S Magazine: Blog StarShowbiz Stars and Scoops

by Charice Pempengco

Charice describes her mother Raquel as a superwoman for raising her and her brother Carl (left) by herself

It’s exciting to be in the world of entertainment because I love singing. Even though some people think that I have already become a star, I am and will always be a fan and admirer of inspiring and truly talented singers and entertainers here in the Philippines and abroad.

We Filipinos are natural singers and musicians. I believe the Philippines is really a land of good musicians. Ordinary people here love to sing, especially on the videoke. Another country I’ve been to which I admire for good music is Italy. I can’t forget when I guested on the TV show of Oprah Winfrey, she remarked to me: “Little girl with the big voice.” But if you go to Italy, that’s one place where you can finds lots of small people with big voices.

Of all the singers in the whole world, my No. 1 idol is Celine Dion mainly because of her attitude and for what she has achieved. Despite being an international superstar, she was very motherly towards me; she treated me like a daughter. She even gave me her cell phone number. (The Canadian singer invited Charice to sing Celine’s international hit, Because You Loved Me, with her during her concert at the Madison Square Garden last year. Ed.)

The other international singing sensation whom I sincerely adore is Whitney Houston, not only because of her tremendous talent, but also because I sang her popular song, I Will Always Love You, in amateur contests—and won many times.

Among our Philippine singing stars, I admire Sarah Geronimo whom I call “Ate Sarah.” She is such a good person. Whenever we would meet, she’s the one who would go out of her way to greet me, so I’m very honored. Whenever Ate Sarah sings, you can really feel the emotions of her song. I love listening to her extraordinary singing voice. She is just so talented. I am grateful for and will never forget Ate Sarah’s advice to me: Huwag daw lumaki ang ulo ko, to always be humble.

The other local singing diva whom I admire a lot is Regine Velasquez. She’s already a legend and everybody idolizes her including my mother Raquel “Kaye” Relucio Pempengco. My mommy has bought almost all of Ate Regine’s CDs and tapes and watched her videos. She’s a sweet person. Not many people know that she’s actually a shy person. Her voice is so powerful—sweet but powerful. Before our trip to Los Angeles last February, Ate Regine invited me to dinner at her home and cooked carbonara for us. She’s an amazingly good cook, too!

Ate Regine’s advice is for me to stay on in the United States, because she said that’s where the big opportunities are for singing. However, at the moment, I have no plans to migrate to the US. I just travel back and forth because I’m not yet sure what the future of my career will be there, and I really love being here in the Philippines.

Read more of Charice Pempengco’s blog entry in the May 2009 issue of S Magazine.