I eagerly opened this week’s issue of Billboard Magazine because it has the 21 Under 21 list of Hottest Minors in the music business. I wanted to find out where Charice is in the list. I was so excited to see that she made No. 4 last year after Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. That meant she had really made it big. No way she can top those guys this year but she should still be among the hot youngsters.
Disappointment. No Charice this year. Taylor Swift, Chris Colfer of Glee, hip-hop stars Sean Kingston and Soulja Boy, one-man-band Never Shout Never and the cute K-Pop group Wonder Girls were also dropped from the list. But it was because they all turned 21 and were not eligible anymore. Miranda Cosgrove of icarly is not in it too but I believe this was because, she decided to retire from showbusiness at the age of 18.
Anyway, I have a feeling Charice will be back among the hot minors on 2012. She will only be 20 years old by then. She will also have the new album Infinity out in the market. This one has new songs by Bruno Mars, Before It Explodes and Nick Jonas, One Day and may also include New World, the theme song from the Final Fantasy XIII-2 video game. Who knows, she might have also returned to do a few more episodes of Glee as Sunshine Corazon and done other stuff that will make her worthy of being called a hot minor.
As for those who made the 21 Under 21 list, here they are: 1. Justin Bieber. Of course, this kid is truly No. 1 nowadays in terms of fan base and million dollar paychecks, although he has not released any new song in three years. He has spent his time touring, dating Selena Gomez, writing a book and licensing perfume, dolls, nail polish, games, hair gel, etc. He is said to be getting ready to come out with his first Christmas CD soon. Some people are just born lucky.
The others are: 2. Tyler The Creator, 20, MTV Video Music Awards, 2011 Best New Artist choice. 3. Selena Gomez, 19, Disney princess who is the star of the series Wizards of Waverly Place and leader of the big-selling pop group, The Scene. Same one dating the Bieber. 4. Scotty McCreery, 17, rambling voiced country boy winner of the 10th season of the TV reality show American Idol. 5. Jackie Evancho, 11, remarkable classical soprano, who is David Foster’s newest protégé.
6. Mac Miller, 19, rapper who is being bruited about as the new Eminem. 7. Demi Lovato, 18, another Disney princess and star of Camp Rock. Her new CD Unbroken is a hit. 8. Nick Jonas, 19, the lone brother keeping the Jonas club flying. He has a new band, the Administration, and will take over from Daniel Radcliffe in Broadway’s How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. 9. Rye Rye, 20, rapper and dancer. 10. Victoria Justice, 18, of the Nickelodeon show Victorious.
11. Lex Luger, 20, much sought-after hip-hop producer. He has worked with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross and other big stars. 12. Il Volo, classical singing trio from Italy made up of Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetti and Gianluca Genoble. Thanks to them, tweens are now swooning over O Sole Mio. 13. Cody Simpson, 14, singer/songwriter from Australia. 14. Willow Smith, 10, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith. Her single Whip My Hair was a viral sensation. 15. Greyson Change, 14, classical music student who gained fame on the Net singing his own version of Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi.
16. Mindless Behavior, quartet of 14-year-old R&B crooners. I see them as the classical Il Volo’s R&B counterpart. 17. HyunA, 19, K-Pop diva, former lead singer of Wonder Girls and 4 Minutes. Yes, South Korea has accomplished what we have long dreamed of: Conquer the US charts. HyunA is one proof. 18. Porter Robinson, 19, stylish disc jockey. 19. One Direction, from the UK. I see this trio as the pop counterpart of Il Volo and Mindless Behavior. 20. Miguelito, 12, reggaeton star discovered by Daddy Yankee. I think we can call him the Latino Bieber. He makes as much money and has as many fans; and 21. Miley Cyrus, 18, who is down 11 points from being No. 10 last year.