It gets better: have you ever thought why have very very very very few outstanding talents that gets international attention? Now before you start sending hate mails to me but it has to be said MARAMING TALENTADONG PINOY. There’s no doubt about that. Ok, we have Charice Pempengco, Arnel Pineda, Lea Salonga, Allan Pineda no doubt outstanding talents. PERO TO GET THAT INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION, A FOREIGNER HAS TO FIND THEM!
Charice Pempengco has to be championed by Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres and David Foster - don't even think ABS CBN did all the dirty work to get where she is! In fact, ABS CBN is not helping Charice's career blossom because they are too busy with Sarah Geronimo and Sheryn Regis. Remember the Born Diva champion Raky Bega? Asan siya ngayon? And when Charice got that international break, ABS CBN kept waving the flag claming that it was they who promoted her to get that attention!
Arnel Pineda: 4 years ago, ang nakakakilala lang sa kaniya ay mga kapwa working musicians like me and my colleagues. Biyahero, papwesto pwesto sa Shakey's and others. Even the so called Pinoy Rock cornerstones like Eraserheads, Parokya ni Edgar, Wolfgang and other have not heard of him that well. But we knew since the mid 80s that Arnel has what it takes to be as good as Steve Perry and Klaus Meine! Pero, if Neal Schon never saw that Youtube video, you think our media will do what it takes to get him an audition with Journey?
Allan Pineda: Although he has been in the States even before he started Black Eyed Peas, he has to go through all the pains to get to where he is now. In short - HE PAID HIS DUES! And yet when media discovered that Apl DeAp is a Pinoy, they stalked the guy as if they were responsible for his popularity!
Lea Salonga: Ok she is an elitist and was never a pang masa kind of entertainer. BUT WHO PROPELLED HER TO INTERNATIONAL STARDOM? Hindi ba the Miss Saigon broadway show? An international enterprise? Did OctoArts lifted a finger? NO. She did it on her own.
What is all this? The Philippines, as a people and nation do not know who they really are. We cannot define in definite terms what is a Filipino! At least the Americans are open to admit they are a melting pot of cultures so you cannot really define an American except a group of people pledging their allegiance to the flag - their love of their country is what defines and identifies them. Filipinos have a hard time looking for this. Hindi ko masisi ang tao kasi nga for almost 500 years our people have been violated by the conquerors. The Spaniards identify us as Indios - mere monkeys who have no capacity to uplift themselves. The Americans did not stop the media declaring us as Brown Americans. In fact we are even proud to call ourselves that decades ago. Uncle Sam did not give us the empowerment to be self sufficient as OURSELVES! We were subliminally taught that our very basis of existence and identity is dependent on the dictates of Uncle Sam.
Hindi niyo ba napapansin na ang mga artists natin ay mga tipong ganito: "The Tom Jones of the Philippines" "The Perry Como of the Philippines" "The Beatles of the Philippines". Heck even Arnold Morales of Urban Bandits/Pu3ska was once offered by mainstream media to be the Billy Idol of the Philippines! Why do we have to resort to such labels in order to recognize Pinoy Talent!
OPM did not help either. That organization ORGANISASIYON NG PILIPINONG MANG-AAWIT was not able to uplift the then already thriving talent to the next level. Instead it became an elitist thing! You cannot have the benefits of OPM if you are not a recording artist of a major company. That leaves showbands to fend for themselves! Sino ngayon ang nagpapabilib sa ibang bansa na magaling ang musikong pinoy? Sila Celeste Legaspi ba? Sila Basil Valdez ba? Ang APO Hiking Society ba?
I have nothing against the above mentioned artists but what I'm trying to point is that what supposed to uplift the Filipino Talent (they used to have the slogan WE BELIEVE IN THE FILIPINO TALENT) became an exclusive club for famous recording artists who did very little to give us recognition elsewhere.
Worse, the management of the Wonder Girls has an office in New York! Mando pop is a steadily thriving genre in the States! Legendary Hongkong singing Diva Frances Yip can stand head to head on a Las Vegas concert with the great Angela Bofill in a back to back show! All without trying to be somebody else! And now the kids of today are so crazy with K,J,C,T,and other letters pop! Not that they don't listen to OPM but can you visualize a Japanese teenager with a Gary Valenciano or Wolfgang on his CD collection or iPod? The last Filipino record to hit the American TOP 40 was way back in 1963. It's The Rocky Fellers' "Killer Joe" and yet it only reached I think the top 20. "Anak" did not even hit the Billboard Charts (but it was a huge hit in Japan and Europe but that's a different story).
Think about it. Back to that kid Keith Delleva and now compare to all what I said, sa tingin niyo he could have easily bagged that Pinoys Got Talent by just being himself?
