The Filipino Take-over!

So, I was watching TFC (The Filipino Channel) on Sunday with my mom & aunt. There's this one variety show called ASAP`09. At the end of the show, there were a few singers that have made their mark in 2009. After Miss Lea Salonga sang (she's one of my favorite singers), she introduced CNN's Hero of the Year 2009: Efren Peñaflorida. I didn't know exactly what he did to be a hero, so I googled it: Click here for his article. I was truly amazed at what he does & he truly deserves such an outstanding award. All I have to say is: WATCH OUT WORLD!! FILIPINOS ARE TAKING OVER!!!

This whole year, Filipinos are making their mark!! Arnel Pineda made his mark by becoming San Francisco's Journey's lead singer, one of the greatest band's. He was discovered by one of the band members of Journey from YouTube. Pineda did a few covers of Journey's songs with his own band. If you haven't heard Journey's new album, Revolution, you probably can't tell that it's Pineda singing & not the original lead singer, Gregg Rolie.
Charice Pempengco got discovered two years ago by Ellen Degeneres from watching her YouTube videos. She then got discovered by Oprah earlier this year. Since then, her fame rose! While this happened, she still manages to be humble about everything. I think that's why I'm such a fan of hers. A young girl (only 17) with a powerful voice since she was younger, she's bound to make it in one of the toughest industries in the world. Because Oprah has a larger fan base than Ellen does, her fame grew even more. She was lucky enough to sing with one of my idols, Andrea Bocelli. She also sang with Celine Dion, which is her idol. She's living the life that most young girls have been dreaming about since they were younger. All I have to say to Cherice is: Keep doing what you're doing by not letting your fame get to you. I'd hate to see such great talent & image go down the drain like the Disney girls'.
I've always been a Black Eyed Peas fan since as long as I can remember (before Fergie was in the picture). Since 2003 when the track "The Apl Song" came out, Apl-de-ap has been around the Filipino radar. Black Eyed Peas' fan base grew even more since then, as well. In 2005, BEP came out with "Bebot", which is an all Tagalog track. Apl-de-ap has been doing big things: he started The Apl Foundation, which gives back to communities & children in the Philippines & other Asian countries, and also started Jeepney Music, Inc. (his own music company). In BEP's latest album, The E.N.D, he has another track called, "Mare".
Since I was younger, my family has been watching boxing matches. Since 2003, Manny Pacquiao has been a common name in most Filipino households. He's made history recently by being the first fighter in boxing history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. Now what does that tell you? A short little Filipino guy can kick some ass! I wasn't really a fan of his until I started to follow up on who this "Pac-Man" was.

I can really say that I'm really & truly proud to be a Filipino!