breakthroughs: charice pempengco, arnel pineda, vincent bueno

First, there was Charice Pempengco. A mere runner-up in a local talent search more than a year ago, she was “rediscovered” through a YouTube video posted by a loyal fan. And when the Ellen DeGeneres invited Charice to America and guest in her successful talk show, Filipinos all over the world were beaming with pride. Little did we know that it was just one of many headlines that would hail Filipino talent.

Just last week, news reached our shores that another relatively unknown Pinoy singer is making waves abroad. After winning a talent search in Austria, Vincent Bueno is on the verge of breaking international ground. I saw his video featured in the news right after he won the
Musical! Die Show (Musical! The Show) and I was impressed. It was a rigorous search, I heard, with a format quite different from American Idol or the others singing contests here. Compared to its Western and Asian talent show counterparts, Musical! Die Show, is considered more strenuous and challenging owing to its theater leanings. To qualify and compete, contestants were required to act and sing a la broadway. A contestant, however, is still very much required to blend his or her own style and innovation to break the stereotyped theatrics of stage performance without sacrificing quality. Vincent’s talent shined through at every stage of the contest and, as a result, he was swarmed with interview requests from the major dailies and magazines in Austria. And just like Charice Pempengco, Vincent's performances have found their way to YouTube, uploaded by his growing number of fans and admirers all over the world.

Another piece of good news was the selection of Arnel Pineda from Quezon City as the new lead singer of Journey! Yes, that’s right, it’s Journey! Though this was announced over a month ago, I only recently heard it from the local news. And, wouldn’t you know, he was discovered through YouTube as well. Apparently, Arnel was featured in several YouTube videos showcasing his band, The Zoo, and by coincidence, Journey was scouting the internet for a lead singer. Well, it was YouTube to the rescue once again as one of its members saw Arnel’s videos and was immediately impressed. And the rest, as they say, is history. Interviewed on local television yesterday, Arnel admitted that he wasn’t sure if it was for real when Journey initially contacted him. He thought it was a hoax and ignored the emails at first. However, a friend convinced him to take a chance, the chance of a lifetime that would later turn out to be the biggest break of his life.

Though I haven’t checked YouTube lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was clogged with videos of aspiring Pinoy singers, actors, dancers or whatever, hoping to get noticed just like Charice and Arnel. I wouldn’t blame them. If I had been blessed with such talent, I’d post my videos on YouTube as well.
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