Nightline did a report this week on singers in the Philippines. Apparently, the country is the world’s leading supplier of lounge singers. You’ll see Filipino singers all over Asia in stores, restaurants, campaign rallies, and of course karaoke bars. That’s just locally. Some of the bigger name singers you might know in mainstream music in the US include Arnel Pineda (the new lead singer for Journey), Apl.de.Ap (singer for Black Eyed Peas), and Charice Pempengco.

So why do Filipino singers have a higher quality if vocal skills? One reason is the Center for Pop, Charice’s alma mater. This school helps up and coming singers work their vocals along with stage presence. It’s already got 16 branches across the Philippines with plans to go global. Will the Filipino music machine crank out bigger global stars than Korea, Japan, or China? Perhaps. One advantage we see is that English is one of the main languages that Filipinos are singing in, so US crossover like Charice will be slightly easier. (BTW – Charice will be on Glee next season). Be on the look out for more singers being exported from the Philippines.

Check out some of Charice’s music: Pyramid, In This Song, and Note to God. What do you think?

The Philippines exports singers around the world