Category: Music

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Ladies: Always live from your true selves

I was ecstatic when El Gamma Penumbra won the first Asia’s Got Talent. It was a moment of pride for the Philippines.

But I got caught up in another story — the story of how Gerphil Flores, who placed third in this same show, was once rejected in the local version of the talent show, Pilipinas Got Talent, five years ago. Two lady judges told her that she was better off using her voice to sing pop songs rather than her classical choices. As a result, she was eliminated. Gerphil (known then as Fame) stood her ground and told the judges that it was what she did well, that she was hopeful that her kind of singing (a cross-over combining pop with classical singing) would catch on with the young people.

Gerphil Flores (from her Facebook profile pic album)
Gerphil Flores (from her Facebook profile pic album)

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How to Survive the Boy Band Phase

Sorry, sorry, sorry…

That’s the most popular song of the equally popular boy band, Super Junior (Suju), which held a Super Show concert here in Manila last Saturday, April 10. Preteens, teens, young adults and not-so-young-anymore adults have been going gaga over them. My daughter C2 is no exception. She has their CDs, follows them intensely on Twitter, joined an Asian fan club, reads fan fiction, and many more things that get her excited when she talks about them.

Now this post is NOT about the Super Junior boys although I will get to them in a while. This is a tale of how I am surviving the boy band phase.

Flashback to several years ago.

It was the Taiwanese boy band, F4, and Meteor Garden then. I think all of you still remember that. Everyone was swooning over Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu and Vic Chou. Meteor Garden was THE soap opera to follow then and I myself was caught up in its love story and drama. We even have the entire series in Mandarin with English subtitles (which the children claim is a whole lot better than the dubbed versions – I agree).

(from www.chinatownconnection.com)

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Kenny Rankin (1940-2009)

Feb. 10, 1940-June 7, 2009 (courtesy of AP)
Feb. 10, 1940-June 7, 2009 (courtesy of AP)

Sad, sad news for me today.

I have my iTunes open now listening to all the songs in my music collection sang by Kenny Rankin, singer-songwriter, who passed away from lung cancer complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His voice carried a certain timbre that was so suited to love songs and ballads. He will surely be missed by the music industry and music fans like me.

One of the most touching songs ever rendered by Kenny is this one which I found on YouTube. It so aptly describes how life should be lived by everyone. I hope that I could live my life according to the lyrics of this beautiful song.

What Matters Most

It’s not how long we held each other’s hand
What matters is how well we loved each other
It’s not how far we travelled on our way
Of what we found to say
It’s not the spring you see, but all the shades of green

It’s not how long I held you in my arms
What matters is how sweet the years together
It’s not how many summertimes we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

It’s not how many summertimes we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

What matters most is that we loved at all.