It was an ordinary, typical Sunday night and my brother and I were lounging before dinner and knowing his talent as a classical pianist I showed him internet videos of a young woman competing in an Asia-wide talent competition. It was touted as Asia’s Got Talent and the young lady is none other than classical chanteuse, Gerphil Geraldine Flores, from The Philippines.
The
first video was the audition piece which got her the golden buzzer from one of
the judges, David Foster, which meant that she automatically advanced to the
next round. Her audition piece, Andy Williams’ Speak softly, Love, which is from
the classic film “The Godfather.” In the next phase, the semis, she sung the
theme song (Where do I begin?) from the movie “Love Story” and for the most
recent episode, the grand final, she gave a seamless rendition of the powerful
music “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha.”
All
videos ended with a standing ovation from the audience but more importantly
from the impressed judges. She received flattering comments and accolades. Her
talent shone like a magnificent diamond captivating the viewers enchanted by
her brilliance.
Well,
the plot thickens-- she competed in the local version of that show in 2010.
Let’s diplomatically say that her talent is not the cup of tea preferred by two
judges.
After
researching about her we found out that she had done singing for the early
Sunday Mass of a national network. Her enchanting version of “Tanging Yaman”
(or The Only Treasure) has mesmerized us into talking about why she missed
winning in her own country.
We
surmised that her destiny is to perform on the global stage. She chose the road
less traveled and vowed to continue singing classical music and doing arias in
foreign languages while tears fell down her cheeks as she bid farewell in the
local competition where she failed to get the top prize. In Asia’s Got Talent,
Mr.
Foster gave her a promise that the world is going to know about her. When she
was asked how she felt after the raves she began by thanking “God Almighty.”
My
brother told me that in classical piano, Nicanor Abelardo, a Filipino composer,
had the same experience. People then, set him aside and yet he became one of
the greatest Filipino composers of all time. I am not going to go into a debate
between popular music versus classical music. Basically, they are apples and
oranges. Having said that, let’s keep our fingers crossed for Ms. Flores.
We
were enthralled by Gerphil’s life story. She has a humble demeanor and an
incomparable talent that maybe God has bestowed upon her a “golden voice” to
touch and inspire others of something heavenly. To help her dream become
possible, we voted for her via mobile more than once may I add. We were willing
to support her because paying lip service won’t make any difference and we
genuinely wish her the best. It was our first time to do so and we were more
than happy to do that because Gerphil Flores made our beloved country proud.
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