We all love a Cinderella story!!!
We've seen it all before... unassuming person comes in for an audition...waits for his turn at the microphone... starts to sing... and bowls the audience over...
That's what happened to Charisse Pimpengco. Well, yeah, she placed second on Channel 2's search. Then Ellen Degeneris saw her on You Tube and the rest is... history. Now she hobknobs with Hollywood A-listers. Does interviews with Oprah. Sings duets with David Archuleta. Front acts for Celine Dion. Does shows with Josh Groban. And gets her record produced by no less than David Foster.
Arnel Pineda was a bum for many years. Did the whole take on wrong friends and bad decisions and then gets a chance to sing professionally with a band called ZOO (correct me here if I'm wrong). Gets his act posted on YouTube. And Surprise! gets a call to audition for Journey as lead vocalist. Now he's done a world tour to packed audiences. Yeah he's done the rounds of these American talk shows as well... yaddah, yaddah, yaddah...
Enter Jovit Baldivino!
Here's his story: Mom and Pop are unemployed. Pop has had a bout of the dreaded Tuberculosis. Has 5 siblings and only one of them is working. Jovit is all of 16 years. He goes to school all day and after school he helps earn for the family by selling SIOMAI. Slightly malnourished-looking and painfully shy, as hosts Billy Crawford and Luis Manzano asks him what he was going to perform, he cautiously replies "surprise na lang po". To which Billy Crawford callously replies: " Sa Limang nagsabi ng surprise, wala'ng pumasok..."
Fade-in music... Jovit opens his mouth and starts to sing of all songs, Faithfully by Journey. The JUDGES were floored!!! Kris was awestruck. Ai-ai was singing along. The male judge was dead-pan but he did give a positive response. Post performance, Kris Aquino probes a little deeper into Jovit's psyche and he humbly avers whether he wins or loses he's proven that the Filipino can do anything he sets his heart on. which sends Ai-ai crying.
You gotta love this guy! Seriously!!! Part of you wants to shake his hand to congratulate him and the other part wants you to bop him on the head and tell him "you're too good for this".
Okay so his star is about to shine on the horizon... but how many more lives are about to change simply because there are millions of Filipinos out there who share his life story? Hmmmmm...
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