Kamote, Kalabaw

Eric Clapton's Change The World is one song that when you listen to it, the rhythm goes into your system - makes you snap your fingers, swing your head, sway your shoulders, and really dance to the tune. Play the video (c/o YouTube ) and sing with Eric. You'll find the lyrics (c/o Lyrics007 ) below. Change The World If I could reach the stars Pull one down for you Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth That this love I have inside is everything it seems But for now I find it's only in my dreams CHORUS: That I can change the world I would be the sunlight in your universe You will think my love was really something good Baby if I could change the world If I could be king even for a day I'd take you as my queen I'd have it no other way And our love will rule in this kingdom we have made Till then I'd be a fool wishing for the day CHORUS: That I can change the world I would be the sunlight in your universe You will think my love was really something goo...

OBRA: Katrina Halili is Misteryosa Congratulations to the premiere episode of Obra with Katrina Halili. The show showcased the true creative talents of Filipino artists. GMA-7 should have more of this. This is the kind of show that I surely missed since Telesine Presents. I'm not sure if I remember the title right. Years ago, GMA-7 aired every Sunday special movies made for television. They even held awards nights. Maybe, GMA7 should bring this back. In the pilot episode of Obra (Misteryosa), Katrina Halili played a schizophrenic. In the middle of the story, I already had a hunch that Rosario and Rosanna were one because the story reminded me of "Tagos", the movie which Vilma Santos starred in. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the short story because of how it was directed, how the script was written, how the location set was designed, and how the visual color was filtered. It wasn't boring. Plus, all the actors played well. Truly, it was an Obra!

Gretchen Espina of Biliran (Visayas) won the first Pinoy Idol. She received a recording contract from Sony-BMG, a management contract from GMA Artists Center, a condominium unit from Avida Land, a car, and one million pesos from SM Malls - a total of 5.7 million pesos. Congratulations! I was not very thrilled about the finals of Pinoy Idol especially right after Ram was eliminated. This is the sad thing about text voting. It works like a popularity contest where the one who wins is the one who was able to sell the most tickets. So, if you don't have much money, sorry, you cannot vote as much as you want to. In American Idol, our favorites are usually eliminated first. Ryan Seacrest would constantly remind the viewers to vote for their favorites so that they don't end up being eliminated. Last year, Ryan Cayabyab reminded the viewers of Philippine Idol to vote for the one who had true talent. Miguel, a rich kid from LaSalle, was one of the hopefuls then. He wasn't that good ...

Between Jayann and Gretchen, the latter has a better sounding voice. Gretchen's voice is more solid. Jayann's voice cuts like a knife - very throaty. Nevertheless, there are other pinoy idol hopefuls who were a lot better than Gretchen or Jayann. The two sang the Pinoy Idol's signature song, which was composed by Ogie Alcasid. Gretchen's version was a lot better than Jayann's. Between the two, Gretchen is my Pinoy Idol.

I failed to note the songs that the final 3 sang during the gala night. Ram performed an Aerosmith's song as suggested by Jaya. This is Ram's best performance. It was a slow roch that he sang from his heart. He also sang Handog by Florante. It wasn't that good. Jayann, I think, sang "Walk With Faith" as suggested by Regine Velasquez (her winning piece). Jayann didn't do well. I don't remember at all what Gretchen sang. Kid should have been part of the Final 3, instead of Jayann or Gretchen. I believe, some of those who were eliminated earlier in the Top 24 deseved to be in the Final 3. That's the sad thing. Idol is about idolizing a personality; it's not about talent. "Handog" was composed and popularized by the late Florante. The song is about leaving a legacy, which is the songwriter's songs. Indeed, Florante's songs left a mark in the music industry. "Handog", truly, is a gift. When I heard Ram sang the song, "Oh...

I noticed that songs of goodbye are somewhat cursed. In American Idol, if an idol hopeful sang a song about going home or saying goodbye, he or she is eliminated the next day. Sorry, if I couldn't recall an instance, but that's my general observation. In the latest season of American Idol, somebody sang "I'm Going Home" by Michael Buble. The next day, he went home. In Pinoy Idol, Daryl sang The Promise, which has a theme of parting. Kid sang "Careless Whisper", which also has a theme of saying goodbye. Kid and Daryl were eliminated the next day.

Daryl Celis' rendition of "The Promise" was OK. His past two performances were better. In this episoded, Daryl talked to his dad over the phone after 4 years of not seeing him. His mom used to call him "idol" when he was a child. Gretchen Espina is a member of UP Singing Ambassadors. Kid Camaya did a vocally-good version of "Careless Whisper" by George Michael. He has around 25 siblings. Jayann Bautista was shaky at first when she sang "Finally" but recovered during the latter part. Ram Chaves, as expected, rocked again with Francis M's rap "Yugyugan". Ram's performance is the best among the five. As usual, he was confident on stage; he was performing, not competing. He has a character. He has a band called "Sutil". I would rate Ram with 5 stars (best). Kid and Jayann deserves 4.5 stars. Daryl and Gretchen, 4 stars. Indeed, they have improved a lot.

Arnell: Ano ang Tagalog ng "engineer"? Jeremy Marquez: Indyanero!

Here's a list of celebrities who moved from ABS-CBN to GMA-7 and are still active in GMA-7. Heart Evangelista, Eula Valdez, Michelle Madrigal, Angelica Cruz, Marvin Agustin, Jolina Magdangal, Dennis Trillo, Alfred Vargas, Jean Garcia, Camille Pratts, Paolo Contis, Joseph Bitongcol, Hero Angeles, Manny Pacquiao, Ariel Rivera, Eat Bulaga family, Mel Tiangco, Rhea Santos, Ivan Mayrina (he was my officemate in Ayala Corporation), Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez, Bearwin Meily, Butch Francisco, John Lapus, Connie Singson, Arnell Ignacio, Ricky Lo, Pia Guanio, Eagle, Charlene Gonzales, Eugene Domingo, Robin Padilla, Bianca King, Carlo Aquino, Marco Alcaraz, Dominic Roco, Felix Roco, Gio Alvarez, Gladys Reyes, Patrick Garcia, and Pauleen Luna.

Marian Rivera is the hottest star of GMA7. The first time I saw her was in Tape, Inc's afternoon drama (after Daisy Siete), also in GMA7. She was with Camille Pratts, Ehra Madrigal, Oyo Boy Sotto, Kempee de Leon, and AJ Eigenmann. Marian looked matured for her age. Maybe, that's the reason why she was always cast as a mother like in Super Twins (with Dennis Trillo, Jennilyn Mercado, and Nadine Samonte) and Muli (with Alfred Vargas and a Malaysian actress). I noticed her acting and beauty when she was transformed as a villain in Super Twins. Her break when she was cast a lead role in Marimar, a Filipino version of the Mexican TV-novel of the same name. Marimar, the Pinoy version, holds the highest rating so far (50%) in primetime television. Currently, her primetime TV Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel airs weekdays around 8:30 PM on GMA7. If you want to know more about Marian Rivera, simply Google the Net and you'll find numerous sites and information about her. Photo is from cain...

August 17 is the Finals Night for Pinoy Idol. The Final 3 will perform on that night, which is two weeks from now. That means, one or two will be eliminated tonight. So, who will be? Maybe, it's Jayann Bautista or Warren Antig. It's Warren Antig. Warren almost backed out during the audition. Now, he reached the Final 6. Here's Warren's best performance - a reggae version of "Urong-Sulong".

Classic Pinoy Expressions One of the new TV shows that I enjoy watching these days is "Ang Pinaka". It's a top 10 list of anything. Today's episode was about the top 10 classic Pinoy expressions. Susmaryosep! Grabe! Kumusta naman...! Naks naman! Apir! Charing! Manigas ka! Ma at pa! Hanep! Bahala ka! We inherited "susmaryosep" from the Spaniards - "Jesus, Maria y Jose" - an expression equivalent to "Oh! My God!" or "Diyos ko!" in Tagalog. The English speakers use the same expression as "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph". The Filipinos during the Spanish era often heard the Spaniards exclaim "Jesus, Maria y Jose"; but, for the Filipino ears, it sounded like "susmaryosep". Nowadays, the expression is used in a disrespectful way which I find it blasphemous. So, personally, I don't use it. The expression has evolved to "susmarya", "susme", "sus", "asus". Whatever its f...

Tonight's performances on Pinoy Idol were songs popularized by premier balladeer Basil Valdez, known for hard-to-sing signature songs. Jayann Bautista sang first. Her version of "You" was weak in the first part of the song. It went better towards the end except for a few out-of-tune notes. I agreed with Jolina Magdangal and Ogie Alcasid. Jayann put so much style in her version that the song sounded "confusing". It could have been better if it sounded simpler. Kid Camaya did a R&B version of "Paano Ba Ang Mangarap". He did justice to the song. Though he performed a close version of Basil's, a few touches of flavor made it sound his own. A few notes sounded flat or sharp; on the other hand, may be not for the reason that songs of Basil Valdez are known to have a few notes that sound like flat or sharp. Ram Chaves of Cagayan de Oro sang a reggae version of "Ngayon at Kailanman". Though he did a good performance, the difficulty of the son...

I stumbled upon this video on YouTube while searching for "Pinoy Idol". The moment I heard the very first few notes of the boy, I was mesmerized, tears welled in my eyes. Fantastic, angelic voice!

I was searching the YouTube for "pinoy idol". It gave me more than 3,000 results. I wanted to know which video had the highest hits and I found this video on the top list - an audition of 13 year old boy Andrew Johnston at the "Britain's Got Talent". The moment I heard the very first few notes, I was mesmerized. This is what talent is all about. The voice comes from within his heart and soul.

Let's look back at the finale of the very first, and the very last, "Philippine Idol" when Mau Marcelo won. Mau sang "Try It On My Own" and she was definitely good. Mau has one album to date. If Mau were part of the remaining Pinoy Idol finalists, she would still be the best. Ram Chaves would be the second best.

Last night's performances of the remaining 7 Idol hopefuls were good surpassing amateurish singing. Truly, these remaining hopefuls have improved. But, despite that, one of them will go home tonight. Based on last night's performances, Penelope, who sang "Weak" by Freestyle, is my best vocals. Her notes were exact, smooth and clean. Gretchen Espina, who sang "Ikaw Lang Ang Aking Mahal" by Brownman Revival, is my best stage performance. I enjoyed her performance. It was entertaining. The judges, however, didn't like it. Ram Chaves, who sang "Sandalan" by 6Cyclemind, as usual, delivered a very good performance and vocals. Daryl Celis, who sang "Nasaan Ka" by Pupil, did a simple rendition. He has improved a lot, yet, not better than Ram or Robby or Penelope. Warren, on the other hand, did a poor version of South Border's "Kahit Kailan". Kid Camaya also did a poor performance. He sang "Stay" by Cueshe. Jayann, who ...

Who will be out of the Idol tonight? Last night's performances of the top 8 were OK. Two of them I consider exceptional. Indeed, the remaining Idol hopefuls have improved a lot. Penelope and Daryl Celis did their job well. Ram Chaves had a bad beginning but nailed it on the second part of his song. Penelope has learned the dynamics of singing. That's good. Daryl started singing from his heart. That's also good. But next time, he should open his mouth well so that he could pronounce the words well and modulate his voice. Noticeably, when he's singing with the group, he barely opens his mouth. So who will be eliminated tonight? But before that, let's see how the cast-outs were doing. JJ Jr. performed in SOP (GMA7). He looked promising. He can be a popular young celebrity. Jeni Rawolle on the other hand, was singing ahead of the time signature. When singing with a group, she should learn how to sing in unison. I thought Kid Camaya or Jayann would be out of the Idol, bu...

Last night's performances showcased the song popularized by Regene Velasquez. The best performance for me was that of Warren Antig who did a reggae version of "Urong Sulong". I'm surprised to hear Daryl Celis improved. He was able to sing "Paano Kita Iibigin" well. Good for Daryl! Singing from his heart improved his performance. Though it's normal to close one's eyes and turn your hear to the side when singing a heartfelt song, it should not be done all the time. For a beginner, it's OK. Another good performance was that of Penelope. The quality of her voice has improved. Ram's and Sue's performances were not good. The rest were just OK, nothing extraordinary. The judges praised Ram Chavez for a poor performance. When the judges did the same thing to Robby Navarro, the voting public eliminated him. Here's one of the best performances of Robby Navarro. Now that Robby Navarro is out of the Idol, the quality of Pinoy Idol has diminished.

I hope Daryl Celis would be able to read this. I have some tips for him which might help improve his performances that will make his fans happier and make him worth voting for. Hit the first note right The first note is very important. The first note creates first impression. If you started with a bad note, most likely you will be singing out of tune. So how do you hit the exact note? Preparation. Before you hit the first note, sing it in your head. Once the exact note has registered in your brain, it follows vocally you will be singing the exact note. Don't worry about the brain's multi-tasking ability. The brain is superior at that. In microseconds before you produce the sound from your vocal chords, you can actually prepare it first in your head. Sing with confidence Performing on stage can be nerve-racking. The technique is to imagine an empty auditorium. Imagine you have no audience at all, that you're alone on stage. Avoid eye contact especially to those in the front ...