Charice lights up New York. What's the sound of one man clapping?

MANILA - About New York´s Rockefeller Center annual Christmas extravaganza, I would like to report glitzes, glimpses, and gladnesses. You celebrate what you can; you cerebrate what you have to.

Last night, 01 December, Wednesday in Manila, they lighted the world´s most famous Christmas tree in New York City at the Rockefeller Center. I´m glad there´s Christmas to celebrate at least once a year; if you don´t believe in Christmas, I don´t believe in you.

Charice was there for that occasion, and the BBC wasn´t. So, all it could report was this, exactly 84 words (bbc.co.uk), which I could have written myself from thousands of miles away:

The lighting of the Christmas tree at New York's Rockefeller Center has taken place watched by a crowd of tens of thousands of people. ¶ Sheryl Crow was one of the artists who performed for the crowd. ¶ The 74-foot (22.5m) Norway spruce was donated by firefighter Peter Acton and his wife Stephanie, of Mahopac, New York State. ¶ Mr Acton, a firefighter and rescue worker on 11 September 2001, said providing the tree was his way of saying thank you to the City of New York.

Why report on Sheryl Crow only as the invited artist? And BBC didn´t even mention what she did. What´s the matter, the BBC can´t be bothered with Christmas?

And CNN? I must say the report too was rushed to publication. JoyfulGypsy says (cnn.com), "The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was officially lit Tuesday night, Nov 31, 2010, before a crowd of thousands. ¶ The 74ft spruce is lit by 30,000 environmentally friendly LED lights strung together using 5 miles of wire and topped with a sparkling Swarovski crystal star." (Quoted as of 1600 hours 02 December in Manila)

Which tells me that being joyful as well as gypsy doesn´t exempt you from data error - there is no 31 November ever. And that reminds you that there is weakness in numbers.

LED is the acronym for light-emitting diodes. A diode emits low-intensity light, that´s why they need 30,000 of those to light up that tree. And that reminds you that there is strength in numbers.

But thank you CNN for mentioning Swarovski. Do you know what kind of personal microphone Charice has? A Sennheiser mic that is studded with Swarovski crystals, which this Christmas season New York City and Charice have something in common. And on that New York occasion, Charice was there to sing "A Grown-Up Christmas Wish List" and "Jingle Bell Rock" with mentor David Foster on the piano. Did Charice bring her Swarovski crystals? I´m sure Charice brought her crystal-clear voice.

Ricky Lo wasn´t there but Funfare correspondent Felix Manuel was (02 December 2010, philstar.com), and Felix reports about 1 million people gathered at the Rockefeller Center for the annual ceremony. So we learn that "Charice sang her 1st number, ´My Grown-Up Christmas List,´ so beautifully touching that many in the audience were seen wiping tears even as they gave her an ear-splitting applause." David Foster, who accompanied Charice on the piano, composed that song himself. What´s the sound of one man clapping? Here´s my applause for Charice and David Foster.

The BBC can report only Sheryl Crow as a performer during that ceremony; Ricky Lo reports Josh Groban, Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle, Kylie Minogue, Jessica Simpson, Sheryl Crow and Katherine Jenkins. Perhaps the BBC knows only Sheryl Crow. For the finale, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg helped turn on the lights that adorn the Christmas Tree. To that list, ANN adds Jackie Evancho, Annie Lennox, and the Radio City Rockettes (author not named, 01 December 2010, abs-cbn.com).

Charice was about to sing her 2nd number "Jingle Bell Rock" but the music wasn´t ready; in fact, it was wrong - it was the soundtrack of the Boyz II Men singing! (usatoday.com). Thus, it was found out in public that those boys had been lip-synching! Their voices were there but at the same time weren´t there. Well, boys will always be boys. During the glitz, man! David Foster was quick to the draw, as he took the mike and shouted, "There ain´t nothing like live TV, here in New York City. We´re going to get this right in the next 15 seconds. Hang on." That´s my man! And Charice did get it wonderfully right. Here´s another sound of one-man clapping, same man.

The live performance was part of NBC´s 13th Annual "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" Special (ANN, source cited). I say, Charice is special, and so is David Foster.