*Charice mentioned in the article*
What Dr. Vicki saw at the AI finals
FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
The Philippine Star
Updated May 29, 2012 12:00 AM
Our kababayan who were rooting for Jessica Sanchez outside of the Nokia Theater in LA where the American Idol finals was held.
Would the presence of Manny Pacquiao have helped sway the vote for Jessica Sanchez had he shown up on time at the Nokia Theater where the American Idol grand finals was held Wednesday last week?
“I really doubt it,” said Dr. Vicki Belo who was there. “Most of Manny’s fans/followers are men and it was mostly women who did most of the voting. But for sure, Manny could have given Jessica moral support.”
Manny was in the thick of pre-fight (with Timothy Bradley on June 10, Manila Time, in Las Vegas) workout at the Wild Card gym in L.A. and he did go to Nokia only after the show.
“I fetched him at Wild Card but he couldn’t cut short his training, so I went ahead to Nokia,” said Vicki who was seated at the seventh row. “But had Manny been with me, we would have been put on the first row.”
Vicki estimated that Phillip Phillips, the winner, had more supporters inside the venue than Jessica, second-placer, did – approximately 60 percent for Phillip and 40 percent for Jessica.
“Two of Jessica’s songs, I Have Nothing and The Prayer, were by David Foster,” noted Vicki. “Her third song, Change Nothing, was parang not bagay sa voice niya although she admittedly did them beautifully. Phillip scored high especially with his third song, Home. His style was medyo hindi tumatawa. He started the song medyo slow but when he reached the chorus, he began to smile and that won the crowd’s heart na mostly babae. Our group was maka-Jessica but when we heard Phillip sing Home, we got so carried away that we stood up with the rest of the audience and we applauded.”
Conceding that Jessica’s voice is perfect for the songs by David Foster, who with his wife are Vicki’s best friends, Vicki said that she hoped that Foster would help Jessica like he did Charice. (“Foster was never Charice’s manager,” clarified Grace Mendoza, Charice’s Philippine manager, in a separate interview. “Oprah, Charice’s godmother, only asked Foster to help Charice.”) “I’m sure that David would love to meet Jessica, if ever.”
Before coming home, Vicki met up with Willie Revillame who arrived during the weekend in L.A. for the TV5 launch on May 26 with his show Wil Time Bigtime (with another starting this weekend, June 2, in San Francisco).
“But as far as I’m concerned,” added Vicki, “Jessica is a winner in her own right,” with a possible recording contract with Sony Music, as reported by Thalia herself, wife of Sony boss Tony Mottola, in her Twitter.
Incidentally, could it be true that Vicki is dissociating herself from the group that put up a Belo Medical Clinic in Glendale, California, last year because she couldn’t practice her hands-on style of management (as she does with her local outlets) since she couldn’t be in California as often as she wanted to? Henceforth, Vicki’s name will be removed from the clinic’s name.
What Dr. Vicki saw at the AI finals
FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
The Philippine Star
Updated May 29, 2012 12:00 AM
Our kababayan who were rooting for Jessica Sanchez outside of the Nokia Theater in LA where the American Idol finals was held.
Would the presence of Manny Pacquiao have helped sway the vote for Jessica Sanchez had he shown up on time at the Nokia Theater where the American Idol grand finals was held Wednesday last week?
“I really doubt it,” said Dr. Vicki Belo who was there. “Most of Manny’s fans/followers are men and it was mostly women who did most of the voting. But for sure, Manny could have given Jessica moral support.”
Manny was in the thick of pre-fight (with Timothy Bradley on June 10, Manila Time, in Las Vegas) workout at the Wild Card gym in L.A. and he did go to Nokia only after the show.
“I fetched him at Wild Card but he couldn’t cut short his training, so I went ahead to Nokia,” said Vicki who was seated at the seventh row. “But had Manny been with me, we would have been put on the first row.”
Vicki estimated that Phillip Phillips, the winner, had more supporters inside the venue than Jessica, second-placer, did – approximately 60 percent for Phillip and 40 percent for Jessica.
“Two of Jessica’s songs, I Have Nothing and The Prayer, were by David Foster,” noted Vicki. “Her third song, Change Nothing, was parang not bagay sa voice niya although she admittedly did them beautifully. Phillip scored high especially with his third song, Home. His style was medyo hindi tumatawa. He started the song medyo slow but when he reached the chorus, he began to smile and that won the crowd’s heart na mostly babae. Our group was maka-Jessica but when we heard Phillip sing Home, we got so carried away that we stood up with the rest of the audience and we applauded.”
Conceding that Jessica’s voice is perfect for the songs by David Foster, who with his wife are Vicki’s best friends, Vicki said that she hoped that Foster would help Jessica like he did Charice. (“Foster was never Charice’s manager,” clarified Grace Mendoza, Charice’s Philippine manager, in a separate interview. “Oprah, Charice’s godmother, only asked Foster to help Charice.”) “I’m sure that David would love to meet Jessica, if ever.”
Before coming home, Vicki met up with Willie Revillame who arrived during the weekend in L.A. for the TV5 launch on May 26 with his show Wil Time Bigtime (with another starting this weekend, June 2, in San Francisco).
“But as far as I’m concerned,” added Vicki, “Jessica is a winner in her own right,” with a possible recording contract with Sony Music, as reported by Thalia herself, wife of Sony boss Tony Mottola, in her Twitter.
Incidentally, could it be true that Vicki is dissociating herself from the group that put up a Belo Medical Clinic in Glendale, California, last year because she couldn’t practice her hands-on style of management (as she does with her local outlets) since she couldn’t be in California as often as she wanted to? Henceforth, Vicki’s name will be removed from the clinic’s name.
