KWC KARAOKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011 Filipino singers make history in prestigious international singing competition

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Philippines’ first representatives in the 2011 Karaoke World Championships held in Killarney, Ireland on September 8-10 made a remarkable start. Joel Cruz was the 2011 KWC Male 1st Runner-Up and Lyda Shyla Roxas was the 2011 KWC Female 3rd Runner-Up. Indeed, the 2011 KWC World Finals marked another memorable experience for all its participants. KWC Philippines’ first experience was a blast with Joel and Lyda making it to the top 5. Their commendable performances served as a clear proof of Filipinos’ world class talent.

For his winning piece, Joel sang Bridge over Troubled Water (originally performed by Simon & Garfunkel), blowing the crowd away with his electrifying performance. Lyda stunned the audience with her powerful rendition of Alone (originally performed by Heart). Out of 23 participating countries, the Philippines was the only one to get both male and female representatives in the top five.

The five winners for the male cateogry are:

1. Marc Hatem (Lebanon) – champion
2. Joel Cruz (Philippines) – first runner-up
3. Vladimir Pak (Russia) – second runner-up
4. Riki James (New Zealand) – third runner-up
5. Toni Laaksonen (Finland) – fourth runner-up

Karaoke World Championships 2011 videos

Joel Cruz performs “Bridge Over Troubled Water” at the 2011 KWC Karaoke World Championships held in Killarney, Ireland

The five winners for the female cateogry are:

1. Cassandra Jopp (USA) – champion
2. Estefania Gralla (Spain) – first runner-up
3. Jerrica Santos (Canada) – second runner-up
4. Lyda Shyla Roxas (Philippines) – third runner-up
5. Viktoriia Pakhtusova (Ukraine) – fourth runner-up

Although neither bagged home the championship crown, their success has earned Filipinos the respect of the international music community.

Lyda Shyla Roxas performs “Alone” at the 2011 KWC Karaoke World Championships held in Killarney, Ireland.

MISS WORLD PHILIPPINES 2011

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Gwendolyn Ruais was declared as the first ever Miss World Philippines 2011 winner beating 24 other candidates from all over the country.

Ruais, from Muntinlupa City, will receive P1 million cash, a brand-new condominium unit at the Sea Residences from SMDC and will have a GMA 7 management contract.

The 21-year old beauty will also represent Philippines in the Miss World 2011 pageant to be held in London this coming November 6, 2011.

The 25 Miss World Philippines 2011 candidates were trimmed down to Top 12 and later down to Top 5, which include candidate numbers 24, 9, 22, 15, and 13; who competed for the Q&A portion.

They were Helen Nicolette Henson (1st princess), Martha Chloe McCulley (2nd princess), Ma. Paula Bianca Paz (3rd princess), Jaysel Arrozal (4th princess), and Gwendolyn Ruais, who won the Miss World Philippines 2011 crown.

Martha Chloe McCulley, of Parañaque City, also won two other major awards including the Miss Kapuso World award and Miss SMDC award.

For the Miss World Philippines 2011 special awards, candidate # 22 Ma Paula Bianca Paz won the Best in Evening Gown and the Best Fashion Designer is Delby Bragais.

Gwendolyn Ruais also won the Best in Swimsuit award, with GMA 7 talent Aljur Abrenica performing on stage during the swimsuit competition.

Candidate # 5 Rogelie Catacutan of Cebu City won Miss Talent, candidate # 1 Samantha Neville Purvor of Quezon City won Miss Photogenic, and candidate # 5 Rogelie Catacutan of Cebu City won Miss Friendship.

Candidate # 16 Loucelle De Jesus of Angeles City, Pampanga was announced winner of fan votes, and won the People’s Choice award as well as a slot to the Top 12 candidates.

Among the Miss World Philippines 2011 judges include Wilma Galvante, Vicki Belo, Maria Cristina Coronoa, Iza Calzado, Fanny Serrano and Manny Pacquiao.

The Miss World Philippines 2011 event was hosted by local actor Dingdong Dantes, with model Isabelle Daza and actress Carla Abellana as co-hosts.

Bukidnon Highlands

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Whenever we feel the pressure of our complex city life

there is no more refreshing and relief feeling

than the sights of lovely trees , 

breathtaking sceneries of hills , plateaus, mountains 

with cool blue skies above ....

i love nature...... 

it teaches us to be simple , to be peaceful ...

never goes out of style never fails to impress me, 

uplift me ... soothes and heals ...

Nature is full of infinity... and divinity

Nature is an art of God........

Top 4 American Idol EPs Unleashed In Time For The American Idol Live Tour on September 20 and 21!

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Top 4 American Idol EPs Unleashed In Time For The American Idol Live Tour on September 20 and 21!

September 2011 PRESS RELEASE

Get the best of the best of American Idol (AI) with the release of Season 10 highlight EPs of the top 4 finalists: winner Scotty McCreery, runner-up Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart and James Durbin.

Coming from a momentous win, Scotty McCreery offers an EP featuring 5 exceptional songs performed during his time on the show including his current worldwide hit single “I Love You This Big”. Hear these phenomenal tracks from the ultimate idol, presented in their extended studio versions.

An adorable singer with a sweet yet powerful voice, Lauren Alaina collects her best performances during the 2011 season of American Idol. As with winner Scotty, Lauren favors a contemporary country style. Listen to unique interpretations of Lauren‘s take on the Miley Cyrus track “The Climb“, and her debut ballad single “Like My Mother Does.”

Bringing a fresh sound to the American Idol song book like you’ve never heard before, be captivated by Haley Reinhart’s powerhouse voice as she takes on a cutting edge rendition of Adele‘s new-age classic ‘Rolling In The Deep‘ and Alanis Morissette’s ‘You Oughta Know.’

With his amazing vocal prowess, you’ll surely love James Durbin’s versions of Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)” in his 5-song EP.

With the 11 American Idol finalists coming to Manila (their only stop in Asia) for the much-awaited 2-day concert at the Araneta Coliseum on September 20 and 21, fans will surely have the time of their lives as they witness their idols perform ‘live’, giving them a satisfyingly better experience other than what they have seen on TV!

Support their music and collect these 4 must-have memorabilia exclusively distributed under MCA Music.

Catch your favorite Idols up close and personal at your favorite Ayala Malls on September 18 in Trinoma (1PM), in Alabang Town Center (5PM) and on September 19 in Market Market and Glorietta at 4PM. Buy any AI album and get a free poster plus a chance to have these signed!

Brought to you by MCA Music, Ovation Productions, ETC, JackTV and Odyssey and Odysseylive.net, the exclusive music retail partner for American Idol Live in Manila 2011.

Tracklisting (American Idol Season 10 Highlights):

Scotty McCreery:
1 I Love You This Big
2 The River
3 Amazed
4 Gone
5 Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not

Lauren Alaina:
1 Like My Mother Does
2 Flat On the Floor
3 The Climb
4 I’m the Only One
5 Wild One

Haley Reinhart:
1 House of the Rising Sun
2 Bennie and the Jets
3 Rolling In the Deep
4 What is and What Should Never Be
5 You Oughta Know

James Durbin
1 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
2 Maybe I’m Amazed
3 Uprising
4 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
5 Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

GET AMERICAN IDOL’S HITS AND MORE ON YOUR CELLPHONES!
Text AI to 2346 (exclusive to Globe subscribers)

Read our American Idol Live in Manila! article HERE.

SANDLER, STALLONE, CHER LEAD VOICE CAST OF “ZOOKEEPER”

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SANDLER, STALLONE, CHER LEAD VOICE CAST OF “ZOOKEEPER”

September 2011 PRESS RELEASE

Columbia Pictures attracted a truly all-star cast of comedy voices to play the animals in the romantic comedy “Zookeeper.” “We were incredibly fortunate to get the voice cast that we have. Adam Sandler got on board first to play the monkey – and now, I can’t imagine anybody else playing that part,” says director Frank Coraci.

In the film, the animals at the Franklin Park Zoo love their kindhearted caretaker, Griffin (Kevin James). Finding himself more comfortable with a lion than a lady, Griffin decides the only way to get a girl in his life is to leave the zoo and find a more glamorous job. The animals, in a panic, decide to break their time-honored code of silence and reveal their biggest secret: they can talk! To keep Griffin from leaving, they decide to teach him the rules of courtship – animal style.

“Adam is so talented, he could have voiced any animal in this movie, but I can’t think of a better match than the monkey,” says co-screenwriter Nick Bakay. “The monkey is one of our best animal actors – it did incredible faces and exhibits tons of personality, just like Adam.”

Cher joins the film as the zoo’s lovely and loving lioness, with Sylvester Stallone as the king of the jungle himself. Nick Nolte plays Bernie, the gruff gorilla, who becomes an unlikely friend to Griffin. The voice cast also includes Judd Apatow as Barry the elephant; Jim Breuer as a neighborhood crow; Jon Favreau and Faizon Love as Jerome and Bruce, a pair of quarreling grizzly bears; Richie Minervini as an ostrich; Maya Rudolph as a Mollie the giraffe; and UFC fighter Bas Rutten as Sebastian the wolf.

“If the lion is king of the jungle, Janet is the power behind the throne,” says Cher of her character. “But she totally plays it cool. Like all powerful ladies, she can let her man play the big man – it’s enough for her to know that he knows who’s in charge.”

Adam Sandler plays Donald, a Capuchin monkey with a big mouth and big ideas for Griffin on how he can win his lady love. “I was first on board, and I’m a producer on the movie, so I got to pick which animal I wanted to be,” Sandler explains. “The monkey was the only animal smart enough, handsome enough, and funny enough to handle my voice coming out of its mouth.”

Sylvester Stallone brings his unique voice to Joe, the lion. “Joe likes to think he’s the king, but the rest of the animals have other ideas about who’s really in charge,” says the actor.

Though the filmmakers opted to use real animals wherever possible, one instance required movie magic. “Gorillas are endangered,” says producer Mark Forbes. “No private party can own a gorilla. So, we used an animatronic gorilla suit to play the role of Bernie.”

The first step was to capture Bernie’s voice, and the filmmakers turned to Nick Nolte. “Nobody has muscles like Bernie, and nobody has the voice of Nick Nolte,” says Coraci.

How did he capture a gorilla’s distinctive growl? “I kind of have a growl to my voice anyway,” says Nolte. In the movie, Bernie has been isolated from the other animals and most other people, and Nolte was determined to express the character’s loneliness in his vocal performance. “I played that detached feeling,” he says. “That started working right away – ‘Keep going,’ they said – and we decided to do the whole movie in that first session.”

Opening across the Philippines on Sept. 21, “Zookeeper” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.