Thursday, May 24, 2012

Dim the lights ... here we go

I interrupt the series of posts about my recent Baguio trip to announce that Phillip Phillips won Season 11 of American Idol. Hurray for the bluesy guitar playing singer! After Elise Testone (whom I admire for her husky tone) was voted off, I started rooting for Phil. I liked his variations on the different songs he performed on the American Idol on stage.

Be that as it may, I might be deemed a snob for not supporting Jessica Sanchez who is half Filipino, but I have my reasons. For one, Jessica doesn't internalize the emotions behind the soulful songs. Secondly, she didn't have much rapport with the audience. She also lacked charisma notably no doubt owing to her young age. Lastly, her ethnicity was another factor. We all know that so far no American of Asian descent has gone on to win the main title. I am not accusing the voting public of being biased against minorities but let's face it, it is AMERICAN idol, after all.

On that note, let me just express my disdain (for lack of a better word) regarding our attitude towards celebrities who have Filipino affiliations either by blood or by affinity. For the life of me, I don't understand why this nation is so obsessed with finding the Filipino element in every celebrity who makes it big in the entertainment industry or any industry for that matter.

For instance, news items here always feel the need to mention that Bruno Mars, Nicole Scherzinger and Jessica Sanchez have Filipino blood. These are people who haven't set foot in our land, they don't speak our national language yet we insist on highlighting their 'pinoy-ness' every chance we get. Why, do we as a nation need to constantly uphold our nationalism through celebrities who are like 1/4 Filipino? Why can we instead concentrate on improving the chances of our local born and bred artists to make it big, internationally? Can't we simply applaud a person for his God given talent/gift without dissecting his ethnicity?

So there I've said my piece. It has been bothering me for quite some time now. It might be controversial but it's how I roll. :D So enough said!

Congratulations again to Phillip Phillips. You deserve to win. =)

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