Charice shines in 'Glee' debut

MANILA, Philippines - No, Charice didn’t disappoint her fans around the world, particularly her kababayan, in her debut on the second season of the hit comedy-musical series Glee, which premiered yesterday, viewed by probably everybody in the Philippines, some of them in Metro malls which aired the ETC and Jack TV telecast on the big screen.

As the nerd Filipino exchange student named Sunshine Corazon, Charice only had a few speaking lines, but she acquitted herself impressively well, delivering her dialogue in smooth English with hardly any accent and acting very naturally. She expressed her feelings with the right facial expression.

But she was drop-dead stunning when she sang two songs in the three short scenes she appeared in, first Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s Telephone in the toilet scene where she’s encouraged by Rachel Berry, the lead character played by Lea Michele, to join the glee club, only for Rachel to retract when she recognized Sunshine as a competition.

As Sunshine Corazon, Charice was shown wearing a pair of nerdy eyeglasses, a red blouse under a vest and denim short, with a Hello Kitty backpack.

Rachel told Sunshine: “You are a foreign exchange student named Sunshine Corazon because you’re from the Philippines where it’s sunny every day.”

Sunshine answered: “Except during the monsoon.”

Then she proceeded to sing Telephone which floored Rachel.

Charice, who turned 18 last May, was one of the three new cast members introduce in Glee’s pilot episode, together with Chord Overstreet (as Sam Evan) and Dot –Marie Jones (as Shannon Beastie, the football coach).

In her first scene, Charice was shown with members of the New Directions, McKinley High School’s glee club, performing Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s Empire State of Mind as a way of attracting new recruits.

In her third scene, Charice was shown singing Beyonce’s Listen (from Dreamgirls, the Broadway play and movie), wearing a black beret, black blouse and short skirt. She sang with a voice so powerful that New Directions members gave a jaw-dropping reaction, prompting a member to exclaim, “Wow, welcome to the glee club!”

However, Charice was recruited not by New Directions but by the rival group Vocal Adrenalin.

Charice really made Filipinos proud.

Lea Salonga watched the show and tweeted: “Sunshine Corazon is the name of Charice’s character in Glee, in honor of the late Pres. Corazon Aquino?”

Charice’s Filipino colleagues congratulated Charice via the Twitter.

From Angelica Panganiban: “Charice ibang level! Kasama lang kita dati sa dressing room! Pinapanood ka na ngayon sa Glee. Proud kami sayo!”

From Tim Yap: “Goosebymps all over because of Charice. Go, Pinoy!”

Anne Curtis: “Congrats, Charice, for making so many Pinoys proud today!!! Such an amazing achievement! One day I know magiging ka-boses din kita!”

Tim Stack, said to be a member of the Hollywood press, was all praise for Charice. An excerpt from Stack’s review: “I wanted to stand up and cheer, but that seemed odd given that I was sitting alone in my office watching this episode. And Charice wasn’t even singing live! Holy tiny lady! And she was wearing a beret! It was just all too good! Even the reactions from the crowd were fantastic, especially Rachel’s attempt to hold it together.”

In an earlier interview with Fox. Charice said, “Sunshine is very, very Charice. She’s simple and shy. Sunshine Corazon is a very amazing character and I can just relate to her.”

After yesterday’s airing of Glee, Charice thanked her kababayan via her Twitter for watching and for giving her all the support.