“IMPECCABLE “!

In less than 12 hours, she had one million viewers in YouTube after she belted a stirring and beautiful rendition of the late Whitney Houston’s iconic “I will always Love you“. Queen of R&B and Soul Mary Blige described Jessica Sanchez’s take on Houston’s movie the Bodyguard theme song as “ Impeccable “ or perfect as she mentored the young singer’s number in the popular American Idol’s finalists competition.
Sanchez is the Filipino-American newest singing wonder to hit the North American music scene and is touted to be the next American Idol winner.
Hours after his March 7 performance, raves and great reviews came pouring from all over the US, Canada, Philippines and everywhere else including those coming from Hollywood celebrities. Social media came a buzzing with the hot news about her extraordinary talent.
It was perhaps one of the most exceptional and outstanding version of Whitney Houston’s signature song leading Randy Jackson, one of the Idol’s judges to declare Jessica’s performance as coming from someone who is “one of the best talents in the whole country “.
“Let me tell you something man.This is one of the hardest songs in the world to sing” he said.
The Union Tribune of San Diego, where Jessica and her family live (in Chula Vista) said in its story that “ Jessica did not belt the song into submission, as too many singers tend to do when tackling “I will always love you”.
Jessica’s performance was described as “tasteful and delivered with a sense of poise that belied her age.”
“She was able to connect with the emotion of the song, without going over the top and that isplay of good taste may have helped win over the judges. “the newspaper commented. If eventually she bags the Idol title, Jessica will join the growing list of international talents of Filipino descent.
The 16 year old, who as been singing since age 11 in community events in San Diego, California and initially joined America’s got Talent, will not only be the competition’s newest American champion but as a Filipino-Mexican Idol as well since her father .Gilbert is a Mexican American originally from Texas while her mom is a Filipina who hails from Bataan .
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MORE TALENTS: There is indeed a wealth of young Pinoys making names for themselves .The list is endless. Here in Canada, we have Calgary-based Maria Aragon who sang the Canadian national anthem before Prince William and wife Kate Middleton.
She rose to fame via YouTube with her Lady Gaga’s “Born this way “ ditty and earned the honor of meeting her idol personally, plus doing a duet with her.
She is now a contract artist with ABS-CBN, the Philippines largest TV and entertainment network.
Only last March 9 in Mississauga, the resurrected M studio now known as “the Metropolis “ under Jo Ocampo held its grand opening and guess what ? We discovered two outstanding Filipino-Canadian performers who could possibly go the way of Sanchez and Aragon, given the proper breaks and exposure.
The Crownless Kings, as they call themselves are not ordinary band . Composed of Justin Donnel Lima, a Filipino-African,
Earth Geraneo and Kenzi Amores made their debut only after only a week’s practice together but regaled the crowd with their medley of reggae, OPMs and Manila sounds and rap music, a music mix that few can successfully perform .
Then there is power singer Victoria Marie, who has a full-bodied voice that composes her own ditties. Victoria Marie has guested in GMA-7’s “Barkada“ a Filipino-Canadian produced reality show that made its maiden telecast some weeks back.
These young people are indeed giving the Philippines immeasurable honor …..
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CRABBING: On the other hand, some self-proclaimed Filipino community leaders are doing the opposite. A group calling itself US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG)led by lawyer Rodil Rodis and Loida Nicolas Lewis have launched an online petition to ask the International Criminal Court Court (ICC) based in the Hague, Netherlands to rescind or take back the appointment of senator Miriam Defensor Santiago as an International Judge of the ICC for a term of nine years.
Why are these people depriving the Philippines of a rare honor of being part of a prestigious international organization which brings to justice world’s dictators, criminals and tyrants in the likes of Hitler?
The petition is not only a disservice to Santiago but tantamount to to treason because it undermines the Philippines’s reputation.
Imagine this group of Filipino Americans vilifying their own country of origin. Just because the lady senator has a reputation for being acid tongued and speaking her mind in public does not mean She’s not qualified for the position,. In fact, Santiago is a former law professor, an expert in international law and therefore is highly qualified and competent for the job. What more, she becomes the first ever Filipino and First Asian to gain a seat in that international body. Because of this, she helps improve the image of the Philippines.
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CELEBRATIONS AND REMEMBRANCES: Our felicitations to March celebrants Libretto Editor Butch Galicia (March 12),
Front Page Philippines host Gie Alvarez(March 17) and my bro, Ed Soriano, TV animator, (March 17).
We sympathize and offer prayers with the Japanese people on the first anniversary of the tragic and massive earthquake in Northern Japan March 11,2011 where some 20,000 perished in the
tsunami triggered by the 7.9 magnitude tremor, one of the world’s worst disaster . May it never happen again.