The message I get from my son Paul these days is that I'm out of it. I like the standards, such as Sinatra, Tom Jones, Michael Buble, etc. so my radio is always on 104.7 f.m., the great Las Vegas radio station that plays "oldies but goodies" music all day, every day, including Saturdays and Sundays.
The station boasts of being the number one radio station in all of the Las Vegas valley, which is home to many senior citizens and retirees. To my son Paul and his friends who often hitch a ride with us and who along with Paul spill popcorn and soda on my rear car seat and carpet, I've got the worst musical taste in the world.
Paul and his friends take turns switching the radio dial to 94.1 f.m., the r & b station in Las Vegas that is the favorite of kids from 8 to 28. My wife, who is way past 28 (shush), also loves 94.1 f.m. I got introduced to the artists Linkin Park, Green Day and Brand New this way. I also finally put a band's name on the song that Paul belted often when he was nine years old, "In the end, it doesn't really matter..." before he would launch into an unintelligible rap that has never made sense to me.
It was also the way I was introduced to songs by Kelly Clarkson and the new rap, hip-hop and r & b artists like Usher and Lady Gaga. Being of the generation that broke away from our parents when Elvis Presley burst on the world scene and changed the world's culture in the mid-50s, I have a lot of respect for my son's culture.
I still listen to 104.7 f.m. a lot because when I'm driving I want the soothing effects of American standards on my subconscious. But I've also started to like the music in 94.1 f.m.
My wife told me this week that Charice Pempengco's American debut album, "Charice" had reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, and that the album was available at Target stores. So I went to Target to get a copy.
I had a hard time finding the album in the alphabetically-arranged racks, so I asked the store clerk for help.
"You'll find it right at the very front section. It's in the very first rack as you enter the music and movies section," he said. "You can't miss it. We have lots of the album. We sold out the first batch and are working on the second batch."
So I went back to the CDs and DVDs section and sure enough, "Charice" was featured with all the hot artists. They must be selling a lot of these albums, I thought to myself, to be featured in the very first rack along with Celine Dion, Usher, Lady Gaga and other hot artists.
I had often wondered how Charice would do in the American market if she ever made an album. She was, after all, a balladeer and romantic singer - Whitney Houston's "I will always love you," the Dream Girls' "And I'm telling you I'm not going," Celine Dion's "Because I loved you" - which are throwbacks in today's fast-paced world. My skepticism was shattered by this album, appropriately titled "Charice."
The very first song, a duet with Feat Iyaz called "Pyramid," answered all my questions, allayed all my fears. Charice proved her versatility with that one song. She became Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Katherine McPhee rolled into one. As I listened, I couldn't help noticing the similarity between her songs and those of Clarkson's and Gaga's.
I Googled "Charice" and found out that David Foster, her mentor and her sponsor along with Oprah, also had wondered about how Charice would transition from a straight balladeer with the huge voice to an r & b star. Foster assembled a group of young songwriters who would turn out sounds and lyrics that remind one of Clarkson's and Gaga's. The result is the hit, "Charice," the debut album that is now starting to gain some traction.
The album, released in February, did not start out strong as America was fixated on Lady Gaga and the American Idol. Besides, no one knew - least of all me - that Charice was a legitimate r & b artist. America had come to know Charice as the tiny gurl with the big voice who could reach the highest of the high notes. She was a Broadway songstress, not an r & b artist.
While nobody was paying attention, word of mouth advertising started to catch fire and by last week, mainstream America seemed to have taken notice and now Charice has a hit that is just behind Usher's "Raymond V Raymond" in Billboard's 200 and ahead of Lady Gaga's "The Fame." Charice has not broken into Billboard's Hot 100 list, but if the current buzz in the Filipino-American community is any indication, the album will break into that iconic Hot 100 list by summer.
I am no music critic but I do appreciate music, especially dancing music because I've been a member of the Delgado Dance Club and have heard a lot of good dancing music. Charice's numbers are all dance-able, but they also pack a wallop because they are good listening music.
The album consists of 12 very good songs. Each song can make it on its own as a single. I've often bought albums that contain two or three very good songs, with the rest of the songs being forgettable music. That is not the case for "Charice."
I spent $14, including tax, on the album. At that price, the album was a give-away. All the songs are well-written, pleasant sounding and beautifully arranged. They all have the today sound, the sound that I hear on my car radio when my Paul and his friends are riding my car.
If I start to hear Charice's songs on 94.1, starting with her most popular number, "Pyramid," I will know that Charice Pempengco, who stole the world's heart as a 15-year-old pre-puberty girl with the big voice from Laguna province in the Philippines, has finally arrived now that she is a sultry 18-year-old.
She's not yet the female version of Manny Pacquiao, but she has the talent to get her to that level. And if she's willing to metamorphose into a seductive siren songstress, she may be primed to take over the American youth's consciousness like Madonna before her, then Britney Speers, then Gaga.
She will need some facial jewelry, a trademark make-up, lots and lots of tight-fitting jeans and stiletto shoes and a tattoo. If she is willing to go through this metamorphosis, she will travel far. For her sake and for the sake of the Filipino global nation that is hungry for international heroes, I wish she would abandon the traditional Filipino virgin look and become an international woman. Her photos on the "Charice" album are just the earth-shaking move to start her transformation.
