Charice at Hitman David Foster & Friends Asia Tour 2015
(Photo from RAPPLER.COM)
"Your very own...Charice! No one like her!"
The above was excitedly uttered by David Foster after Charice performed a Tagalog song entitled Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin. This was at the Manila leg of the Hitman David Foster & Friends Asia Tour 2015 at the Araneta Coliseum last August 18, 2015.
David Foster, a 16-time Grammy Awards winner, has had a series of concerts dubbed as David Foster & Friends (DFF) where big names in the music industry have performed hits with him on the
piano. The idea behind the concert series, which started in 2008, is to feature songs that he wrote and/or produced with a few exceptions.
Yes, he had allowed one or two songs, that he had nothing to do with, to be sung in his DFF concerts. Say, Natalie Cole sang This Will Be, her debut single in 1975, in at least two DFF's. David allowed it in his concerts, including the recent Manila leg, even if he had no hand in that song. He allowed it simply because it was a great song performed by a great artist and that he loved it as he mentioned in the Las Vegas show in 2010.
Not all songs sung in DFF's were in English. There was Pie Jesu, a song with Latin lyrics. This was performed by Jackie Evancho, a young classical crossover singer, in some DFF shows. There was the Italian song Caruso which was given an emotional interpretation by Lara Fabian in 2010. And, of course, the English-Italian song The Prayer that had been performed at most DFF's by various artists including the great Italian classical tenor Andrea Bocelli with Katharine McPhee in 2008.
In the recent Manila leg of the DFF Asia Tour, Charice sang a non-English song, a Tagalog song. Before singing it, she thanked David for allowing her to perform Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin, the music and lyrics of which were penned by Filipino composer Jimmy Borja. David had no hand in the song, but he accommodated it and played it on the piano while Charice gave her own interpretation that was full of emotion that she effectively communicated to the audience. And I am happy that David accepted Charice's suggestion to include the song in her setlist. I believe he was glad that he did even if he did not understand its Tagalog lyrics. After that amazing number, he excitedly said, "Your very own...Charice! No one like her!" Below is a video of that amazing performance.
(Video from John Philip YouTube channel)
I am reminded of a funny scene from the movie Pretty Woman. Vivian (Julia Roberts) is trying to figure out how to use the binoculars when she and Edward (Richard Gere) are in a theater to watch an opera. In this scene, Vivian asks something to Edward. Listen to the interesting question below.
(Video from jkman999 Youtube channel)
Not in the video is Edward's reply: "Believe me. You'll understand. The music is very powerful."
Let me share what some non-Tagalog speaking Chasters have to say about Charice singing a Tagalog song in DFF.
(Screenshot from twestj Facebook timeline)
The Filipino audience, as some say, are hard to please. For me, it is more of the lack of spontaneity in showing their appreciation for, say, a musical performance. In the above video of Charice's performance of Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin, David is seen gesturing his arm to encourage the audience to give Charice a standing ovation. (It is like he is saying that it is alright to stand up and applaud.) As a Filipino, I believe that we do appreciate, although most of the time, we do not publicly demonstrate our admiration for what is in front of us. Once someone, however, initiates to display an appreciation, be it an applause or a standing ovation (which is not innate in the Filipino culture), the others follow suit, especially if they totally agree. In the video, they do not only totally agree to a standing ovation, but they even add a clamor for an encore. That thirst for an additional song shows their deep appreciation and admiration for Charice as a performer, as an artist.
The audience, that has just given Charice a standing ovation,
is clamoring for an encore. (Screenshot from John Philip's video)
I strongly believe that at this point in her career, Charice has shown her versatility as an artist. We have initially known her as a belter, but she continues to evolve into an artist that she truly is. In the interview with Boy Abunda on Aquino & Abunda, an evening talk show, David Foster said that most of the young artists that he had worked with were able to find their own ways and styles in singing. He added, "People like Charice, Celine, and Josh, and Buble, Bryan Adams, and all the other people I started out with, they get their own mind. And so they should. The good ones do."
Yes, Charice. Go ahead and do what you need to do, what you want to do. As for me, I will just sit back and relax and wait to be surprised again by your kind of music. You are a musical genius and I am always in anticipation of something great coming from you.
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