Oh, Charice, your last in David Foster and Friends?

Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends concert at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, October 15, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (October 14, 2010 - Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America)

Parting is such sweet sorrow?

It really does seem so. As a Chaster, it is mainly because of all the goodness David Foster has shown Charice and the way Charice has responded and grown under his musical genius and professional (and personal) guidance.

The sweet: I believe it is something David has been preparing Charice for. I remember in one video - was it an episode of "30 days with Charice"? - David said something like the best part will be when Charice starts telling them what she wants to sing. I also just watched again David's interview at KVRC in 2009 or 2010 and there he said his goal was to help her find her niche.

So David has helped Charice to establish herself on solid ground - artistically, professionally and personally in their business so she can do what she's now about to do - fly high on her own.

The sorrow: We will be missing watching and hearing Charice perform those power ballads as only David can compose and produce. Her voice just really soars high and dives deep in the most beautiful and haunting ways singing those ballads. Like no other.

But then again, she's got decades ahead of her and I'm sure she'll go back to singing them every now and then. After all, she did say ballads are her favorite songs to sing, right?

So this is life - letting go of something really good to reach out for something greater, the way a parent lets a child go his independent way so he can grow into his fullest potential. But the parent never lets him get completely out of sight and the child knows this, knows he can always go back whenever he needs to... or simply wants to.

I'm sure David will always be a mentor to Charice even if he won't be producing songs for her and she won't be part of his concerts anymore. Theirs is a unique collaboration in the music industry that will never fail to move and inspire.

Charice's life and career move on to bigger and more exciting surprises and I hope she holds on to her success formula: pray, dream big, work hard, love her family, friends and fans, be focused (it's an intoxicating and, at the same time, cutthroat world you're in, girl), keep strong in her principles, and, as she tweeted, always be thankful for everything.

Continue sharing your beautiful gift with the world, Cha! Chasters are with you all the way!


Thanks to the following articles and thread:

Charice: After David Foster what?
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=720286&publicati...

Charice Fully Emerges From David Foster’s Guidance
http://www.charicemania.com/2011/08/26/news/charice-emerges-from-david-fosters-guidance/

Foster to stop producing for Charice? Is this good? Bad? What next? http://www.charicetvcrew.com/Thread-Foster-to-stop-producing-for-Charice-Is-this-good-Bad-What-next

David Foster and Charice through the years (photos and captions from Zimbio)

13th annual Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation's Grand Slam for Children benefit concert at the Wynn Las Vegas October 11, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (October 11, 2008 - Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America)

30th anniversary Carousel of Hope Ball to benefit the Barbara Davis center for childhood diabetes held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 25, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. (October 25, 2008 - Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America)

1st Annual Night To Make a Difference At Mr. Chow on February 22, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California (February 22, 2009 - Photo by John M. Heller/Getty Images North America)

Muhammad Ali's Celebrity Fight Night XV held at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa on March 28, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night)

"Hit Man: David Foster and Friends" concert at the Mandalay Bay Events Center May 9, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

14th annual Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation's Grand Slam for Children benefit concert at the Wynn Las Vegas September 26, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event raises funds for the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, which helps improve education for underprivileged youth in the Las Vegas community. (September 25, 2009 - Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America)

Celebrity Fight Night XVI on March 20, 2010 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona. (March 19, 2010 - Photo by Andrew Goodman/Getty Images North America)

Click here for videos and photos of Charice in David Foster & Friends in Napa Valley, July 16, 2011

"One Day: The Charice Saga (An Autobiography)"

Is Charice's rise to the top taking too long?

There are Chasters who think that way and I think it's because they are convinced her talent makes her deserving to be at the top right now. I too am very convinced that Charice is extraordinarily talented and so hardworking that she not only deserves to be at number 1 but to stay there for the longest time.

Honestly, though, I'm finding her "longer" route more exciting. Instead of having a Justin Bieber-like story (which is also incredible), I find Charice's story having the elements of a saga. She's only 19 but look at these:

Trials:
- childhood years marked by hardship and poverty survived through strong ties shared with her mother and brother
- as a very young teen, losing in a competition on which they had pegged their hopes for a brighter future
- being told she did not have what it takes to be a star
- a mysterious stranger's actions that would alter her life permanently

First success:
- just when she thought everything was lost, suddenly finding herself on centerstage in two of the biggest television shows in the US and astonishing the world
- her privileged one-after-another singing stints with the music industry's greats
- making music history by being the first solo Asian artist to have a debut album land in the Top 10 of Billboard 200
- a highly successful series of solo concerts in Japan, the 2nd largest music industry 

Love:
- innocent, young love halted by external factors beyond their control. Will it ever have another chance?
- setting her mind not to get into a relationship...yet
- twist: will it be one of the many faithful Chasters who will ultimately win her heart?

Struggles:
- success that's there yet not quite: not catapulting yet to the very top as hoped for and expected, not quite getting that no. 1 hit song...yet, having to gradually overcome cultural barriers (she's totally Asian in looks, upbringing, culture and ways, and had never lived in the US until a year after she came out on Oprah - making her truly different from her contemporaries)

Intrigue:
- the continuous presence of critics who continue in their disbelief in her talents because they think she doesn't have the "look". Where her critics find limitations, Charice locks on opportunities.
- haters who can't accept her genius while at the same time unable to resist watching her and following her career
- and when these two sets seem to reach a high, a Charice success unexpectedly comes

Destiny:
- a clarity of vision of where she wants to go and her incredible focus and hard work in pursuing it

All these and she's only 19.

Now a new chapter's unfolding in Charice's climb to the top and what makes it even more exciting is that no one knows exactly how the next turn will be - just like no one expected her to suddenly appear in Ellen's and Oprah's shows, wow the world, be mentored by no less than David Foster, and be where she is right now.

"One Day: The Charice Saga (An Autobiography)"

Reserve your copies now :)