We all know how Justin Bieber was discovered when producers saw a video of his performance in a local singing contest that was posted on YouTube by his mother. The same goes for Greyson Chance. However, before they came along, Filipino songstress Charice was already displaying her talent to the world via YouTube.
Charice Pempengco was born in the Philippines. As a child, she competed in local singing competitions as a way of supporting her mother, who was bringing up the family alone.
An avid fan who went by the name of FalseVoice began to post videos of her performances on YouTube. The powerful vocals coming from this young performer quickly caught the attention of viewers, and her videos racked up million of hits, much to her surprise. 'I actually didn't know what YouTube was at that time. But of course I soon got familiar with it and started using it,' says the 19-year-old singer through e-mail.
Things moved quickly from there. She was invited to record a demo for a music publishing company in Sweden in June 2007 and then to perform on a South Korean TV talent show. Her appearance led to an invitation to sing on the popular US talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, her first performance in America.
In May 2008, she released her eponymous debut album in the Philippines which eventually went gold in the country. Then, she received what was probably the biggest boost to her young career - an invitation to perform on The Oprah Winfrey Show, one of the most-watched talk shows in the US. Impressed by her performance, Winfrey contacted big-time music producer David Foster to see what he could do for Charice.
Foster took the singer under his wing and became her mentor. 'He's an incredible person and producer - a perfectionist who is very driven and always gets the best out of you. There is no one like him,' says Charice.