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For the past 21 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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Small talk with Lea Salonga (Conclusion)
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Ted Reyes: What's your online addiction so far?
Lea Salonga: Facebook and Multiply, I guess... I don't really go anywhere else unless I have to.
Ted Reyes: What does a superstar like you do with your free time?
Lea Salonga: I try to read, knit a little bit, watch Sesame Street with Nicole, see a movie with my husband, try out new restaurants with friends, shop, hang out with people I like... nothing too crazy. I'm not much of a club person and I don't like smoky hangouts.
Ted Reyes: What is your music of the moment?
Lea Salonga: I'm loving the music of Amy Winehouse... Corinne Bailey Rae... James Morrison... John Mayer... Astrud Gilberto (no one can hold a candle to her brand of bossa)... I also like listening to local Pinoy bands like Sandwich... Imago... The Dawn... Urbandub and Kjwan are also pretty cool.
Ted Reyes: What do you think FIlipino-Americans should do to establish a successful music industry like Latin music and Japanese Pop?
Lea Salonga: I honestly have no idea. I guess it's not to cater to anyone, except to make music YOU like. That's how everyone seems to have done it, by staying true to one's own taste in music. Hey, I sing musical theater, and not everyone likes it, but I love doing it and there are people that love it as much as I do.
Ted Reyes: Do you think the breakthrough should come from the homeland, or here in the States?
Lea Salonga: It'll come from wherever. And whomever. Meaning, I have no idea.
Ted Reyes: Do you have a message for the reader of Filipino Express and Poptimes Magazine?
Lea Salonga: Thanks for the support! Keep supporting the Filipino artist anywhere and everywhere in the world.
Lea Salonga is back on tour. She will be playing The Cache Creek Casino and Resort on Friday, April 25 at 9:00 PM and Saturday, April 26, at 8:00 PM. Tickets are priced at $79.00, $89.00 and $99.00* and will be available at the Cache Creek Casino & Resort Ticket Office. Visit www.leasalonga.com
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MANILA -- Showbiz princess KC Concepcion said that she wants to do her first movie project with her mother Megastar Sharon Cuneta, before entertaining the idea of making one with her biological father actor Gabby Concepcion.
"Hopefully one day (makagawa ako ng movie with my dad) pero baka mauna iyong sa mommy ko. Sana, kasi siya naman po iyong nagpalaki sa akin talaga," KC told members of entertainment media during a press conference for her television show "I AM KC."
"It would be, you know, a real gift," she added.
KC's statement stemmed from reports that she will embark on her first big screen project after her acting debut on "Maalaala Mo Kaya", and now her birthday show "I AM KC". The actress said she would really like to do a movie very soon, and that she is certain she wants her mother to star in it with her.
"If there’s anything that’s confirmed it's that I would really like to make one this year, pero wala pang confirmed story or director," KC said.
She would like her first screen appearance with her mother to be in a movie.
"If ever gusto ko movie talaga (with my mom). Sana kasi para siyang mas engrande it’s a bigger screen and iyon po talaga ang focus n’ya... so that’s saved for the movie hopefully one day," KC added.
KC said she would really like to do a movie with both her biological parents, since it is not an ordinary thing that happens everyday. But KC admitted it would be difficult to star with both Cuneta and Concepcion in the same project.
"Hindi naman kaming tatlo, parang hindi pwede iyon, mate-tense ang lahat ng tao," KC said.
KC Concepcion or Maria Kristina Cassandra Cuneta Pangilinan in real life is the daughter of Cuneta and Concepcion. KC is legally adopted by Senator Francis Pangilinan. Legally, her surname is Pangilinan, but she uses her biological father's last name as a screen name.
KC's music
Aside from her acting projects, KC will be very busy recording her first album. Reports have said KC recently signed a record deal with international recording company Sony BMG.
During the launching of Cuneta's "Isn't It Romantic?" Volume 2 album, she said that her concept for her daughter's first album is music that everybody would love to hear while they are on a roadtrip. Cuneta also has a record deal with Sony BMG.
Aside from being an actress and a singer, KC also has a modeling career, as she has signed a deal with a clothing line. She was an MTV Asia VJ in 2003. In August 2007, she graduated from the American University of Paris with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in International Corporate Communications with a minor in Theatre Arts.
She then signed a contract with ABS-CBN and did a documentary special entitled, "KC: From Paris to Pinas", a program that showcased her college years in Paris. In February 2008, she kicked off her first television acting role in "Maalaala Mo Kaya", and shortly after that she was appointed by the United Nations as the World Food Programme Ambassador in the Philippines.(MNS)
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LOS ANGELES - Say goodbye, Malubay. Filipino-American Ramiele Malubay — the diminutive singer with the big voice — was booted from "American Idol" as the show trimmed the competition to eight hopefuls.
Malubay, 20, of Miramar, Fla., crooned Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" on Tuesday night's show. Paula Abdul enjoyed the performance. Randy Jackson thought it was OK. But Simon Cowell — not so much.
"Overall I thought it was forgettable, and I think it was very reminiscent of something you would see and hear on a cruise ship," the acerbic judge told Malubay.
Brooke White and Kristy Lee Cook were the other lowest vote-getters. Fan favorite David Cook was back for the results show after having heart palpitations and high blood pressure near the end of Tuesday's sing-off. The 25-year-old Missouri native — who was subsequently treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center — told host Ryan Seacrest that the "whole thing kind of got blown out of proportion. ... I have high blood pressure, and it spiked."
Wednesday's show also featured performances by celebrity mentor Parton and The Clark Brothers. (MNS)
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MANILA -- SARAH Geronimo is tireless. Not content to rest on her laurels, she has added several more awards to her ever-growing collection. The Viva singing star emerged top winner in this year’s MYX Music Awards. She copped the Favorite Song award for the Medwin Marfil composition "Ikaw," one of the cuts in her all-original Filipino album, "Taking Flight." Sarah was also named Favorite Artist of the Year, Favorite Female Artist of the Year and MYX Celebrity VJ of the Year. On top of that, Sarah was chosen Best Female Performer in the recently-concluded Guillermo Mendoza Awards. Martin Nievera was Best Male Performer.
Unfortunately, Sarah was not around to personally receive her harvest of awards. She is now in Canada, where she is on a concert tour with the old gang, Rachelle Ann Go, Mark Bautista and Christian Bautista. She had just performed in Winnipeg where fans packed the musical hall. Thanks to new technology however, the enterprising guys in MYX USA were able to shoot Sarah giving her thank you speech.
There is no question that the young superstar deserves the awards. She is one of a few artists who can draw a big crowd at the Araneta Coliseum. Her last concert, "Sarah Geronimo in Motion," rocked the Big Dome and has been preserved on DVD. Her fourth album, "Taking Flight," also topped the music charts. Almost 500,000 have viewed her music video, "How Could You Say You Love Me," on YouTube.
Reports have it that Sarah will stay behind in Los Angeles after the "Champions" tour to record a duet with a cute member of one of the biggest boy bands in pop music history. The song will be included in her new album for release in July, her birth month. (MNS)
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MANILA -- DIRECTOR Mark Reyes’ Resiklo, topbilled by Sen. Bong Revilla, continues to reap accolades worldwide after being invited in the 10th Udine Far East Festival in Italy from April 19-26.
Following its unexpected success in the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival when it bagged the coveted Best Picture Award, the movie also boasts of earning a nomination in the Puchon International Fantastic Festival in Korea in July.
Direk Mark has been collaborating with GMA-7 in producing chart-topping telefantasya shows for several years now including Encatadia, Etheria, Atlantika and at present Kamandag. Kamandag, which runs in the primetime block, continues to rake the daily ratings game.
He has also directed numerous films among them, TGIS the Movie, Eternity, Moments of Love, Till I Met You, Angels, Tiyanaks, Resiklo and the blockbuster movie, My Bestfriend’s Girlfriend topbilled by Kapuso stars Richard Gutierrez and Marian Rivera. Presently, he is busy working on I.T.A.L.Y., a romantic- comedy starring Jolina Magdangal, Dennis Trillo and Rufa Mae Quinto.
Reyes was also behind three unbeaten youth programs of GMA-7: Love to Love, T.G.I.S. and Growing Up. (MNS)
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