Category Archives: International

Entertainment, Film and TV, International, Music

NO MORE FILIPINOS ON X FACTOR AUSTRALIA BEGINNING NEXT YEAR

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Villanueva
Villanueva

SYDNEY, Australia (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Filipinos are unstoppable — at home and on the world stage.

Cyrus Villanueva just won this year’s X Factor Australia, making it a back to back win for Filipinos in the Down Under version of the popular reality TV talent competition. Last year’s winner was Marliza Punzalan, also a Filipino.

Punzalan
Punzalan

Villanueva’s victory prompted the producers of X Factor Australia to impose a moratorium on accepting Filipino singers starting with next year’s season.

The ban is a great disappointment to the more than 336,000 Filipinos living in Australia, but it has elicited a great sense of pride for their heritage and musical talent.

Here is Villanueva singing what will be his first single:

 

 

International, Music

MOVE OVER ADELE, ‘DAHIL SA IYO’ IS NOW TOPPING THE CHARTS WORLDWIDE

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Estrada, left, and Marcos

MANILA , Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The phenomenal success of Adele’s latest hit single, ‘Hello,’ has come to an abrupt end, thanks to former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos and ex-President Joseph Estrada.

The duo’s version of a 1938 Filipino song, ‘Dahil Sa Iyo ‘ (Because Of You), is breaking music chart records worldwide.  Marcos, now a congresswoman, and Estrada, incumbent mayor of Manila, sang the song live at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Philippines-China relations in Manila. Their impromptu performance immediately went viral, and in less than 24 hours, became the most-viewed music video ever on YouTube, eclipsing Adele’s recently-held record.

‘Dahil Sa Iyo’ is a song by Mike Velarde, Jr., written for the movie, ‘Bituing Marikit,’ and sung by the ‘King of the Philippine Movies’ Rogelio de la Rosa. A version with English-Tagalog lyrics, recorded in 1964, was a hit in the United States and continues to be popular in Filipino communities on American soil.

The song was famously performed by Nat King Cole at the Araneta Coliseum (now SMART Araneta Coliseum) in Quezon City in 1961. It was also sung by Jerry Vale with English title “Your Love Is Mine” (Eng. lyrics by Sonny Burke) in his album “The Language of Love” on Columbia Records, released 1963.

Many other international artists have performed or recorded the song, including The Lettermen, but none of the previous versions have quite achieved the notoriety of the Marcos-Estrada hit.  It is both musical and political, worthy of a platinum status.

 

Business, International, Travel

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS OPPOSE TIGHTENING OF U.S. VISA WAIVER PROGRAM

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imageWASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – Senate Democrats,  in an effort to head off legislation that would overhaul a program to take in Syrian and Iraqi refugees, are focusing instead on tightening a program that makes it easier for foreigners to travel to the U.S. without obtaining a visa. And Republicans are vehemently against the move.

The visa waiver program (VWP) allows foreign citizens of 38 countries to enter the U.S. for as long as 90 days without a visa, thereby avoiding an in-person interview at an embassy or consulate. At least 19 million foreign nationals enter the U.S. each year through the visa waiver program.

The program is under scrutiny following the Paris terror attacks over concerns that it could be a weak spot in the security system. Islamic State operative Abdelhamid Abaaoud, suspected of organizing the Paris attacks, was a citizen of Belgium, which participates in the visa waiver program. Richard Reid, a British citizen who is now in prison for attempting to blow up a plane flying to the U.S. with a bomb in his shoe, is a citizen of the U.K., which also participates in VWP.

House Speaker  Paul Ryan, speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Monday, said that his party strongly opposes any changes to the existing VWP on the grounds that this would be discriminatory.

“If we are going to do this, we must also do it for Mastercard, American Express and Discover,” Ryan pointed out.