GMA News

MTV’s newest competitive dance series, Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew, is left with only two finalists from the original 12, and one of them has Filipino members.

JabbaWockeeZ, a California-based six-man hip hop group, has consistently impressed Dance Crew judges, N’ Sync member, JC Chasez, rapper Lil’ Mama, and top hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks for their synchronized and killer-dance routines.

Now they only need viewers’ votes to win the first ever Dance Crew crown.

The oft-masked “Jabba,” includes Vietnamese Jeff Nguyen, X-box fanatic Ben Chung, music producer, Kevin Brewer, Phil Tayag, graphic designer Chris Gatdula, and the only confirmed Pinoy in the group so far, Rynan Shawn Paguio.

“I just got married in Nov. 24, 2007. I am a sexy guy when you close your eyes! I’m Filipino. I need to pay my bills. I love hip hop,” Paguio wrote in the group’s website.

GMANews.TV tried by e-mail to confirm the Filipino ethnicities of both Tayag and Gatdula but out efforts has so far been unsuccessful. Tayag, 23, is from Sacramento, California while Gatdula, 26, is from Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I dance, I hustle to pay bills,” Tayag said in the group’s site.

US-based Filipino fan Erwin Bermejo emailed to GMANews.TV that Jabba actually has three Filipino members.

“I’ve seen a section here about Filipino Achievers in abroad. Don’t you know that other than (American Idol finalist) Ramiele Malubay, we have three Filipinos in a Reality TV in the US? They are part of the dance crew: JabbaWockeeZ, and they are competing at America’s Best Dance Crew,” Bermejo tipped off.

“They are also part of the movie Step Up 2. Reynan Shawn Paguio, member of the Jabbawockeez has lots of appearances in that movie. You would see him dancing in the last part,” he shared.

Patti Ancheta also wrote that JabbaWockeeZ are quite popular in the dance competition. “It’s like the American Idol but it’s all about the different dance groups here in the US. One of the most
popular groups here is the Jabbawockeez. It is actually on the two finalists now, and two of the six members of the JabbaWockeeZ are Filipinos,” she said.

“Wish you could do something to let our fellow Filipinos see how great they are…thanks!” she suggested.

American Idol judge Randy Jackson, a 23-year music industry veteran and Grammy Award winning producer, is America’s Best Dance Crew’s executive producer.

Online community site BuddyTV.com profiled Paguio as a 26-year-old professional break-dancer from San Diego, California.

The group, named after the poem of a nonsense verse written by famed Through the Looking-Glass author Lewis Caroll, galumphed through the finals, edging out all-Asian dance crew Kabba Modern in the tense semi-final round.

In last week’s evolution of Hip-hop performance, Paguio did a staggering 30-second flawless headspin.

“That’s my dude! When someone excites me, they excite me,” said a pumped-up Lil’ Mama to Paguio.

Sparks commended the group for raising the show’s standards for the next 10 seasons.

“If the crews watching this show do not come at that level, they need to stay home,” Sparks remarked.

Ben Chung, aka B-Tek, describes the dance crew as “nasty…each member brings a unique flavor to the table, without it our body would be incomplete.”

Here’s how America’s newest dance reality show is described in MTV website: “Week after week, each dance crew, consisting of five to seven members, will work their butts off to demonstrate their most innovative choreography and sick dance skills. The crews will be asked to recreate the moves seen in the hottest music videos, use their fancy footwork to reenact their favorite movie scenes and pay homage to the classic grooves (and moves) of the past. But it’s going to be hard to keep the beat and stay on point with so many people competing for the title of America’s Best Dance Crew, and there’s sure to be showdowns, shouting matches and dramatic impromptu dance-offs!”

Voting for America’s Next Dance Crew ends on March 27. Jabba is competing with Boston-based dance crew Status Quo.

Good News Pilipinas

Two Filipino leaders are in the top 300 young global leaders list for 2008 of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The Geneva-based international organization recognized Sen. Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero and former actor and entrepreneur Illac Diaz for their contributions to society, among 5,000 candidates worldwide.

Escudero is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition and currently the Secretary General of the United Opposition. During the 2007 elections, he got the second highest number of votes among senatorial candidates.

He was a member of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, and served as the Minority Floor Leader of the 13th Congress.

Diaz is the founder of Centro­Migrante, a self-help business model that provides clean, safe and affordable housing for Filipinos who come to Manila to look for jobs as seamen.
He also founded the MyShelter Foundation, which builds low-cost classrooms using the Earthbag Construction System. Diaz has been named as one of The Outstanding Young Persons of the World by the Jaycees International.

The WEF also recognized Hollywood Actor Leonardo DiCaprio; Grammy Award winner Shakira Mebarak Singe; Thomas Glocer, Chief Executive Officer, Reuters, United Kingdom; Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman and Publisher, The New York Times, USA; and Hisashi Hieda, Chairman and CEO, Fuji Television Network, Japan. The selection committee is chaired by Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

“We need the Young Global Leaders to be a voice for the future in the global thought process and as a catalyst for initiatives in the global public interest,” Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF said.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, the WEF is impartial and non-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests.

GMA News

While Seven Days is yet to ring a bell in the local music industry, the group has been making waves in China, especially after having been the only Pinoy band invited to perform on Chinese national television for a Spring Festival program on February 7.

Seven Days, as its name suggests, is a band with seven members: vocalists, Ace Llorente, 27, Jennifer Rosal, 24, and Honey Alba, 19; guitarist Ariel Pambid, 29; bassist Allan Oliva, 27; drummer Moses Domingo, 29; and keyboardist Ronnie ‘Onnie’ Castillo, 30, also the band’s leader.

While alluding to the Lord’s holy days of work (and rest), Onnie explained that the band’s name is really a reinforcement of one of the group’s core values.

Formed in 2001, under the name “Zinjy,” Seven Days is an “any day band,” prepared to perform onstage with its compelling fusion of rock and R&B.

“People say we were better than the original singers of the songs we cover,” Onnie told GMANews.TV in an interview.

And after performing in Yanji City’s Yanbian TV, it appears that Onnie’s boast has a ring of truth, at least in the Asian music scene where Pinoy talent has been unparalleled for years.

Pinoy support

The group never imagined it would land on Chinese television first than in the Philippines.

“We’re glad our dream to perform for television viewers was fulfilled,” said Honey, “But we would be happier if we performed on Philippine television.”

Jennifer, who was plucked by Onnie after winning a local karaoke TV singing competition here (before Ethel Booba), is doubly glad with the overwhelming Pinoy support for Seven Days, especially since most Filipinos abroad are more discerning with homegrown talents.

“Pinoys are harder to please. So an applause from them only confirms that you’re really good.”

Last September, the group flew to China for a regular gig in one of the clubs there. After being noticed for its soulful and electrifying covers, the band was invited to perform for the Spring Festival (often dubbed the Chinese Christmas) special show on television.

Since 2006, the band has been performing from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia to Jilin, China wowing crowds with covers from the Beatles and Elvis Presley classics to more contemporary songs from Usher and the Black Eyed Peas.

The band’s repertoire depends on what the audience likes.

As Jilin closely borders North Korea, they need to know a few Korean songs.

For its Yanbian TV performance, the band chose a popular Korean song to usher in the celebration of the Spring Festival.

So far, Seven Days has been warmly received by the Chinese and Korean communities, not to mention its supportive Filipino fans.

“As far as I know, there are only two kinds of Filipinos here [in Jilin City], those who work as entertainers, and the teachers,” explained Onnie.

The band has also done much to spark interest among the otherwise oblivious Chinese in Jilin City about the Philippines that has been known for its excellent English teachers.

“We talked to a lot of people here who initially didn’t even have the slightest idea where the Philippines is. But when they saw us on TV, they went as far as searching for our country in the Internet, looking for pictures. They are now more interested in us.”

And what do they miss the most about the Philippines? “Eat Bulaga! We promise to watch our favorites, ‘Bossing’ (Vic Sotto) and Joey de Leon, in the studio when we come home,” Onnie said.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos working overseas sent an unprecedented amount of money home last December, taking 2007 inflows to a record $14.45 billion, and exceeding the central bank’s target by $100 million, data showed on Friday.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank, said $1.396 billion was sent in December, the highest for any single month and the 20th straight month that inflows topped $1 billion. The December figure was up 5.8 percent year-on-year.

For the full year, remittances increased 13.2 percent over 2006 and exceeded the $14 billion target.

Remittances in 2006 totaled $12.8 billion.

The central bank figures do not include remittances sent through non-banking channels.

Remittances accounted for about 10 percent of nominal gross domestic product in 2007, central bank governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.

These inflows are propping up domestic demand, fueling GDP growth to 7.3 percent in 2007 — the best growth in 31 years. They are also providing strong support for the peso, which gained nearly 19 percent against the US dollar last year.

“Robust remittance flows in 2007 were due to continued demand abroad for
Filipino workers and enhanced remittance services provided by banks and non-bank
remittance agents,” Tetangco said.

A total of 1.07 million Filipinos found jobs abroad last year, representing a 1.0 percent increase from the previous year.

The inflows, equivalent to around 10 percent of gross domestic product, are crucial for the domestic economy, fuelling a local spending boom.

They helped drive the peso up over 19 percent against the US dollar in 2007.

But this currency surge means that overseas’ workers foreign currency salaries are translating into less pesos. Authorities are offering hedging facilities to some overseas workers to help lessen the impact from the currency’s rise.

Over eight million Filipinos, around 10 percent of the population, work abroad as nurses, doctors, maids, sailors, musicians, IT professionals and in other roles.

“The significant rise in remittances in 2007 also resulted from the increased presence of commercial banks and local money transfer agents in countries with high concentrations of Filipino manpower,” Tetangco said.

The bulk of remittances come from the United States, the UK, Italy, the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia.

Local banks have said that double-digit growth in remittances is not sustainable.

Previous surges have been led by lenders encouraging overseas Filipinos to send money home officially rather than with friends and relatives but the proportion of inflows coming in through unofficial channels has dropped to around 5 percent of total inflows compared with 20 percent in 2005. (Compiled from reports of Thomson Financial, Reuters and Associated Press)
USEFUL REFERENCE:
http://www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/media.asp?id=1757

Philippine News

LOS ANGELES — Charice Pempengco, the 15-year-old singing sensation who recently wowed audiences at the Ellen DeGeneres’ TV show, is reportedly in talks with no less than the legendary music producer Clive Davis. Philippine News learned that Pempengco arrived in New York recently and is waxing a recording deal with Davis, the record producer who is behind the careers of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake just to name a few.

“I am so proud to be behind the launching of the musical career of Charice,” TV host Ellen DeGeneres told us after we bumped into her during a Golden Globes screening of “Juno” and afterparty with Fox co-chair Tom Rothman and his wife, Jessica.

DeGeneres also told us that she is planning to invite Pempengco again on the show. “I definitely want to see her again perform on the show,” she said. In last month’s show, Pempengco garnered two standing ovations from the Ellen DeGeneres TV audiences after she performed “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from the Broadway musical sensation “Dreamgirls” and Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Will Always Love You.” DeGeneres, who discovered Pempengco after watching a video clip of her in YouTube after FalseVoice channel posted Pempengco’s Little Big Star performance of Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Will Always Love You.”

The petite teenager’s unbelievable booming vocals and very professional showmanship impressed the TV host so much that after showing it on her show, she publicly invited Pempengco to come to the U.S. and guest on her show.

Pempengco controlled the stage like a pro, even throwing the mike in mid air like professional juggler, and singing her lungs out just like her favorite singers Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyonce and Mariah Carey. Dressed in a black long-sleeved top, black mini skirt with black tights and a G clef silver necklace, Pempengco was a sight to behold. The charming YouTube sensation from Cabuyao, Laguna, who has been joining singing contests since she was 7, arrived in the U.S. for the first time to appear on DeGeneres’ show. During the show, Pempengco admitted that she was both nervous and excited to be in the U.S. for the first time and to meet Ellen DeGeneres. When the two met, DeGeneres could not contain her excitement as well to have the singing sensation from the Philippines in her show that she reportedly did not stay in her dressing room during rehearsals that she usually does but watched Pempengco practice.

When DeGeneres learned that Pempengco lost her Ipod during her 13-hour trip to Los Angeles from the Philippines, DeGeneres immediately gifted her with a new one to which a surprised, teary-eyed but very grateful Pempengco accepted the gift graciously as she covered her face in disbelief, jumped up and down, became speechless and finally repeatedly hugged and kissed DeGeneres.

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Philippine News

Maybe some people are destined to work abroad that even without looking for a job overseas, an opportunity from other parts of the world just comes unexpectedly and this is something they hate to refuse. Such is the story of Adelfa Amancio. Fate led her to work overseas.

Adelle, as she is fondly called, used to teach at a language school but was not very happy about it. So, she decided to resign and started to be a freelancer while pursuing her graduate studies.

As a freelancer, she was more flexible with her students and gave them more freedom to choose where and when to study. Because of this, many students liked her and the number of her clients grew bigger. As a result, she set up her own language school to accommodate all students.

Not only did the language school kept her busy but also made her more motivated to work. Moreover, she could apply what she learned in her Master’s studies in Educational Management in her language school’s day-to-day operation.

Adelle loved what she was doing in Cebu and had hopes to expand its operation in the future. Part of her business marketing strategy was online advertising.

What she did one day was send e-mail to at least 10 different language schools in Japan to promote her language school in Cebu. Since most of her clients were Japanese, her goal was to make her school established not only in the Japanese community in the Philippines but also in Japan.

Her e-mail campaign worked and she received quite a number of replies. While others were grateful for the information/advertisement she provided, some schools definitely wanted to keep in touch and others didn’t reply at all.

Yet, one reply caught her attention. The school was not interested in her language school services. Instead, it offered her a teaching job in Japan!

Surprised, flabbergasted and overwhelmed, Adelle grabbed the opportunity in just a click away and left the Philippines on December 26, 2003.

According to her, it is very difficult for Filipinos to teach English in Japan because of the misconceptions and negative notion the Japanese have about the Filipinos living in Japan. As a Filipina, she has experienced a lot of racial profiling, a devilish look and outrageous judgment.

Some English teachers questioned her ability to teach the language and most Japanese believe that only white people can teach them English. As a result, most schools in Japan always emphasize the countries (of origin) of the teachers they want to hire. Their advertisements would always say, “Only teachers from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are allowed to apply. Applicants from countries not mentioned here need not apply, PLEASE!”

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Reuters Life!

MANILA – Sometimes the road to international stardom starts with a click on YouTube.

In two of the latest whirlwind career turnarounds launched by the video-sharing Web site (www.youtube.com), Filipino singers Charice Pempengco and Arnel Pineda have shot from relative obscurity to levels of success surprising even to them.

Fifteen-year-old Pempengco thought her music career was doomed when she lost a local singing competition in 2006.

But YouTube gave her the “cyber break” of a lifetime, when a clip of her singing Jennifer Holliday’s “And I’m Telling You I am Not Going” caught the attention of TV host Ellen DeGeneres and Grammy award winning producer David Foster.

DeGeneres interviewed Pempengco on her show in December, where she wowed the audience with her vocal range, while Foster now introduces her to his friends as “my new singer,” after the two met in Los Angeles.

“After I sang at the show last year, Ellen embraced me and she kept telling me this is the start of my international career,” Pempengco told Reuters in Manila last week.

The busy teen now studies for her high school degree from home, while clips of her singing Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Celine Dion’s hits circulate in cyberspace.

After more than five million hits on YouTube, she is still surprised to be recognized in the street.

“While I was walking along Rodeo Drive, people would come up to me to congratulate me and say ‘I saw you on YouTube and you are a great singer’,” said Pempengco in her dressing room after doing a Whitney Houston medley for a local noontime TV show.

“One American told me ‘I am now a Pinoy after hearing you sing’.” Pinoy is a colloquial term for Filipino.

“I really did not expect that I’d get noticed on the internet,” she said.

LIKE A DREAM

Pineda, on the other hand, is no overnight success.

A 40-year professional singer with quite a reputation in Manila’s clubs, he looked set to join the legion of talented, but relatively unrewarded, singers who never break into the big-time.

One video posted online of Pineda performing with his Zoo band in a Makati nightclub changed all that.

More than 7,000 miles away in California, Neal Schon, founder and guitarist of the rock band Journey, downloaded a clip of Pineda singing their hit “Faithfully” on YouTube, and knew his search for a new frontman had ended.

“After watching the video over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true,” Schon said in a statement posted on Journey’s Web site.

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Philippine Entertainment Portal

A new queen was chosen yesterday, November 11, during the coronation night of Miss Earth 2007 at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City. Ms. Canada Jessica Nicole Trisko bested 87 other delegates for the title, which was previously held by Hil Hernandez of Chile.

The pageant, which was aired live last Sunday night on ABS-CBN, was hosted by MTV Asia VJ Greg “Utt” Panichkul and Ms. Earth 2004 Priscilla Meirelles. The Brazilian beauty queen is currently the flame of actor John Estrada.

Jessica is a political science Ph.D. student at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Her mother, Maria Elizabeth Asuncion Domingo, hails from Manila. The newly crowned beauty queen was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia.

A total of 88 environmentally aware and concerned young ladies competed in the Miss Earth beauty pageant, which is organized by Carousel Productions. Now on its seventh year, Miss Earth is a pioneering beauty pageant that serves as a vehicle for environmental advocacy.

Ms. Philippines Jeanne Angeles Harn of Montalban, Rizal, was adjudged the Most Photogenic for the competition. She is an account executive for an advertising agency, as well as a commercial and print model.

Other special prizes given away that night include: Beauty For A Cause Award: Bokang Montjane (Ms. South Africa); Miss Friendship: Amale Al-Khoder (Ms. Lebanon); Miss Talent: Monica Baliunaite (Ms. Lithuania); and Best National Costume: Jiraporn Sing-ieam (Ms. Thailand).

Ms. Venezuela Silvana Santaella was an early favorite among the contests as proven by her two special awards—Best in Long Gown and Best in Swimsuit.

Another segment host that evening was 2006 Miss Philippines-Air Ginger Conejero, who also works as a showbiz news reporter for the Kapamilya Network. During the program, Ginger interviewed Ms. Canada Jessica Nicole Trisko, who told the audience, “I’m so grateful and so blessed to have this opportunity to represent my country. I wish the Filipinos so many blessings in return.”

The 16 semi-finalists announced that night were: Jessica Nicole Trisko (Ms. Canada); Eva Čerešňáková (Ms. Czech Republic); Themys Febriel (Ms. Dominican Republic); Nanka Mamasakhlisi (Ms. Georgia); Pooja Chitgopekar (Ms. India); Amale Al-Khoder (Ms. Lebanon); Elodie Delor (Ms. Martinique); Stacey Garvey (Ms. Nigeria); Odilia Pineda (Ms. Peru); Alina Gheorge (Ms. Romania); Bokang Montjane (Ms. South Africa); Angela Gomez Duran (Ms. Spain); Ivana Gagula (Ms. Sweden); Stefanie Gossweiler (Ms. Switzerland); Jiraporn Sing-ieam (Ms. Thailand); and Silvana Santaella (Ms. Venezuela).

They were later trimmed down to eight finalists, who all showed off their winning form while wearing Filipiniana creations by Anthony Cruz Legarda. His collection was dubbed E3, which stands for “Earth, Ethnic, and Élan.”

Ms. Canada, Ms. India, Ms. Venezuela, Ms. Spain, Ms. Georgia, Ms. Peru, Ms. Switzerland, and Ms. Thailand were then tasked to answer questions from eight environmental leaders to determine if they would move on to the final round.

MTV VJ Utt, who happens to be Thai, had to step in to translate for Ms. Thailand since the interpreter had some difficulty translating the contestant’s answer.

For the final round, all scores are back to zero and they will be judged based on their answer to the final question given to all of them. The Final Four—composed of Ms. India Pooja Chitgopekar; Ms. Venezuela Silvana Santaella; Ms. Spain Angela Gomez Duran; and Ms. Canada Jessica Nicole Trisko—were given headsets so they could not hear the question and the response of the other contenders.

The host asked the ladies one by one: How would you describe the beauty of Mother Nature to a blind child?

Jessica gave a poetic answer: “I would say that the beauty of Mother Nature smells as sweet as the sweetest rose, the beauty of Mother Nature feels as soft as the softest leaf, and the beauty of Mother Nature sings like the birds and the trees.”

After tallying the scores, it was finally announced that Ms. Canada Jessica Nicole Trisko is this year’s Miss Earth 2007.

Ms. India Pooja Chitgopekar was proclaimed as Miss Earth-Air, the contest’s equivalent of a first runner-up.

Ms. Venezuela Silvana Santaella and Ms. Spain Angela Gomez Duran were adjudged Miss Earth-Water and Miss Earth-Fire, respectively.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Last year, a cancer-stricken, wheelchair-bound Toti Fuentes thought his time was up. Suffering from a rare stomach ailment since 1999, the 55-year-old US-based keyboard virtuoso was rushed to the hospital thrice.

Even now, Toti told Inquirer Entertainment, “I feel death follows me around all the time. On the other hand, I have more angels of life around me as well. When I was in the hospital, these angels came to my rescue.”

The cancer is reportedly now in remission, thanks in part to an experimental treatment program that Toti undergoes as a volunteer in a Chicago hospital. Most wonderful of all, he’s back doing what he loves most: playing music.

Though still gaunt-looking, Toti says he feels rejuvenated and ready for an upcoming series of shows in Manila. The stint, aptly called “Perfect Pair,” reunites him with singer Anna Fegi, with whom he shares a few remarkable connections.

Both are Visayan and received musical training at an early age. Toti, born in Cagayan de Oro, learned to play the piano at six. His parents saw him as a prodigy and sent him to the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music for college.

Ana, a native of Cebu, was under the tutelage of a music-loving teacher who gave her prime exposure in concerts and plays while attending the University of San Jose-Recoletos.

Determined to pursue a musical career, Toti hooked up with Rico J. Puno, who was then building a reputation at the Spindle in 1974. When Rico broke into the pop scene, Toti became his regular pianist in concerts and recordings. Toti also did session work with the Apo, Hajji Alejandro, Basil Valdez, Pilita Corrales and other popular artists.

By 1978, Toti was evolving as a jazz musician and wanted to get into “the source,” as he called it. He went to the US, where he would spend the next 20 years as a working musician—playing with the likes of Sergio Mendes, Natalie Cole, Anita Baker, Julia Fordham, Aretha Franklin, Andy Williams and many others.

Toti was in Manila in the late ‘90s when Ana became his protege. “She was brought to my attention by her manager Bibsy Carballo. I recognized her talent [right away],” Toti recalled. “I helped her by recording minus-one arrangements of some 40 songs, including my originals and a Motown medley, which she used in her performances.

Like Toti in the US, Ana found work abroad as a professional artist. She was in the cast of the theater musical “Hair” in Japan and “Rent” in Singapore, among others. She just finished a 20-month run as Nala in the Hong Kong Disneyland production of “Lion King.”

Looking back on their overseas work stints, Toti and Ana attribute their success to dogged determination and discipline.

Toti logged on several years as a session musician in Los Angeles, hoping to play with his idol, Sergio Mendes. When they finally met, it didn’t take long before Sergio asked Toti to join him on a concert tour.

As for Ana, she said appearing in “Lion King” has prepared her for any tough assignment in the future. “It was a 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. job, five times a week, which I had never experienced. I had to be physically fit for all the running, dancing, jumping and climbing we did onstage.”