WE all saw her start as the sweet and cute teen with the amazing voice and cheered on her performances with international stars like Celine Dion, Josh Groban and David Foster. She was already a rising international star—then the change started.
Today, it will be hard to recognize Charice Pempengco if she wasn’t in the news. The 22-year-old singer has thrown away her feminine image and is now, according to her, living the real “her.”
Now sporting a short, blonde hairdo and looking more masculine, Charice appeared on Oprah: Where Are They Now? last October 19 to answer all questions about her sexuality and the choices she made.
Sharing that she knew she was gay since her childhood, Charice also told Oprah Winfrey (who once touted her as the most talented girl in the world) her thoughts on gender identity.
“Did you struggle with transgender?” Oprah asks. “Were you thinking about like transitioning to become a male?”
“Not exactly transitioning to, like, a male-male,” Charice answers. “Basically, my soul is male, but I’m not going to go through that stage where I’m going to change everything.”
The singer also added that she would rather change her personal style, than her body.
“I would change this,” she says, gesturing toward her outfit. “[I’ll] cut my hair and wear boy clothes and everything, but that’s all.”
Back in 2013, Charice revealed that she is a lesbian, and began changing her style, gearing towards becoming more masculine. This has caused a strain in her relationship with her mother, especially when she went out in the open about her current girlfriend.
The good news is that Charice and her mom have reconciled, and the singer moving forward to (re) building her career in the Philippines and abroad.
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Good things happen to good people, and it goes true for The Voice Kids Philippines grand winner Lyca Gairanod. Just last week, Lyca and her family finally moved into their new fully-furnished home in General Trias, Cavite, which was part of her prizes for winning the talent competition.
The 9-year-old singer has so much to thank for, she said. Before winning The Voice, Lyca and her family struggle to make ends meet. Her father, who is a fisherman, barely earns enough so the rest of the family would scavenge to help.
Aside from the house (courtesy of Camella Homes), Lyca also won a recording contract with MCA Universal, P 1 million in cash, musical instrument and home appliance packages, and a scholarship.
Congratulations to Lyca and her family!
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More congratulations are in order, this time for actress Kim Chiu, who was recently chosen to be the character “Mulan” for the 2015 Disney calendar, which will be distributed in Southeast Asia.
Last week, Star Magic also posted Walt Disney’s official statement on its Instagram account saying, “We confirm that Kim Chiu is part of an upcoming Disney project in Southeast Asia. We will share more details on this in the coming months.”
We’ll keep watching out for the developments, as the chinita princess has already done her photo shoot in costume.
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Judy Ann Santos seems to have her personal and professional life in balance. For her, no project is too important when it comes to family.
During the press conference for her upcoming horror film T’yanak last October 20, the actress shared that she has no regrets in turning down two big movie projects—Mariquina and Maria Leonora Teresa.
“Sadyang hindi siya para sa akin,” she said and added, “Siguro para talagang makapagpahinga rin ako.”
As of the moment, she is about to finish her cookbook, which is one of her dreams. She also shared that may pass up another offer depending on whether she gets pregnant or not. Judy Ann said that she and husband Ryan Agoncillo have been trying to have another baby.
“’Yon talaga ang pinagpe-pray ko na sana makahabol pa kami this year,” she said.
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Actor Richard Gomez has recently shared that her wife Lucy Torres has no plans on running for senator in the 2016 election. Lucy is currently serving as Representative for the 4th District in Leyte.
He has valid reasons in discouraging his wife to run for senate he said, one of which is the politicking that usually happens.
“Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘Huwag mo iisipin at huwag ka magsasalita na gusto mo mag-senador.’ Pinakamasaya ka na sa Congress, kasi sa Congress, talagang tutok ka sa distrito mo,” he said in an interview with PEP.ph.
He also added that he has no intentions of running too, and that he is happy being part of wife’s staff, as District Planning Officer. Previously, Richard was Lucy’s Chief of Staff but the actor decided to find someone else for the job because he wanted to concentrate more on his showbiz career.
Another actor nixing politics is Aga Muhlach, who ran for Congress in the 4th District of Camarines Sur in 2013 and lost.
“No more, no more,” he said in an interview with PEP.ph. “I can say that with a…parang I tried it and I was able to touch base with talagang mahihirap na tao. But then, it didn’t work, so no more. Parang it’s not for me.”
We’ll keep our eyes and ears open for other showbiz personalities who are thinking of running in the 2016 election though!
