Earlier today, June 11, 17-year-old Charice Pempengco had an intimate press conference for her upcoming concert, Charice: The Journey Begins. It will be held at the SMX Convention Center on June 27.

It will also serve as a reunion for the batchmates of Charice in Little Big Star, which was aired on ABS-CBN a few years ago.

After the press conference, PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) asked Mommy Raquel why this venue was chosen, not the Araneta Coliseum.

"Ang original talaga Araneta 'yan, pero kulang ang preparation. Kaya hindi ako pumayag na mag-Araneta muna. Una sa lahat, maraming araw ang ipa-practice mo sa Araneta, hindi namin kakayanin, dahil sa schedule ni Charice sa America," she explained.

Two days after the concert, they will be leaving for the United States to work on the international album of Charice being supervised and produced by David Foster. The Filipina singer stay there for two months to record her songs.

With all her dreams fast coming true, does Charice still have any thing more to ask? "Sana maka-duet ko si Justin Timberlake," she smiled.

Just last May, Charice told the press that among her idols, she had yet to perform a duet with Regine Velasquez. Little did Charice know that a few weeks later, she would be performing in an upcoming concert with Asia's Songbird.

IS SHE REALLY 22 YEARS OLD? There have been rumors going around that Charice is 22 years old, not 17.

A day before the press conference, PEP verified the birth date of Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco (Charice's real name) with the local civil registrar of San Pedro, Laguna. Records indicate that Charice was born on May 10, 1992, thereby debunking the rumors.

When PEP sat down with Charice earlier today, we asked her to react to these malicious rumors.

"Hindi ko pa naririnig 'yon," she said. "Pero siguro ina-ano nila na masyadong akong mature kumilos. Hindi n'yo lang alam, isip-bata ako sa bahay. Seventeen po ako! Kung gusto n'yo, ipakita ko pa yung birth certificate ko.

"Gumagawa lang ng issue 'yan siguro kasi sa makeup ko," she smiled."Minsan, pag ini-interview ako, tinatanong nila kung bakit ganun yung mga sagot ko, pang-mature na talaga.

She declared with a laugh: "Hindi ako 22. At hindi man lang ginawang 20 ha!"

Does she get offended when people question her actual age?

"Naku! Sanay na po ako sa ganyan kasi sa singing contest pa lang dati... Nung twelve years ako, sabi nila 16 naman daw ako. Tapos nung nine years old ako, twelve na raw ako. Ina-adjust nila."