February 19, 2009 • 3:33 pm
Danny Gokey
Well, American Idol 2009 has started its eliminations to the top finalists for this year. Like last year I avidly followed the rise of a Filipina who was one of those finalists, Ramiel Malubay. She visited us here in the Philippines and I think did a couple of shows with our local singers here. Such is the appeal of American Idol to all those in the US. I think that the competition presents a way for everybody to be given a chance to perform and show off their prowess with their vocal cords and possibly be Americas next famous voice. For this year, I don’t see anyone who is Filipino or of Filipino descent going into the finals but hey, its ok I am still watching it because it is quite interesting to me. From the weird mix of singers up to Simon Cowell’s sarcastic judging of the participants and of course don’t forget the drama involved as well. The tears and happy smiles that you get to see after each elimination round is something else and of course we all have our favorites but there was this one finalist who really stood out and struck me. It was the Bikini Girl. Yes, she has a different presentation altogether and I do hope she has the vocal power to back it up. For the meantime though, here are the 3 first finalists of American Idol 2009: Alexis Grace, the soulful 21-year-old single mother from Memphis, Tenn.; Michael Sarver, 27-year-old oil rig worker from Jasper, Texas; and Danny Gokey, the 28-year-old church music director from Milwaukee. Am glad that they got chosen and look forward to awesome performances by these 3 that America most voted for in the first round of choosing for the top finalists.
Good Luck Finalists!!!
Photo Credits: newsday.com
Sources: Associated Press and American Idol
Filed under: Music , american idol, contests, global news
January 9, 2009 • 3:54 pm
An international pianist is going to be playing for Manila audiences come Saturday night, January 10, 2009 @ 8:00PM inside the Philam Life Auditorium, UN Avenue, Manila. She was brought to the Philippines by Antonietta Chan, sister of Jose Mari Chan. This will be my first piano concierto and I am looking forward to it. I don’t know if I will like it or not. This is one of those firsts. Well, I was taught to play piano as a kid and I have always liked to hear the music that my fingers could play out in our old piano. I am excited and so looking forward to the concierto. I have always been into enriching myself socially and culturally as part of my learning and this is a great opportunity for me. My boss, Uncle B was the one who made this possible. He gave me not 1 but 4 free tickets for Orchestra seats @ 1000 PHP each. Wow! Thanks Uncle B. He told me he did not have the interest to see it and instead he gave it to me. I consider myself very lucky indeed. Valida hails from Azerbaijan and graduated from the Azerbaijan and Moscow State Conservatory. For tickets you can call Glenda at 893-4725. Ticket prices are 1000 PHP, 500 PHP and 200 PHP. Proceeds for the concert will go to the San Antonio Formation and Enhancement Center. Piano for a Cause! I will be bringing my sister and friend BV for sure. The other 2 tickets, I still don’t know who. My parents would have been the ideal candidates but they can’t because they’d rather spend time at home.
Filed under: Music , all about the philippines, culture, philippines
September 1, 2008 • 1:05 pm
One of the most awaited concerts for this year was the Eraserheads Reunion Concert which was slated to happen last
August 30, 2008. For those of you who are not familiar with them, the E-HEADS are considered as the Philippine equivalent of the Beatles. They started a trend in Philippine music and they are considered as history makers in their own right. I grew up listening to their songs in high school and singing along with my friends to the tunes of “Alapaap”, “Huling El Bimbo” and so on to name a few. Even if I don’t have records of their albums, I still memorize the lines that I sang about 10yrs ago and remember a time of innocence gone by. Much hype and confusion surrounded the reunion concert as its rumored initial sponsor was a large tobacco company, the cigarette company backed out though at the last minute because of many controversies surrounding its sponsorship. Not until August 28, 2008 2-days before the said reunion concert were announcements of where you can buy the tickets were released. I was waiting for this concert. My friend and I had already registered at the Red List so that we could get free passes. We were searching the internet for news of where and how might we get the tickets. Looking at blogs too. Thankfully another sponsor was now in the game. So August 30, 2008 the concert happened. My sister who is like 6yrs younger than I am and also a fan was present there. I wasn’t able to make it because I was busy preparing for Mama’s 50th birthday. She told me that there were a lot of people present during that night and PEP estimated the count to 60,000 fans.Whoa! Truly a large number. But then an unfortunate thing happened. Lead vocalist for Eraserheads, Ely Buendia was rushed immediately to Makati Medical a few minutes after they had their 1st break. It seems that he was experiencing chest pains. Later on he was transferred to the Philippine Heart Center. Ely had already undergone 2 angioplasty surgeries last year after his heart attack. The concert was cut short. Instead of 3 hours of Eraserheads music. There was only 1 but I’m sure it was worth it somehow. The fans were not making any trouble about the aborted concert. They were just concerned for Ely. They were really fans. As I read from Sun Star Manila, Ely’s family has already commented that he is already in stable condition and just needs a lot of rest. Probably the strain of practices and the concert took its toll and added to that was the death of Ely’s mom 2 days before the said concert. I’m sure the Eraserheads Reunion Concert was a success even if it was short-lived and hopefully they will get together once more. Ely, get well soon!
Filed under: Music, all about the philippines , concerts, philippines, pinoy bands
