April 6th, 2009 | 
Author: Mamma Mia! Why did those standing ovations and bravos from the audience not surprise me a bit? Yes, the applause did not shock me, but coming from a grandiose Italian audience, I must say, I was wowed. Everything was perfect – the stage and Charice’s name on it, the orchestra, the audience, the performers!
So impressed were the Italians that immediately after seeing Charice’s performances, some of them readily shared their thoughts. Here are some of them.
San Remo Theatre, Italy
From E. Ba
“It was a fantastic performance by a 14-year old girl from the Philippines, Charice Pempengco at Ti Lascio Una Canzone at the San Remo Theater. She has an incredible voice that charmed not only the audience inside the theater, but also those who were watching at home.” In his blog, he called Charice as the new protagonist of the viral web. Okay, she mistook Charice for a 14-year old, but then, 14 or 16, it’s the same.
From Dani
“The real phenomenon” is how he describes Charice. “I came to know about Charice when she was already a star on YouTube and people were already talking a lot about her. I learned that she started at “Star King” (in Korea). Since then, there’s no stopping her. How could you stop a moving train?”
From sparlemus
“Yesterday I decided to stay home, and I’m thankful I did because I heard a melody and a voice hidden in a spectacular 16 year old girl named Charice Pempengco. This girl is from the Philippines, and had already sang a duet with Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. Responses to her performances were spectacular.”
We have seen her performance videos. We have seen and heard the audience’s appreciation and approval. The Italians have talked. One important person of the night, Claudio Cecchetto told Charice “You don’t have a gift from God, You ARE the gift from God”. Need I say more?
(The above are rough translations of what the bloggers said in Italian. I included each blogger’s site in case you want to check out what they actually wrote. Corrections are welcome and will be most appreciated. Thank you. – BING)
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Posted in blogs, commentaries | 
Tags: Charice, san remo italy, Ti Lascio Una Canzone, YouTube sensation
andrea bocelli is really a gifted man and he has the best sounding voice ever -
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Andrea Bocelli is truly a master. He has a super great voice that sounds heavenly.”*`
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I myself am not surprised anymore when I see the standing ovations. However, I imagine that if I was there myself, I would be cheering wildly, not that this is a usual practice of mine.
Looking at the different versions of the Celine Dion duet shot by different people in the audience, in different locations of the arena, you get an idea of how Charice amazes people:
- those who are not familiar with her do not know what to expect; this is furthered by her very shy/demure/sweet appearance (she even has a hair clip and a ribbon on her dress!) and softspoken voice while being interviewed before the song, and also admitting to be nervous
- once Celine starts the song, Charice turns on a switch, changes into that veteran performer, and effortlessly matches Celine’s vocal prowess. The crowd immediately reacts, shocked at how that mature, mellow voice can come out of that sweet-looking girl; you can hear the “wows”, “whews” and wolf-whistles from the audience, but they ain’t seen nuthin’ yet …
- then they are amazed at her composure and how she can hold her own as the song builds momentum, and they applaud again … but they ain’t seen nuthin’ yet …
- then she lets out this Mariah Carey-like high note without any effort at all (no extended body movements, no “Charise-patented-padyak”), and she just slays them right there – the audience absolutely erupts at this point. You can no longer hear the individual comments from the crowd – just primal screams …
- then Celine says “go girl!” and Charice goes on this soul-stirring, prolonged “whoa-whoa” portion of the song, singing her heart out in a semi-oblation posture, that sends the audience into a rolling thunderous applause. Imagine yourself in the audience, and it gives you goosebumps and/or tears. In the background you see grown men standing up and clapping their hands above their heads.
I think this last reaction of the crowd encapsulates why we are so captivated by this girl – we see a living example of a young soul, singing her heart out and giving her all in the quest of her dreams (I get goosebumps even as I write this …). And in that portion of the video, if you close your eyes while she goes through that portion of the song, you forget how well she sang it – very sublime indeed. It is here that you realize that it is not just her incredible talent, but also her heart and fighting spirit, that makes her so special. And if you put this in the context of her struggles and trauma in early life, and her quest to do something about it, then you won’t know what hit you – you are now a certified Charice addict …
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