Charice is a work in progress in ‘Infinity’

CHARICE. Sleek, snappy and percussion-heavy grooves.

Life goes on for Charice—and not even the tragedy that struck her family on Halloween night last month can hold her back. Yes, she still grieves for her father—but, she now chooses to look at the brighter things in life and move on, as noted by her Philippine manager, Grace Mendoza, who told us early this week that the death of the teenage singer’s father “has only made her family closer—and stronger!”

Meanwhile, the 19-year-old singing sensation—who’s coming home next month to topbill the anticipated concert, “Christmas with Charice,” at Resorts World on Dec. 2—stays positive as she continues to seize the opportunities that come her way.

Possibilities

As Charice shares in the liner notes of “Infinite,” her second international album, “Life is about infinite possibilities. We are what we imagine ourselves to be—and sometimes more. The world has given me a better life than I ever imagined. I hope my music will inspire people to reach for their own infinite possibilities!”

The singer’s latest recording is a bright spot in her drama-heavy life and career: It’s a showcase of her wide range and steely, resilient pipes, with catchy, hum-worthy (albeit generic-sounding) melodies and warm harmonies to boot. With its booming riffs and Charice’s strong vocals, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that her latest album will generate as much hit-making traction and fire as the first one.

Except for JoJo (“Too Little, Too Late,” “Leave”), who sings background vocals on the Blondie-sounding “Heartbreak Survivor,” Charice’s sophomore effort doesn’t have guest rappers for the singer to “spar” with, as she did with Iyaz in the Billboard-charting No. 1 dance hit, “Pyramid.”

She’s not wanting in high-profile composer-collaborators, though: Bruno Mars delivers the show-stopping “Before It Explodes”; Nick Jonas is credited with the rousing “One Day”; Kara DioGuardi and Jason Derulo collaborate on the hook-heavy “Lesson for Life,” and Cathy Dennis (“Too Many Walls”) and Natasha Bedingfield (“These Words”) respectively contribute the anthemic “Lost The Best Thing” and “Lighthouse,” whose feel-good lyrics burst with inspiration and optimism.

Failed bid

It’s amazing to see how far Charice has gone since her failed bid on “Little Big Star,” but the petite singer continues to be an exciting work in progress. What does she need to work on? Enunciation and clarity in her delivery, as is apparent in the otherwise lovely “Lighthouse,” in which she’s occasionally incomprehensible when her slurred lines are drowned out by the song’s “zealous” instrumentation.

“Infinity” bombards its tracks with sleek, snappy and percussion-heavy grooves that are evenly matched by Charice’s solid vocals, which are as strong in the high registers as they are at midrange and below—an advantage she enjoys over other “power” singers. (Note that some belters are only impressive when they’re scaling their high notes, but lose heft and power when they’re gliding through the lower keys).

Other hard-to-ignore numbers: “Louder’s” pounding rhythm will remind you of the soaring, gliding whimsy of Katy Perry’s “Firework,” and “New World” is a radio-friendly hybrid of J-pop, Eurobeat and OPM—they’re guaranteed to zap you with your pop-music fix!