt. His father took his 3 younger brothers to live with relatives while 12-year old Arnel had to quit school and live in the streets or in some relative's house. He would collect scrap metal, bottles and newspapers at the pier in Manila to earn money. But he never delved on self-pity and kept on believing that "things will get better".

At age 15, he became the lead singer of a Filipino band and subsequently had a fairly successful career. He and whatever band he was in at the time would perform at different clubs in different cities in the Philippines. In 1991, he moved to Hongkong where he worked until 2006, only temporarily interrupted by an illness where he almost lost his voice.

In the meantime, he did some recordings: an album with the band Amo -Ang Tunay na Amo (The Real Master) in 1990 ; a solo album entitled Arnel Pineda in 1991; Looking Glass, a song in the South Band's album The Way We Do and the theme song of a Filipino radio show named Dayo.

In 2006, encouraged by Filipino talent manager and TV director, Bert de Leon, Arnel moved back to the Philippines and formed Zoo, and signed on with de Leon's company, Sundance Entertainment Corporation. Zoo performed several nights a week at clubs in Manila and Olongapo during 2006 and 2007. Zoo’s first album “Zoology” was released by MCA Universal in September 2007 featuring 13 original tracks, five of which were written by Pineda, and another was co-written by Pineda and Mark Valliente.

Starting February, 2007, videos of Zoo performing began appearing on You Tube many of which were uploaded by Arnel's friend Noel Gomez. When Neal Schon was scouting for the lead singer for his band, he came upon Arnel's video and knew he found what he was looking for. But Arnel initially dismissed his email thinking it was a hoax. It was only through Noel's prodding that Arnel finally answered Neal and the rest is history. On Dec. 5, 2007, it was announced that Arnel Pineda is the new lead singer of the band Journey.

Arnel debuted as the lead singer of Journey on Feb. 21, 2008 at the Vina del Mar International Song Festival in Chile and has performed in Santiago, and in Las Vegas. He has been called "a winner", "phenomenal". "the future of the franchise". Journey has already recorded a new album Revelation which will be released on June 3, 2008. Promotional tours will follow, starting in Europe, US, then later Japan, Australia and the Philippines.

When he is not on tour, Arnel lives in Quezon City (Philippines) with his girlfriend Cherry and their 2 yr old son Cherub. He has two other sons, Matthew (19 yrs) and Angelo (13 yrs).

So now, things are much better for Arnel. Don't Stop Believing.



Go back to: Fil-Am Pride

Source:
Wikipedia.org

More You Tube Videos:
US embassy interview
Young Arnel singing Open Arms
Arnel Pineda singing Open Arms with Journey, Las Vegas 08
Arnel Pineda/Steve Perry - Faithfully

Charlie Green

A biography....

Charlie Green, a 10-year old Filipino-British from Droitwich, Worcestershire wowed the audience and the judges during the live audition of Britain's Got Talent. His rendition of Frank Sinatra's Summer Wind has landed him in the semi-finals.

Charlie was born on Feb. 16, 1997 of British Roger Green and Filipina Cecilia Sumargo originally from Dumanjug, Cebu. From the very young age of 2, he was already entertaining his friends and families. He entered a talent show on the cruise ship Ocean Majesty when he was only 3 years old. He has since performed in several cruise ships, concerts and variety shows. In 2002, he sang at the Royal Opera House in York and when he was 8, at a concert at St. James' Palace. He was also presented to her Royal Highness, Princess Anne.

He first opened the annual Black and White Minstrel Reunion in 2003 and was invited back in 2004 and 2007. No doubt it was his talent that earned him that honor rather than the mere fact that his father was once a part of that popular, later controversial variety show.

He has already recorded a Christmas song "Hands Around the World" to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign for a friend who has duchenne muscular dystrophy.

This young singer is no doubt headed to become a great singer, as is his goal.

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride

Sources:
abs-cbn news
Daily Mail

Madonna Decena

A biography..

Madonna Decena, a 32 year old Filipina singer who has recently gained recognition by becoming a semi-finalist at the show Britain's Got Talent.

She started singing at age 3, and started her musical training at age 7. Since she was 11, she has been in singing competitions and was already a professional singer at age 16

As a high school student, she worked at McDonald's and was doing musical theater in college (Musical Theater Phils, Trumpets, etc). She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Arts from Miriam College. But she never wanted to have an office job so she pursued her musical career.

She was part of several bands, and sang in hotels and bars in the Philippines. Her first singing stint abroad was in Singapore, at the Hard Rock Cafe and Club Momo.

In 2006, following the advise of her high school friend Renz Santos, she went to the UK. With her student visa, she was only allowed to work 20 hours a week. The menial jobs at Subway and Choco Fruit outlet could barely support her. She got a job with Steve Jones Entertainment and was able to get a work permit.

Not being British, her chance of becoming the Britain's Got Talent champion may not be great but her performance would certainly boost her career. And would certainly help this single mother's immediate goal of reuniting with her two girls Ysl, 7, and Yra, 6, who are currently staying with her parents in Quezon City. And who knows, she could still win.

Go back to: Fil-Am Pride

Sources:
abs-cbn news
Philippine Daily Inquirer