YouTube is one of the most viewed video websites in the world. It only takes one single uploaded video for someone to make it big in the Internet and possibly the rest of the world.

Graphics by Elyas Salanga; screenshots and logo from YouTube

Filipino YouTube Wonders

Elyas Isabelo Salanga

Sunday, June 8, 2008
12:40 AM

The power of the web can no longer be undermined. Take the case of YouTube, a video sharing website, which has become an effective medium for some Pinoys to gain popularity.

Internet data spread like wildfire, and some lucky people have utilised it as their ticket to fame.

It is very viral, it is fast, and very innovative. Most things become possible with just one click. And one of the web's best features, aside from being an instant source is, it is a people meter.

YouTube has helped celebrities and celebrity wannabes (whether they expect it or not) gain popularity and even international recognition. PEP (Philippine Entertainment) shares its list.

Arnel Pineda's Journey. Arnel Pineda has been writing and singing songs for 25 years now, gaining recognition here in the Philippines and around Asia. It was Arnel's latest band The Zoo, however, that caught the eyes and ears of Neal Schon, who happened to be watching clips on YouTube of Arnel singing cover songs from Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Kenny Loggins, and of course, the 80's legendary rock band Journey.

Arnel's longtime fan, Noel Gomez, was responsible for uploading the clips and last June 28, 2007, Neal contacted Noel to ask how he could contact Arnel.

For Arnel, this was the beginning of a bigger opportunity.

It wasn't a cakewalk for Arnel in the first few days of his arrival in the U.S. to audition for a part in Journey. But on December 5, 2007, he was formally announced as Journey's frontman and CNN covered the story as part of their "News to Me" segment.

Journey introduced its new lead singer in February 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile. The Chilean media gave positive reviews on Arnel's performance, and Journey's keyboardist Jonathan Cain described him as "a winner; a clutch player."

U.S. magazine GQ recently featured Arnel in one of its articles.

Charice Pempengco's Big, Big Star. Fifteen-year old Charice had been joining singing contests since she was seven, including Birit Bulilit, Batang Kampeon, Bulilit Popstar, and Junior Star Quest. But it was in Little Big Star (2005) that she became locally known. Although she lost in the final round against Sam Concepcion, good things were in store for her.

A series of YouTube videos in 2007 caught the attention of Swedish record company Ten Songs Productions, which made a contract with her to record seven songs, released digitally.

Sweden was not the only country that noticed Charice. South Korea's Seoul Broadcasting System asked Charice to perform on their talent show called Star King on October 2007. Her performance earned her a standing ovation and paved the way for a guest interview in The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Here, Charice got her first U.S. standing ovation. There was more to come—acclaim in Oprah, and Charice's personal achievement in receiving the first-ever standing ovation at the grand opening of MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut.

Charice's star continues to shine brightly. Negotiations with American record producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recipient Clive Davis are on the table.

Renaldo Lapus in American Idol. Former tricycle driver Renaldo Lapus has no other hobby than singing—with passion, mind you. His energy, songwriting talent and creativity in presenting himself earned him the sarcasm turned admiration of American Idol judge Simon Cowell when Renaldo, wearing clothes worthy of a cosplay event, auditioned for AI season 7.

Four years ago, Renaldo migrated from the Philippines to the U.S. and found employment as Greyhound and Wal-mart janitor. His love for singing, and support from his friends, encouraged him to try out for AI when the show held auditions in Dallas, Texas. Renaldo was the last one to audition and obviously he was the only one who hyped up the exhausted judges after a long day with his original composition We're Brothers Forever. Although Renaldo was eventually rejected, Simon Cowell declared, "I have a horrible feeling that it's going to be a hit record."

True enough, Simon's prediction came true as Renaldo's performance invaded YouTube, following a series of modifications to his song such as rock, rap, metal and techno versions. It earned him 1.2 million hits and since then, has become a weekly Top 10 favorite.

"Keys Me" by Alyssa Alano. A prank can sometimes boost the career of an artist, as in the case of former Viva Hot Babes dancer Alyssa Alano.

Some people may not know that Startalk's Alyssa Alano popularity skyrocketed when she performed Sixpence None the Richer's Kiss Me on the now defunct late night show Master Showman Presents. Alyssa's Tagalog accent drew snickers from the Internet community back in June 2006 when a prankster uploaded a clip of her performance in YouTube and subtitled it with monde greens such as "Keys Me" instead of "Kiss Me".

This mockery seemed to be a door of opportunity for Alyssa in terms of her career, when hits on the video skyrocketed to 500,000 by the end of the month. Alyssa herself had no idea that her performance drew quite a stir until it was shown to her in the 24 Oras entertainment segment Chika Minute of GMA-7. She reacted like a good sport.

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