Way before he identified himself as Jake Zyrus, singer Charice Pempengco stole the show when she attended one of Celine Dion’s concerts in 2008 held in Madison Square Garden as a guest performer.
The two powerful belters wowed the crowd as they sang Dion’s hit “Because You Loved Me”, a song which Charice dedicated to her mother.
The entire event, from the moment Charice met Dion, to the moment they stepped on stage, was shown on Oprah, the same talk show that helped catapult Charice to fame.
Fast forward to today, Charice, who now identifies himself as a trans man under the name Jake Zyrus, said that he is not willing to do a duet with the Canadian diva anymore
Jake even added that he will just decline if he will be offered to sing with Dion again for her two-night concert in Manila in July.
The reason? The 26-year-old singer said that he would like other singers to experience the unforgettable moment he treasures up to this day.
“Kapag naiisip ko ‘yon, ang dami kong nakikitang new belters out there, na sobrang nakikita ko yung bright future nila,” Jake was quoted in an article published on PEP.
“Minsan nai-imagine ko kung ako yung nararamdaman ko noon, when I was that kid with a long hair, na to be on the same stage with Celine Dion, of course, gusto ko ng mai-share yung feeling na ‘yon sa isang bata na maka-duet yung iniidolo nila,” Jake added.
He then said that he would be grateful if Dion’s team would consider him to perform, but would rather give the opportunity to other singers.
“Kung ako ulit yung mapili, siyempre naman, sobrang I’ll be grateful pero sa akin, hopefully, mabigyan din yung iba ng chance na maka-duet siya. Kasi, iba yung feeling and gusto ko i-share yung feeling na yun,” the singer said.
“Hindi lang yung sobrang magaling siyang singer, pero gusto ko ma-experience nila yung kabaitan niya bilang isang tao,” he also stated.
“Kung piliin niya ako, thank you pero ang biggest wish ko is sana mabigyan ng chance yung isang bata, a boy or a girl, na ma-experience yung treat na na-experience ko,” Jake explained.
Regardless, he added that he would like to meet Dion to express his gratitude for her kind treatment towards him back then.
