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LOS ANGELES—Over 400 hundred extras playing high school students watching a musical competition didn’t need to be instructed to clap, cheer, break into appreciative whistles and pump their fists after Charice Pempengco sang Alicia Keys’ No One in a scene filmed for Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel Monday last week.

This was the set of 20th Century Fox’s The Squeakquel at the Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, and Charice was shooting her first big scene in the Hollywood movie, which will be shown in December in the US and in January in the Philippines.

A long line of star trailers (one of them was for Charice, who was accompanied by her mother, Raquel, and another Filipina companion) were parked along the street facing the school.

First big scene

Before Charice performed, It took about an hour for the technical crew to set things up. Finally, Charice walked up the stage as her stand-in went down. After one run-through, the camera rolled for Charice’s first big scene in a Hollywood movie.

Even though her vocals would be replaced by a previously recorded track, she sang Alicia Keys’ No One live. “Kinanta kong live para mas ma-feel ko yung performance,” Charice said afterward.

The extras sure got into the mood of her soulful singing. While she crooned and after the song, this audience did not need someone off-camera to demonstrate how to react. The crowd instinctively swayed arms and roared its approval.

“Super natuwa ako dahil dapat daw kasi sa Chipmunks sila sisigaw pero hindi nila mapigilan ang pagpalakpak sa akin,” she said.

Charice confided that it also helped that this was already her third day of filming. “Noong first day, super kabado po ako,” she admitted. “Pero ngayon, nabawasan na po iyon kasi kilala ko na si direk (Betty Thomas) at ang cast and crew. Today, first time ko na mag-perform sa maraming tao in this scene. Feel na feel ko ang audience!

“This has been so much fun,” she stressed. “It is not really a big role but I am enjoying the experience.” The song she had to perform was a breeze because she already knew No One by heart even before the role came up. “I was so happy because that is my favorite song,” she gushed. “I did not have to practice it.”

Teased about having her own trailer, Charice laughed and confessed, “I never really expected that because I am new. I thought I was just going to stand somewhere. When I saw my trailer, I recorded it on video and shared it with my friends.” She seemed genuinely thrilled. “My first movie and I have my own trailer.” Asked what’s inside the trailer, she chirped like any other youth would: “TV, fridge, bathroom, shower—it’s like a mini house.”

Big Chimpunks fan

On how she got the role, Charice narrated, “Nag-audition ako dito sa States. Nagpunta ako sa talent agency and they mentioned that they were looking for talents for Chipmunks 2. Super big fan ako ng first movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks. I auditioned and they told me that they will let me know, blah blah blah. Hindi na ako umasa. Nag-audition na rin ako for other projects in the past pero walang nangyari. But after one week, tumawag ang manager ko. My mom videotaped me while I was on the phone and my manager said, ‘Charice, you got the role.’”

“That was one of my happiest moments,” she admitted. She revealed that in her audition, she did the voices of all three ’munks—Alvin, Simon and Theodore. By coincidence, she loves mimicking their voices. She proceeded to give us a sample of how those fun-loving critters speak. Her voice impressions were on the mark. She even sang a perfect imitation of Alvin and his brothers’ version of the chestnut, Only You.

Now that she has experienced being in a movie, will she pursue acting? “Maybe it will be one of my goals,” Charice replied. “I did not really love acting before because it looks hard. Now I’ve changed my mind.”

 

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