Christian Bautista

Nestor Torre, The Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist and critic, once wrote why "fans" should send comments and reactions to the "performers" if they want the entertainment industry to improve.

One of the TV programs that indirectly supports the cause Mr. Torre is pushing forward is the most popular talent search show in the world, The American Idol.

What makes this show a great watch is the fact that it doesn't only show how bad-mannered and weird some of the American youths auditioning for the Contest are and how talented those who really have the talent, but most especially because, by merely watching and listening to the judges comment on every performance, the viewer picks up and learns a lot about how a song should be sang, what is a boring, edgy and original performance, etc.

So, whatever I shall be saying here against Christian Bautista are the product of every thing I learned from the American Idol show, and my guts to write and publish it right here is born out of the sincerest hope that by doing so, I am contributing to the Entertainment industry of my Country, and not just to criticize Christian whom my girlfriend loves so much.

For the sake of transparency however, let me state on record, that somehow, I have an ill feeling towards Christian Bautista for having Rachael Ann Go as his girlfriend. Rachael is another of my crushes aside from my girlfriend. This may also be another reason for this article.

I do not usually listen to the radio because my training at St. Pius X Seminary in Roxas City made me appreciate more the value of silence. There are times of course that silence is satiating, like everything taken monotonously. Furthermore, there are places where a person has no control with what he hears.

This afternoon, I manned the store next to the bakery of my Tita. While the bakers were mixing the flour salt and water, they were listening to an FM radio station, while I drowsed in my chair.

After a song, the DJ announced that the next song is one rendered by Christian Bautista. "Ok, " I said to myself half asleep. "The Christian Bautista whom my girlfriend has so much crush on. The same guy who has Rachel Ann Go for a girl friend."

But as soon as he sang the first line of the stanza composed and first sang by David Pomeranz, "Oh, my God! What happened to Christian Bautista? If he were auditioning for the American Idol show, will he ever be accepted with the way he is rendering 'Got to believe in Magic'?"

He is obviously out of tune with some notes which seemed so low for his voice. And the whole song seems to be half heartedly sang. It seems that when he sang it, his mind was somewhere else. Or that, I imagine, he recorded it in front of his fans with whom he was busy waving and smiling that he forgot to pay attention to the details of the song and how it should be sang.

If the song were bread, I was made to eat a stale one.

Just imagine my disappointment.

Because I was so disappointed, I picked up a pen and begun writing the draft to this article.

All the while, I thought I lost Rachel Ann Go to a deligent man who is not only an architech but also is very popular because of his cool voice and handsome face that even my girlfriend comes to love.

But no. Based on his performance on that song, Christian is not as deligent as he used to be. Because if he is deligent, he should not have forgotten that when you sing a song, you sing it with all your heart and soul. In short, with all your attention. And before he recorded, or if that was a live performance, before he decided to perform that song, he should have at least made sure that he could reach the lowest notes.

Yes, the lowest notes.

I can only think of one theory that explains what is happening to him, and that is, Christian is beginning to sit on his laurels. He is handsome, he is an architech, he has a cool voice, he commands audience, why bother about the songs he sings or the way he sings them?

Correct! Christian Bautista does not have to bother because indeed, to the unthinking audience, every song is a beautiful song if sang by him, no matter how it is sang and no matter what song he sings.

How about us, Christian? How about us from whom you stole our girlfriend's attention? Isn't it but fair that you at least pay attention to the songs you sing and how you sing it? Isn't it but, for the interest of justice, you at least sing well in exchange for taking our girlfriends (and Rachel Ann) away?

I hope he listens to me and stop singing like the way he sings the David Pomeranz song. I would even suggest that, again, in the interest of justice, he at least removes that song from the airwaves. By playing that song he does not only remind me how less handsome I am compared to him (that is why, instead of my girlfriend having a crush on me, she is having a crush on Christian), he also pollutes the world.

Otherwise, I'll just sit here and die of envy because, as I said, to his unthinking fans, every song he sings is beautiful no matter what song and how it is sang. So his income may not be affected.

There is a twist however. A twist which is goodnews to me and bad news for Christian.

Few days ago, his valentine concert with Rachel Ann was aired on TV. My girlfriend says, after hearing Christian sing the first song, she went to bed.

She went to bed not because she wants to imagine Christain with her on the bed. Very, very, very, very, very far, far, far, far and away from that.

OK, Christian. Keep on singing the way you lousily sang that David Pomeranz song. I don't care about your money anyway since you will not give me any. Promise I will not write an article as lousy as this again also. But thank you in advance because, it seems that my girlfriend is beginning to hate you already.

Cesar Montano

I once thought about writing a screen play and giving it to Cesar Montano in exchange for an acting role in the movie.

I have not started on the script yet as I am busy speculating about my future as a lawyer or will I ever become one.

Last night, I was amused by Cesar Montano's honesty on TV.

He did not know how many posters and other campaign materials he needed for his bid for the Senate. Logically, he did not know the amount a candidate had to spend for a national campaign. He heard it is around 200 million to 400 million pesos, or, according to a grapevine, 500 million pesos for a sure win.

He is glad that there are people who are sponsoring his TV and radio advertisements. He is however thinking about not having the ads because a TV ad, for example, costs around 40 million pesos to make. He is aware that the Country has a lot of immediate needs. The money for his adds could be used to address those needs. There is, for example, the families who do not have decent homes. Cesar is aware that Bahay Kalinga needs only 50 thousand pesos to build a new home.

He was in Cebu and, unlike his fellow candidates, when he announced his candidacy there, he had no headquarters and staff.

Cesar admitted he was not prepared to run.

He disappeared from the public for sometime to do what he calls a "one step backwards" so that he could make a "two steps forward" move.

Once he is elected, he will be too busy learning the rules and regulations of the Senate and, unless he plans to sleep for the cameras, like Robert Jaworski did, also learning the pending bills so he could participate in the deliberations.

If he losses, this election will be the longest days of Cesar's life. He will grow older and of course wiser after these.

If he wins, however, Cesar will have a hard time in the Senate. By the time he learns the logic of the law and by the time he and his staff come up with a draft of a bill, he might realize his six years are over.

It takes one to fail in exams and to be humiliated in the presence of his peers to realize that laws have logic of their own. One can not just guess or rely on his lay man's conclusions.

Four years in law school are not even enough for most of us, law graduates, to know the laws and therefore pass the bar exams.

I admire Cesar for the transparency he has shown in the news last night. As a fan, however, I am very disappointed that he allowed himself to be involved in politics in such haste.