Racial discrimination played no factor in Charlie Green's failed Britain's Got Talent bid.
The fact was stressed by Charlie's father, Roger Philip Green, when asked about the issue raised by some Filipinos living in the United Kingdom. Many reportedly felt that the 11-year-old British-Filipino singer was booted out of the contest mainly because of his Asian roots.
Charlie breezed through the early stages of the competition based on the strength of his stirring rendition of Frank Sinatra's 1966 smash "Summer Wind." So inspiring was Charlie's performance that the audience gave him a standing ovation. BTG's judges were unanimous on their decision to let Charlie advance to the semifinals.
Simon Cowell, known for his in-your-face comments, thrillingly said, "You are fantastic... Charlie I think you are a little star." Theater actress Amanda Holden was even more daring, saying, "Charlie Green, I'm gonna say here and now, I predict you could win this show."
The semifinals, however, saw Charlie's hopes crumbling to the ground. Opting to do an original number titled, "All I Wanna Do is Sing," instead of dishing out a familiar tune, Charlie found himself kissing his BGT campaign goodbye.
Though Simon Cowell publicly voiced out that Charlie made a "bad song choice," resulting in his elimination, some fans assumed that racial issue was the primary reason why Charlie was axed from the contest.
BREAKS OF THE GAME. The "racial issue" was actually asked directly to Charlie by the press during a special meet and greet luncheon tendered by ABS-CBN yesterday, July 25, at the Conway's Bar of the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City.
But since the question was too sensitive for Charlie to address, his father politely volunteered to speak in behalf of his puzzled son.
Mr. Green explained that the show's production unit usually gives suggestions to the contestants on what song to perform. Charlie's team, however, was not comfortable with the choices provided. Hoping to really showcase Charlie's singing talent, Mr. Green along with a composer friend, crafted a song they felt at the time was best for Charlie.
"But unfortunately we were told and we know that it's a fact that because we didn't sing one of the songs that they suggested, that he will not progress. We didn't know at that time. Because if they would have said to us by singing your own song you could not progress maybe we would have reconsidered," reasoned Roger.
The analogy behind shunning original numbers is that an unfamiliar song often bores the audience. Crowd reaction tends to be pale and less enthusiastic since there's no established recall as compared to radio or MTV generated hits.
But according to Roger, the audience loved what they heard from Charlie and again offered a standing ovation as a sign of acknowledgement.
"They cheered," he enthused. "So we accept the painful [judgment]. It was a shame. But we have no regrets because all of the contestants got on extremely well. There is no, what we say, nastiness in the competition. Everybody supported each other. And the competitors, all of them, thought that Charlie was gonna win the thing but because of this [performing an original song], it wasn't gonna be."
HAPPY NONETHELESS. Despite failing to secure the plum, Roger and the family are happy and grateful to BTG for the big break it provided Charlie.
"However, the exposure has been wonderful," smiled Roger. "Exposure on television, the media coverage, YouTube and all that, you become known all over the world. So it's wonderful really and it's a stepping stone to other things."
Reverting back to the issue of discrimination, Charlie's father quipped, "But no, no discrimination," he assured. Glancing at his son who was busy finishing off his steak, Roger added, "He's never met with any discrimination at all in the UK."