Charlie Green

Charlie Green, the Filipino-British boy who, after dazzling “Britain’s Got Talent” judges and audiences in 2008, has since started making a name for himself singing jazz standards. Now he gets to broaden his musical horizon in his forthcoming album.

“There are new songs, not jazz all the time but more pop,” he told Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online after his February 10 show at the Eastwood Mall Open Park in Libis, Quezon City, that will have a repeat on Friday, February 12 at The Venice Piazza at McKinley Hills in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

“We have started recording a week ago and we did about five songs already so it’s doing well. So far, we have the two Tagalog songs, ‘Pers Lab’ and ‘Ewan’ to cover, and a couple of duets as well. We’re not quite sure who would be in [the duets] but we’ll have two or three original songs and pop ballads and a happy song in there.”

Charlie added that the album, his first since he recently signed up with Viva Records, is being produced by Christian de Walden, who has worked with Sarah Geronimo and other Viva artists. The album is slated for release in April or May.

Aside from the album, his contract with the Viva Entertainment Group includes talent management but not film projects yet. “Maybe one day [I’ll do those]. There are talks but we’re not quite sure yet,” he pointed out.

Singing is what Charlie is completely certain of and his fans love him for that. At his Eastwood gig, for instance, the audience composed mostly of families—from camera phone-toting kids to doting grandmas—was attentive, obliging and generous with applause. In fact, they wouldn’t let the star of the show go even after he performed his encore.

Charlie deserves the accolade. He showed maturity in interpreting tunes like “Fly Me to the Moon” and “What a Wonderful World” but he couldn’t hide his real age (13 on February 16) when he bantered with the audience and delivered his spiels in Filipino. He was cute as a button, yet so focused like a true pro.

While ensconced with his family in a restaurant after the show, Charlie kept waving to his fans who milled around outside the establishment just to get a glimpse of him or to take photos. He also gamely posed for pictures and signed autographs for the other diners.

“Really as a young person, I’ve always dreamed of [performing before a crowd] so I think it’s nice to see all these people,” he said, adding that he considers both the Philippines and England as his home.

“Yeah, it’s snowing all the time there now,” he noted on the weather at the other side of the globe. “I like snow though. But I did get a little snow when I was there. I come from being cold to being really warm all the time.”

Charlie has no problem with the tropical weather and for not being able to play his sport, football, because he can simply stay home and follow the matches of his favorite team, Manchester United, on cable TV.

Sometimes he misses eating English food but it doesn’t matter, he said, because he also likes dining at T.G.I. Fridays and Chili’s as well as having Filipino fare at Gerry’s Grill and enjoying a meal of Jollibee spaghetti. He is, after all, still a kid who happens to have grown-up talents.