The star of David

MANILA, Philippines - Her mentor and record producer David Foster doesn’t doubt it. Charice will win the Grammy, “maybe not next year, but for sure she will.”

Foster, also called the “Hitman” because of the many hits he wrote and produced (Hard to Say I’m Sorry, The Glory of Love, I Swear, etc.) was talking at the presscon of his first-ever concert in Manila, Hitman: David Foster and Friends tonight at 8, at the Araneta Coliseum.

So confident is the 15-time Grammy winner about Charice’s talent he glows every time he discusses his plans for her.

“My plan for her is for her to keep on growing until she’s the number one international star and make Asia proud. I know she has made the Philippines proud. Our goal is to make all of Asia proud.”’

Charice, seated right next to Foster is dumbfounded.

“I’m speechless,” she admits. “I won’t get tired of saying thank you.”

The 18-year-old star of Glee then turns to Foster, whom she simply calls David: “I just hope you, Oprah and everyone else who helped me won’t get tired of helping me and making all my dreams come true.”

Natalie, who grew up in the business as the daughter of music icon Nat King Cole, has this advice about preserving Charice’s voice.

“Save your voice. Leave some to yourself.”

Cetera, also a seasoned performer adds: “Show up and be on time.”

One of the four Canadian Tenors chimes in, “Stay sweet and real.”

That should be no problem for Charice, who has yet to show that her stint in Glee and most recently, her gold record award in Japan, have gone to her head.

Told that people are comparing her to Celine Dion, another Foster protégé, Charice reacts: “I’m flattered. It’s a big responsibility.”

And oh yes, she still has to pinch herself whenever she rubs elbows with great singers like Dion and celebrities like Oprah.

“I still can’t believe it!” gushes Charice.

She may have performed in various stages and before many kinds of audiences all over the world. But until now, Charice admits she feels standing ovations are something new to her. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t relish them.

“I hope they continue with it (the standing ovations). Standing ovations give me energy,” Charice states.

She’s just as humble about the prospect of winning a Grammy.

“Libre naman ang mangarap (“Dreams are for free),” she states with a laugh.

Foster is not that tentative about the other things she can do besides singing. He not only watched her in Glee. He saw Charice act before the American TV cameras with his own two eyes.

“It was exciting,” he recalls. “I watched al the other kids, the other actors, and it was very exciting!”

Charice and David Foster share a light moment at the presscon. Below: Charice in People mag’s special issue on Glee.

He is not surprised at seeing Charice act and sing at the same time in the popular series.

“I believe every great singer can act. It just makes sense because singing is just like acting. Turns out Charice is a great actress.”

Members of media were not allowed to ask questions about Charice’s role in Glee as Sunshine Corazon. So no one was able to confirm reports if she’s returning to the hit TV show for its seventh episode on Nov. 2.

“I can’t say anything about it,” Charice relates. “Hindi ko pa nakukuha ang exact dates.”

Whether or not she gets the dates everyone is waiting for, one thing’s for sure, her kababayan can’t thank Foster enough for helping Charice.

“I wanna say it again,” states Foster.”Every single day of my life, a Filipino comes up to me – on the street, the hotel, in the restaurant. He takes my hand and says thank you for Charice. They are so warm.”

But he sees no need for them to do that.

“I don’t feel they should be thanking me. Charice is theirs.”

That’s why he’s beside himself with joy that “I can get to see 10,000 Filipino people all at once (in the show) It’s breathtaking for me.”

At the risk of being redundant, I say, thank you again, Mr .Foster. We hope you can develop another Charice someday.