Singing Champions that dominated the Philippine Show business
We Filipinos are really fond of singing; we are often described to be one of the best singers in the world. Even the popular American host, Ellen DeGeneres, once posted on her twitter that we are good in singing. She tweeted, "I’ve learned two things about TV. It’s always easier with Vodka and some of the best singers are from the Philippines.” No wonder that we are a regular fixture in every singing competition or talent shows all over the world, whether you are a full blooded Filipino or mixed, the mere fact that you are born from a Filipino parent or with a Filipino blood you are a good singer. As far as I can remember, singing competitions has always been a part of our lives. I even participated in one of the singing contest in my school but I wasn’t lucky enough to win but the feeling of being part of it was a big achievement. Others used this singing contest as their stepping stone in achieving greater dreams. For some, they are doing it for the money to support their family. I’ve watched so many singing competitions on TV and witnessed how it could change one person’s life. There are so many singing competitions in the Philippines. From barangay level to the National levels. And then we have this national champions or grand champions, a new breed of singers in the Philippine music industry that would soon sell albums or become a regular members in some of the TV shows. However not all of them will be successful. Others will make it big in show business others will be forgotten. I’ve seen numbers of new singers disappear into oblivion. So sad, but this is the reality they have to accept. But there are numbers of singing champions that make it big in show business, in fact they dominated it. I can think a lot of them but these three, I could say are exceptional, they sold millions of copies of their albums, sold out concerts, TV shows, box office movies, products endorsement and more. I am talking about these three queens; Sarah, Regine and Nora.. Sarah Geronimo Sarah was the first winner of “Star for a Night”, she was just 14 years old then. But she was not new to show business, she became part of the shows Pen-pen De Sarapen (4–6 years old), Ang TV (7–8 years old) and NEXT (8–9 years old).[4] She has also played as an extra in the movie Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa (1995) but winning the grand prize was the turning point of her career. The following years Sarah would gain so much popularity and followers. All of her albums are all Platinum status especially the first one that has sold more than 300,000 copies. She had her own TV shows; she graces the cover of several magazines and had several product endorsements under her sleeves. She also received multiple awards for her music career. Although she was not really a good actress but three of her films with John Lloyd Cruz were all box office hits thus giving her the Box Office Queen awards three times. Regine Velasquez The Asias Songbird was hailed by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) as the Philippines' Best-Selling Artist of All Time, with more than 7 million albums sold in the Philippines and 1.5 million albums in Asia. At 14 years old she won the Grand Prize of “Ang Bagong Kampeon.” Regine had a slow start, she was not the cup of tea of everybody but her voice was already as powerful as ever. She made a name for herself when in 1994 Polygram Records produced her first Asia-released album, “Listen Without Prejudice.” It is considered as Velasquez' most successful album to date, selling more than 700,000 copies in Asia. The album has sold over 100,000 units in the Philippines, 300,000 units in China and 20,000 in Thailand. She also has several Sold out concerts here and abroad, her own TV show; she also is also a product endorser, a theater actress and a Philanthropist. She has also embarked on several television and film projects, receiving a Best Actress award for her portrayal of a mentally challenged woman in a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode entitled "Lobo", and another Best Actress award for her film Of All the Things. Her movie Pangako Ikaw Lang earned her Box-Office Queen title. Nora Aunor No other filipino artist has reached what has Nora Aunor has achieved in Philippine Show business. During her heyday, she dominated the show business from Music to movies, from product endorsement to magazine covers, from radio to television, from concert to theater, name it Nora has done it all. Aunor started her career as a singer when she won an amateur singing contest, “Tawag ng Tanghalan” in 1967 at the age of 14 thus calling her the “girl with a golden Voice” and” Princess of Songs.” At the height of her popularity as a recording artist in the late 1960s and early 1970s, local records soared up to 60% of national sales according to Alpha Records Philippines. She was the artist with the most singles in Philippine recording history (with more than 260 singles). Over-all she has recorded more than 500 songs. She has notched more than 30 gold singles, a record in the local music industry. With estimated sales of one million units, Nora's cover of "Pearly Shells" (1971) is one of the biggest-selling singles in the Philippines ever. She also recorded some 46 hit long-playing albums, and several extended plays. Her “Superstar” Show was the longest Musical Variety Show running for more than 23 years. She received more than 150 awards for her music and movie careers both locally and international. Nora has accomplished so much that the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and The Cultural Center of the Philippines gave her, their highest award given to an Artist.. And soon she will be a National Artist. There will be more singing champions who will try to dip their toes in Philippine show business. Will they become successful is yet to be seen. But for now, these three have proved something that dreams do come true and sometimes it gave you something beyond your comprehension.
