More young Pinoys gaining intl fame via YouTube

A good number of young Filipinos are following the footsteps of international recording artists Charice Pempengco and Arnel Pineda who gained fame via YouTube, an online video-sharing platform. In this age of quick virtual sharing through sites like YouTube, talented young Filipinos have found their way to let their voices heard— without having to go through long lines, nerve-wracking auditions, and disheartening rejections. YouTube has been instrumental in launching the international career of Filipino singing sensation Charice, whose performance of "And I Am Telling You" brought her to the talk shows of influential hosts Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey. This paved the way for Charice's rise to international stardom, who now has two albums: "Charice" (released in 2010) and the recently-released "Infinity," which includes the lead single "Before It Explodes" by another well-known recording artist, Filipino-American Bruno Mars. On the other hand, Pineda became the lead singer of the American rock band Journey after being "discovered" on YouTube. Having seen Pineda's performances on YouTube, guitarist and vocalist Neal Schon sent an email to Pineda, inviting him to audition for Journey. Pineda at first thought the email was a hoax and did not respond right away. When he did, Schon contacted him within 10 minutes. Pineda auditioned for Journey and eventually became the band's lead singer, debuting in 2008. New YouTube sensation One of the newest YouTube sensations is Fil-Am Joseph Vincent Encarnacion, who started a music career at the age of 15. In an interview with Asian Journal last year, Joseph Vincent said his father told him to try out the online video-sharing site in showcasing his work. He opened his account in 2007 but only uploaded his first video a year later — a cover of Colby O’Donis’ “What You Got." Joseph Vincent has earned more than 47 million upload views of his renditions of various hit songs by Parokya ni Edgar (a Filipino band) to Eminem and Rihanna to his favorite Jason Mraz, He has more than 238,000 subscribers. His video was picked up by DeGeneres, who featured him twice on her show and even gave him a $10,000 check. On his YouTube channel page, Joseph Vincent declares that he is “Full Filipino" and has a “tattoo on my chest [which is] my initials in Baybayin (an ancient Filipino writing system)." Online contest Last September, the team of Joseph Vincent launched the “Bumble Bee Cover Contest," an online singing contest. The public was asked to choose from among 12 finalists who they thought made the best rendition of Joseph Vincent's song "Bumble Bee." Sixteen-year-old Caleb Benemerito, who was born and raised in the US, was one of the 12 finalists. He was among the six contestants handpicked by Joseph Vincent and his team to advance to the final round of the competition. Benemerito said he joined the competition because he thought it “would be pretty fun" and didn’t expect making the top 12 because “I sort of rushed my video." “When I found out I was one of the six that he picked personally, I freaked out. I told all of my closest friends and I could not go to sleep that night. It all happened so fast," he told GMA News Online. Although he did not win the competition, Benemerito’s cover has earned more than 3,800 views and a few praises from viewers that commented. “Good work. I hope you win," wrote MuSiCxoxoLuVeR. “If not, I’m sure you’ll go places with that kind of talent." Benemerito set up his YouTube account and uploaded his first song cover in late March last year. Benemerito, who admitted that he “never liked performing in front of a huge crowd," now has 513 subscribers and more than 22,000 upload views. “Growing up, I’ve always been shy," he told GMA News Online in an e-mail. “[But] eventually, I started warming up to the whole performing thing." Maria Aragon Earlier this year, YouTube also helped make dreams come true for 10-year-old Maria Aragon, who even had the chance to sing with her favorite singer, Lady Gaga, after the eccentric pop star saw her mellow piano rendition of “Born This Way" on YouTube and “tweeted" about it. After that, Aragon—who was born and raised in Canada—got to sing the Canadian national anthem in front of British royal couple, Prince William and Katherine, during the couple’s visit for the Canada Day celebrations. Last week, she sang “Lupang Hinirang" in the third installment of the boxing fight between Filipino bpxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Mexican slugger Juan Manuel Marquez. Taking it to the next level Indeed, YouTube has opened windows of opportunities for a number of young Filipino talents. Joseph Vincent and Benemerito say they are taking everything in stride, focusing first on making a name in the online platform. “I just want to take it step by step and hope that I will be able to travel and play my music," Encarnacion told Asian Journal last year, adding that he ultimately would like to achieve “Jason Mraz level." Benemerito, on the other hand, told GMA News Online that he is taking things slow. “Right now, I don’t think I’m looking for a career in the mainstream scene, but that would still be pretty cool. I’ll probably focus on the independent artist road," he said. - VVP, GMA News