Maria Aragon with Lady Gaga? I'm watching Thia Megia

MANILA - I'm watching Thia Megia's performance of Irene Cara's hit single "Out Here On My Own" at the semifinals of American Idol Season 10 courtesy of YouTube (ladyggalore.com), and I'm enthralled by the singing, awed by the praises of the judges. If you know me, I'm going to watch maybe 50 times. If I were a CD or DVD, I would be burning the data onto my skin. I'm going to catch every single word the judges said - and write about it separately next time.

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga can wait.

Right now, I'd like to explain how I did come to this new blog of mine. I want to tell you because, yes, thinking of Thia has changed my view on Pinoy singing talents, and I never even watched or heard her before I wrote this, even after I wrote and uploaded "Thia Megia, American Idol. 'So proud of my friend' - Charice" (07 March 2011, pinoycinderella.com), the same which appears on American Chronicle Online with the same title. I just soaked in what people, including the judges were saying about Thia. I am hearing superlatives. Wow!

After I uploaded that one, it just occurred to me to support Thia Megia with my talent for writing - and while I'm at it, why not the other Pinoy talents? In the meantime, I texted my good friends Double O, Neneng M, and Marina T: "New article on Thia Megia and Charice in Pinoy Cinderella."

Double O texted back: "I've found my own blessed thrill in Maria Aragon. She's full of Corinthian truth and comes nearest to that true, elusive Rizalian hope."

(Wow! I say now; I've never even watched Maria Aragon either. "The youth is the fair hope of the fatherland," Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal had said. That depends on how they are brought up, or taught.)

I texted back: "My take on Thia Megia is the start of my advocacy for other Pinoy performers."

And Double O texted back: "Megia is no better than Sarah or Maegan or Lolita or Verna or even Micah."

I texted back: "We have to support them all."

And that was the end of that.

I meant I would now support Charice and Thia and other Pinoy performers. If anyone can, I can. If no one else will, I will.

Megia is no better than Sarah or Maegan or Lolita or Verna or even Micah? I´m going to support them all, warts and all. I have my own warts, but it doesn´t mean I´m not talented. Right now, talent is all that the Filipinos have to keep their country going!

Season 10, American Idol. Before all this, I have been only mildly interested in American Idol ever since Filipina Jasmine Frias placed 3rd in Season 3 of AI, 2004. And how did I come to discover for myself Thia Megia? Actually, it was Charice who led me to her. Yesterday, I was surfing for Charice news in Google (on iGoogle, I have a bookmark "Google News Charice") - anything about Charice interests me greatly - and the news item said something about Charice being proud of Fil-Am friend Thia Megia being selected to compete in American Idol (Angeli Sabillo, 05 March 2011, thepoc.net). So I read; so this morning, I came up with my new Pinoy Cinderella essay on 2 Pinoy singing sensations. And this afternoon, I came up with this new blog, PinoyMania.

As it is my own invented term, Pinoy mania I'm defining as being crazy about Pinoys who have shown knowledge, skill or ability beyond the ordinary - especially if they are world-class, of export quality, first class. PinoyMania, therefore, is advocacy for Filipinos who have gifts, as in gift of gab (as in Pat Evangelista), gift of jab (as in Manny Pacquiao), gift of word (as in Carlos Bulosan, Nick Joaquin), gift of rhyme (as in Jose Rizal, in a borrowed language yet, Spanish), gift of song (Charice, Arnel Pineda, Freddie Aguilar, Aria Clemente, Jovit Baldivino, Rachel Ann Go, Christian Bautista, Ogie Alcasid, Lani Misalucha, Sarah Geronimo, Nikki Gil, Gary V, Martin Nievera, Pops Fernandez, Nora Aunor, Pilita Corales etcetera).

Okay, Maria Aragon. Reading the Wikipedia entries on her, I'm flabbergasted by this new YouTube singing sensation with Pinoy blood. Maria Lourdes Aragon, just going on 10 (she was born 17 July 2000), is a Filipino-Canadian girl whose cover of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga was uploaded to YouTube, caught Lady Gaga's attention and she tweeted a link to the video to her 8 million fans, and that gave Maria instant international fame. The video took 10 million views in 5 days, 19 million in 6 days.

And Lady Gaga went to Toronto and invited Maria to sing with her at the Air Canada Centre, the little girl sitting on Lady Gaga´s lap while playing the piano and singing the lead vocals, and yes, the crowd went Gaga for the Winnipeg girl (Nick Patch, 05 March 2011, winnipegfreepress.com).

Very creative Lady Gaga said, "Maria represents what this song is all about. It's all about the next generation and the future."

I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way.

When Maria guested at Ellen DeGeneres' show that aired Tuesday, she told the host "that she was inspired to cover Born This Way because of the song's positive message" (Aldo Santin, 22 February 2011, vancouversun.com). "It's about just being yourself because God made you who you are and you're no different than anybody else." I'm positive she's right, if she's just referring to the lines I have quoted above.

A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (hey, hey, hey)
I love my life, I love this record and
Mi amore vole fe yah.

My instinct as a creative writer tells me the heart of the song is in the line "A different lover is not a sin." Now then, correct me if I am wrong, but I understand that to be a flat declaration by the composer or singer or both that one-night stands, or sex liaisons, or divorces, or same-sex marriages, or all of the above, are not sins, that in fact they are A-OK - and since these are all opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, declaring them sins, you know how I feel about that once you know I try to be a faithful Roman Catholic.

Take Lady Gaga's main message and take what Maria Aragon says about the song - they don't necessarily support each other. So, what my good friend Double O is saying that Maria Aragon is full of Corinthian truth is right - but not Lady Gaga's "Born This Way." Little Maria probably missed the import of "A different lover is not a sin," and I forgive her. But if my good friend insists that Lady Gaga's song is full of Corinthian truth, then I don't know his 1 Corinthians 13 (about romantic love, as everybody knows), and he doesn't know my Romans 12 (about Christian love, as I say - if you don't understand Romans 12 like I'm saying, watch out for my book on Charice, coming out soon, titled of course, Romans 12 Charice).

In any case, I'd love to know where this Lady Gaga discovery, this New Little Monster will go from here. You must remember that YouTube is only a first step leading to, not the theatre itself. Talent or no talent, you get hit 1 million times in YouTube; the hits don't transform themselves into 1 million records sold automatically. She's good, very good. But so far, Maria Aragon is a 1-song wonder. She will need more singing lessons, more piano lessons, more marketing. Also remember, it takes more than talent to get to the top of the Pyramid.

If you don't know us Filipinos, here's a short introduction. When we are good, we can be the best. When we are bad, we can't be any worse. When we are better, we can be the model for anyone.

As a matter of fact, before Maria Aragon, my friend Double O has been egging me to write in support of Jovit Baldivino just like I have been doing for Charice in Pinoy Cinderella. Jovit is the 16-year old poor boy who made good, from selling siomai (a Chinese delicacy, dimsum) to selling Platinum records of his own after being the Grand Winner of Season 1 (2010) of Pilipinas Got Talent (patterned after Britain's Got Talent).

But I have been reluctant to do that, because I didn't think Jovit was as good as Charice.

Bad comparison! Why should every Pinoy singer be as good as Charice? Or even as good as Thia Megia? To each his own niche, to each her own Blue Ocean.

Now, is there a Lady Gaga in the house? I hope not.