Happy Halloween! Well, that was last night. But still we’re on a subject that’s apt for the All Saints and All Souls season – fear.

Today we debunk one of the unspoken fears swirling around TV land and the Internet space – has ABS-CBN found its own star that can eventually – gasp – dethrone the pop star princess?

It all started when news about Sarah Geronimo’s possible transfer to growing media giant TV5 began circulating. “Oh no!” said the Popsters – her legion of loyal fans. “Viva, don’t let her suffer the same fate as Rachel Anne!” they lamented. “Oh, yes!” said the others. With a new home and lesser competition, they think a TV5 transfer is necessary to make Sarah’s career skyrocket again after seemingly reaching its peak as a multimedia, cash-raking hot property.

And then an Angeline Quinto appeared. Angeline, if you followed Sarah G.’s history, is just someone Sarah effortlessly beat in one of their earlier matches in the early 2000s. But then she won the Megastar-hosted Kapamilya talent search called Star Power, and some Sarah fans’ knees began to shake.

What is happening? It looks like ABS-CBN is out to prove to the Viva bosses that they are not anyone’s to mess with by pulling out and/or attempting to pull out their talents. It looks like ABS-CBN is trying to say that, being the international multimedia juggernaut that it is, it can very well manufacture its own Sarah Geronimo any given day.

From then on, Angeline began getting gigs and projects that were usually auto-routed to Sarah. From her own MMK episode, to prime spots on ASAP – this new girl sure has ABS-CBN’s full backing and support (which the likes of Frenchie Dy, Raki Vega and Jerome Sala never got. Remember them? Exactly.) Suddenly, this new girl is the voice of teleserye theme songs, station IDs and what have yous (is the network punishing Sarah for the big 1Dol flop?)

But Popsters, calm down. Angeline without a doubt is a talented singer. She is lovely and the camera loves her. Her birit range can sing any throat busting song that majority of the Filipinos here and TFC lands all over the world love to hear. But here are reasons why Angeline Quinto, Star Power winner, is no threat to your beloved princess.

1. Sarah is the greater popstar, in the truest sense of the word – More than just a biritera, Sarah Geronimo is a pop performer. Give her any song and she can sing it like it’s her own (see: Sarah Geronimo Super Bass Live). Her musical appeal transcends generations. She can perform Top 40 hits to please the Taylor Swift/Selena Gomez/kPop dance-y crowd one moment and then go sing a duet of a sappy kundiman ballad with Martin Nievera the next to please to the more mature, let-s-sit-down-and-watch audience.
2. She’s neither too class or too bakya – Whether you’re up there on top of the social status pyramid, or you’re just one of us below, it is ok to like Sarah Geronimo. It is not embarrassing to admit liking her. She’s just a sweet, charming young lady who can put on a show for the altas. But then, she’s also just a regular girl who looks like someone you would meet in an MRT train, but when she gets on stage, she’s a star.
3. She’s a success story people knew from the beginning – This is important for talent search contestants to succeed – people must root for you. More importantly, they must root for you not just during the competition, but moreso, after the voting and the announcement of winners. Sarah G. won as a child whom everybody wanted to succeed. People saw her grow as a good little girl, and it’s like the whole country raised her to be like that. She was ever polite, always saying her pos and opos, and she was never perceived as a kontrabida.
4. She successfully transformed – but then being the perennial good little girl has its bad side. A transition is important, and this is a make or break phase in every young artist’s career. Good thing Sarah took notice and stopped herself from being the child stars who never grew older. Donning sexy outfits, and taking on suggestive pop songs, Sarah is now being more courageous in her wardrobe and song choices. Good for her. If there’s something good that Sarah got out of her much publicized bizarre love affair, this could be it – her transition to maturity.
5. She’s the first. Everything anybody is doing now, she’s already done it. Enough said.

A word of caution though. These do not make Sarah Geronimo eternally popular. A couple of wrong moves and she can very well be declared laos. What’s strange with Sarah’s career now is that she’s got a great public image and an excellent performer persona (she shines most when performing live) – but this contemporary, young popstar personality does not translate into her records. In her CDs, she tends to become just one OPM songstress singing safe songs about falling in love and heartbreak.

We’re still waiting for that one great Sarah G. record, one that can showcase the level of her talents and one that give justice to her being a multi-faceted music superstar of this generation.

After a long wait, Charice finally releases her second international album, Infinity. First announced to be released in the US in 2012, it came as a surprise when Infinity started occupying the New Releases racks of local record bars, without any
announcement or promotional activity.

Nevertheless, Infinity has all the look, sound and feel of an international record, because, although we hate to admit it, most local albums simply lack the certain gloss, finesse and craftsmanship of the global CDs (just compare Charice’s Warner Music International albums with her Star Records releases).

Charice looks and sounds all grown-up and sophisticated in Infinity. While we had troubles whether to accept her as a child singer or a mature performer in her first self-titled international release, Infinity showcases Charice’s successful transition to being the pop R&B lady with the powerhouse vocals.

The album speaks loudly of Charice carving her niche in the international pop music industry as it features her collaborations with such distinguishable writers and producers like Bruno Mars, Kara DioGuardi, Jason Derulo, Nick Jonas and Natasha Bedingfield. And this contemporary musicians have indeed contributed in building Charice’s confidence in her own sound.

Infinity shows Charice can do so much more than ape power Divas like Whitney and Mariah. Tracks such as the highly infectious Louder, the girl power anthem Bounce Back and the Derulo-DioGuardi penned Lesson For Life give hints of Charice having the versatility to penetrate the dance/club music market as well (she achieved this earlier with her Pyramid remix which once topped the Billboard dance chart).

Proving upbeat and heavily produced music is not just for mediocre singers who try to mask their vocals’ weaknesses, Charice explodes with her best instrument – her voice – in tracks like Lost The Best Thing and the Bruno Mars creation Before It Explodes. Heartbreak Survivor and Never Always meanwhile has the cool and easy feel, which is refreshing for Charice whose known to belt any note without effort. New World offers a rich blending of Charice universal appeal with the signature sound of a J-Pop ballad. And possibly the finest track of all, the final song Lighthouse written by Bedingfield, effectively brings out the maturity and power of Charice’s voice which can rival the sheer effortless and unique grit and emotions we hear in the likes of Christina Aguilera and Beyonce.

Infinity sure does offer only tracks carefully chosen to effectively find and present the sound of Charice’ music. The album combines all of musical influences and packaged her into the Asian pop star which, given all the chances, opportunity and backing, can rise to become the true Asian global breakout pop star.

But until she gets all the right support and effective promotion and marketing that her talents deserve, her albums will remain to be just to be well-done projects that deserve and could have been appreciated by more people who appreciate the importance of pure musical talent in mainstream music.

Album: Infinity (2011, Reprise Records) | Artist: Charice

Track List

1. Louder (Daniel James/Leah Haywood/Shelly Perken)
2. Lost The Best Thing (Carsten Schack/Sean Hurley/Cathy Dennis/Soli Ridge)
3. Bounce Back (Johannes R. Joergensen/Daniel Klein/Lars Halvor Jensen/Kasia Livingston)
4. Before It Explodes (Bruno Mars/Ari Levine/Philip Lawrence)
5. Heartbreak Survivor (Rico Love/Wayne Wilkins/Joanna “JoJo” Levesque)
6. New World (Koichi Tabo/jam)
7. Lesson For Life (Jason Derulo/Kara Dioguardi/The Ghostwriters)
8. Never Always (Frankie Storm/Warren Felder)
9. One Day (Nick Jonas/Dan Muckala/Jason Ingram)
10. Lighthouse (Natasha Bedingfield/Mike Elizondo/Danielle Brisebois)

YES!, the monthly glossy that calls itself “The Number One Entertainment Magazine” has changed the landscape of showbiz journalism in the country. Beyond “tsismis” and blind items, it has elevated entertainment reportage into something serious and respectable. Its deep analysis on issues and its habit of presenting not just both, but ALL sides, made YES! the go-to literature for the showbiz-crazed Pinoys.

Another thing that YES did is that it started the trend of showbiz magazines cutting across all socio-economic classes. No longer is an entertainment magazine just something you pick up at the parlor while waiting for your turn or a palengke staple that will eventually become tinapa wrappers. You will see YES! today even in high-end Makati offices and even in cars of executives.

For it’s October 2011 issue, YES! worked with returning superstar Nora Aunor on the cover and the result is nothing less than amazing.

Shot by photographer Mark Nicdao, Nora Aunor goes classic and enigmatic in her cover photograph for the magazine. This cover will turn out to be one of her iconic covers of all time, and one of the publication’s finest moments.

Hello everyone. Popfanzine is back! For good, hopefully. Anyway, what better way to mark this blog’s return but to celebrate one of the best “comeback” albums in recent months. We’re talking about Kyla’s Private Affair.

Private Affair is Kyla’s super fine album that succeeded two consecutive massive disappointments Heartfelt and Heart to Heart. These two albums named after our favorite internal organ not only blurred what kind of artist Kyla really is, but more notably, featured cover songs that are identical with the original versions, just recorded over with Kyla’s vocals.

We cannot blame Kyla for going this route though. Remember, these came at the time when people would only buy acoustic remakes of almost every song, and the measure of album success was set by Nina’s live acoustic set ‘Nina Live’ which sold gazillions earning her the title Diamond Soul Siren, no matter how silly that sounds.

Anyway, back to Private Affair, we feel that this kind of music is what Kyla really likes and where she really shines. Even before the monster explosion of Hanggang Ngayon which catapulted her to multimedia fame, she was open about having the likes of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald as musical influences. This distinct musical taste, knowledge and identity of hers is obvious especially in tracks featuring a jazzy, throwback feel like in the lead single Mahal Kita (Di Mo Pansin) and the equally cool Dagli Na Lang.

Kyla’s musical maturity is proven by her jazz influenced tracks but she also shows versatility, spunk and ability to take risks in ‘real’ R&B songs in the album like It’s All About Us and Don’t Tie Me Down, proving her moniker “R&B Princess” wasn’t just pulled out of thin air. More importantly, her tender, soothing style that introduced her to us during the time of her first album “Way to your Heart” is back through tracks like Private Affair and the mesmerizing cover of How Deep Is Your Love (This is how you cover songs, Kyla. Not just buying minus ones and singing over them, ok?)

Kyla is neither a biritera nor a pop rock/acoustic artist and she’s established that really well in her earlier albums (only to be derailed by the Heart duo). But now, Kyla is back, doing what she does best. Nevermind that the album packaging is a little corny and bland compared to her recent works (Really? Photos where she didn’t even seem to move?). Private Affair is one little spark in the local music scene that’s still dominated by karaoke singers pretending to be recording artists.

Album of the Year nominees

The Awit Awards, organized annually by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry,  is the closest thing we have to the well-respected Grammy Awards of the U.S. Logically, it IS our Grammys since it is THE country’s music industry award-giving body.

We expect the Awit Awards to be rewarding creativity, innovativeness, artistry but without disregarding business-savvy. But this year, the list of nominees for the Album of the Year, the awards’ highest honor, is a little disappointing.

All of the nominees are primarily cover albums. These “revival” records are competing for the top Awit Awards creativity prize. Although the surge in the demand for covers is very evident and noticeable, it is a little sad that some excellently-crafted all original music records for this year have been completely disregarded.

We can only hope that the Awit Awards consider this the next time they build their nominees list. By championing original musical artistry, they are helping nobody but themselves.

And of course, we also wish music consumers would start supporting artists who come up with original songs, and work hard on the concept of their albums. We have had enough of music artists who simply record an entire “song hits” and call it their “new album.”

PPS finalist Elise Estrada is making a name for herself in Canada.

Elise Estrada is an overachiever. At 23, she has already won several beauty pageants, singing competitions and professional music awards in her country of residence, Canada.

This year, she is set to release her second album under a Canadian music label. Her first album spawned several singles backed by music videos with that professional gloss. Having been nominated at the Juno awards, Canada’s Grammy equivalent, Elise Estrada is a star.

But before she was Canada’s pop star, she was a Pinoy Pop Superstar.

Elise (in green top) in PPS finalists' recording)

Elise competed in Pinoy Pop Superstar (PPS)’ second season, where, of course, she lost. This was during the second year PPS brought in imports from Canada and the US, which was a pointless thing since the poor kids from the west were just thrown into the PPS arena with zero prior screentime and zero fan base. Elise (just like the other US and Canadian Filipinos whom we cannot even remember today) simply had no shot at winning then.

But today, we are happy that Elise is doing what she’s good at and her outputs are spectacular. Check out these samples from her discography:

Elise Estrada on Entertainment Tonight:

And here’s a VIVA logo at the bottom right:

Is this the new logo of the VIVA Entertainment group? What can you say about it?

Previously used logos:

We continue our countdown of the most memorable, if not, the best Pinoy TV themes.

5. Di Na Nag-iisa (Darna) – For GMA’s first TV adaptation of Mars Ravelo’s Darna, they needed a theme that will, like the superheroine, soar high. Regine Velasquez lends her voice to this very haunting lyrical and musical masterpiece made for the TV series that helped the network ascend to the top. And the result was magnificent. The song itself gave Darna, the character, a richer story and a personality with more heart.

Best lines: Habang pasan ko ang daigdig, pag-ibig mo’y mananaig, at balang araw tayong dalawa’y magsasama.

4. Starstruck Theme (Starstruck) – During the worldwide reality show boom of the early 2000′s, Starstruck was one of the first to launch a search for multimedia talents in the country. And along with a spectacular first season was this little known theme that’s full of competitive energy, heart-pumping emotions and, like most of its contestants, star quality.

Best lines: Dream! Believe! Survive!

3. Ikaw Nga (Mulawin) – Like Di Na Nag-iisa, this telefantasya theme song was written by Jay Durias. His band South Border interpreted this song in a way that can make you feel like this song is about flying creatures, even if you have no idea what the TV show is about. Yes, the song was that powerful. South Border’s excellent interpretation even made the song one of the few outstanding OPM songs of the new decade.

Best lines: Nais kong ipagtapat sa’yo. Sana’y dinggin mo ang lihim ng pousong ito, kahit na tayo’y magkaibang mundo.

2. Reach Out & Talk To Me (Today with Kris Aquino) – This theme is of international caliber. You can imagine it being a theme song for international talks hows. It is so tailor-fit with the show and the host, and Zsa-Zsa Padilla’s vocals just gives it so much life and energy, and not to mention, class.

Best lines: You can’t hide it, cause we’ll find it. Just reach out and talk to me.

1. Batibot Theme (Batibot) – It’s like Pavlov’s experiment. We hear the first few notes of this song, and whole world stops and we run to the TV. This song has been part of the lives of the kids who have been educated by the television before there was internet. It is a perfect song to perk-up every Pinoy kid’s morning. It is the song perfect for the TV show that raised generations.

Best lines: All the lines from start to finish! We know you know the song!

Other Outsatanding TV Themes worth Mentioning: Superhero by Rocksteddy (Super Inggo), Makita Kang Muli by Sugarfree (Panday), Langit Na Bituin by Carol Banawa (Bituin), Mapagkunwari by Faith Cuneta (Impostora), Valiente by Vic Sotto (Valiente) Cristy Per Minute by Gio Alvarez (Cristy Per Minute), Ober Da Bakod by Andrew E (Ober Da Bakod), Oki Doki Doc by the Cast (Oki Doki Doc), Home Along the Riles by the Cast (Home Along Da Riles), Wansapanataym by Michelle Ayalde (Wansapanataym), Mara Clara (Mara Clara)

Jovit Baldivino during his audition.

Pilipinas Got Talent is not a singing competition like Pinoy Dream Academy or Pinoy Idol. It is a type of “anything and everything goes” talent show where your chances of winning or even being noticed is based on your talent’s uniqueness, novelty, difficulty and sometimes, shock value. So why did have a simple vocalist as the first winner of our country’s version of the Got Talent franchise? Here are some points that could explain why Jovit Baldivino, dimsum vendor from Batangas, beat an entire circus cast to be the first PGT grand winner.

1. The Image-Voice mismatch – This has been a tried and tested recipe for success in audition shows, especially in singing competitions. Remember Clay Aiken from American Idol? Remember Bugoy from PDA? And to give you an example closer to our subject matter, remember Paul Potts and Susan Boyle? They are the ones who possess faces you wouldn’t even think of having such angelic voices. Talking to them is one thing, hearing their singing voice is mind-blowing. The moment Jovit opened his mouth to sing in the auditions, he shattered all our first impressions of him, that just because he looks tiny and frail, his voice would be weak and wobbly too. When we looked at him, our judgmental selves expected him to fail, and when he proved us wrong, he captured our interest, and got us talking about him for days. And that led to…
2. The post-audition hype – The audition shock he brought caused shockwaves of “Have you seen/heard this guy” talks among those who have seen him and piqued the interest of those who didn’t. Suddenly, he’s getting millions of hits online via this wonderful star-maker (not Kuya Germs) called YouTube. Suddenly, he’s being passed from one facebook wall to another, converting more unbelievers to instant fans –  and Jovit is lucky for his internet savvy fans capable of launching a massive, unintentional, viral campaign. Anyone who has an active social networking account has at least encountered this Jovit guy on his news feed even if he had no idea what Pilipinas Got Talent was. And these fans grew in number and gave him…
3. A legion of supporters – These supporters are those who went beyond clicking LIKE on his video posts. They are the ones who campaigned for the guy, made efforts to create campaign materials like VOTE JOVIT jpegs and tarpaulin banners. Did you watch the grand finals? They are the ones who drowned Araneta with their echoing cheers, and they’re everywhere – from behind Madam Charo’s seats up to the super super upper upper general admission cold stone bleachers. They are the ones who voted till Jovit got the overwhelming text votes lead. How did Jovit manage to get the support from all these people? Well it helped that he had…
4. Backstory, backstory, backstory – Any local reality show aspirant must know this by now. You have a fairly normal life? You don’t have family problems? You don’t have heartbreaks and disappointments? Well get the hell out of the audition line because you are gonna get voted off anyway in favor of the one with a more MMK-worthy story? Are you rich? Well stop wasting your time and don’t expect to win, unless of course, you’re a politician’s daughter and you’re joining something called Pinoy Idol. Jovit’s rich backstory made him a kind of underdog that people wanted to win. And it helped that he also had a lot of, Yes Ms. Kris Aquino…
5. Charisma – He’s likeable because he is this little humble kid with talent. When he’s not singing, he’s meek, quiet, kind of shy and unassuming, but when he performs, it’s like he has this other self who is sure of himself, confident and full of rockstar attitude. And also, like it or not, charisma can make anyone look faultless to his or her supporters (That is why even though his succeeding performances lacked the spark of his initial audition, he was still seen as great). But of couse, all these things from number 1 to 5 will be worthless if he doesn’t have…
6. Exceptional Talent – It’s raw but it’s there. He knows what songs suit him, he knows how to sing them to his advantage. He is better than most singers, and in competitions like the Got Talent series, if you’re competing as a singer, you must be sure you’re a great one. Otherwise, if you’re just mediocre, you will be forgettable, you’ll be easily overpowered by the other talents, and you’re better off winning contests like, I don’t know, Pinoy Idol?

Anyway, we commend ABS-CBN for a wonderful adaptation of the format. There were a few kinks, and we’ve had minor issues like with how it looked on TV (all the lights and movements could cause seizures!) and how Kris and AiAi’s energy is too much for the respectable Mr. FMG. But over-all they did a great job, especially in searching the whole Philippines for the best of the best.

How about you? Are you happy with how they handled this show? Are you happy with the results? Let’s talk about it in the comments section! Discuss!

P.S. I like how intelligent and well thought of the comments in this blog are, so far. You’re proof that this is more than just a tsismis blog. You guys are the best. Thank you  :)

Album artwork of Charice' US-produced album

Do you know who Gian Barbarona is? Probably not, but that’s forgivable. Gian was just some boy who lost to Sam Concepcion in the 2005 ABS-CBN talent show, Little Big Star. Gian was 2nd place, beating that little girl who settled for 3rd. That little girl was Charice Pempengco, now simply know as Charice.

Now this girl Charice – you probably know her by now. You’ve heard her story. You knew about her appearance in a Korean show, wowing, among others, Korean supergroup Super Junior. You’ve heard about her YouTube videos that led her to different platforms from Ellen’s Warner Brothers studios set to Celine Dion’s Madison Square Garden stage. Recently, she became the first Filipino (some even say, first Asian) to debut at the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

She got lucky and she knows it. In one interview, she acknowledges that there are a hundred other girls in the Philippines who can sing exactly like her. She looks short and she’s not stick thin, breaking the mold of the American tween pop sweetheart. She’s  has superpowers others do not have, superpowers known as Oprah and David Foster. She has the machinery of a mainstream record label and publicists with the media savvy to make outlets like Perezhilton, Just Jared and Disney Radio like her.

But most importantly, she has the backing of the worldwide Filipino community. She recently stunned Toronto when she filled a mall with black heads during her album promo tour. Suddenly, she has a fan base far greater and stronger, even than that of Sam Concepcion’s and Gian Barbarona’s voters combined.

Filipinos rallied behind her because, like it or not, she is the Pinoy’s latest chance at finally cracking the international mainstream music scene, and we can feel that she actually has a shot. We have tried before with the likes of Banig, Lea Salonga, Jocelyn Enriquez and Jasmine Trias, only to achieve modest chart successes. (Don’t say Black Eyed Peas and Pussycat Dolls cause that’s different).

But amidst this Filipino admiration comes the bitter poison that comes with every stroke of luck one gets. Charice, dubbed by Oprah as one of the world’s most talented kids, is also the one of the internet world’s most hated. And most of these hatred come from Pinoys too.

Check out her videos on YouTube and even posts about her on blogs. For every positive post she gets, mostly from people who haven’t even heard of her before, there pops a Pinoy somewhere saying things like “Well, we really hate her here in the Philippines,” or “There are more singers here in the Philippines who are better and more attractive than her.”  There are some more Pinoys who are filled with inexplicable rage just because they can’t stand the singer’s singing voice or the way she speaks English.

Fact is, while some people think it makes them feel better to say Charice does not deserve her magnificent stroke of luck, she doesn’t deserve that kind of hate either. If she got noticed by the international audience, that is because she has talent to begin with. Go give her a chance. Buy her album and listen to it. Do you know, that even though she’s been trained all her life to sing big old-woman wailer songs, her voice and perfromance transcends well to contemporary pop music? Do you know she can rap? Do you know that given the right material, she can actually sound fresh, young and original? Do you know that given the limits of the materials (having been positioned to capture the tween pop Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift market), she can actaully make her vocals stand out nonetheless?

Full disclosure: I, the writer, do not like Charice very much as well because the first records she made wasn’t really my kind of music and she is in that awkward phase where she doesn’t know whether to act like a kid or a grown-up so her actions come off as annoying (especially when she’s hosting ASAP, oh God). But I do not go flooding internet threads about her of my hatred and disdain. I may not be her biggest fan, but I want her to succeed. She works hard, she has talent, she’s got her chance, let’s all give her a break.

Charice, the talent show loser, may not be the best artist we can offer the world, but right now, she is our best chance. And there are only two things you can do for her: support her, or leave her alone.

(Note: By “support her”, I do not mean reminding the world every minute that Charice is a Filipino and typing “Mabuhay ang Pinoy!” or “Proud to be Pinoy” every minute you get. I tell you, that’s annoying and that doesn’t help her at all. Trust me.)