When Charice meets Bruno Mars

CHARICE. Revives rousing ballad with Grammy-winning Fil-Am singer-tunesmith.

MANILA, Philippines—One singing sensation’s reject is another’s hit single. Filipinos aren’t very familiar with Alexandra Burke, but the original singer of “Before It Explodes,” the carrier track of Charice’s upcoming second international album, is a big star in England (her song, “Hallelujah,” was UK’s top-selling single of 2008). She won the fifth edition of the Simon Cowell-produced British talent show, “The X Factor” (which debuts in the US on Fox and on GMA 7 this year).

“Before It Explodes” was written for Burke’s debut collection, “Overcome,” but didn’t make the album’s final lineup. Even more noteworthy is the fact that the tune was written by Fil-Am recording star, Bruno Mars—who sings (and makes beautiful music) with Charice in the hit-bound new version.

The rousing, radio-friendly ballad sings about the bittersweet end of a beautiful romance, and benefits from the complementary styles of the teenage singer and the prolific Grammy-winning singer/songwriter.

Billboard charts

If you like “Grenade,” you’ll also enjoy listening to this pop ditty. So, grab a copy before it, well, explodes…on the Billboard charts! (Incidentally, “All By Myself,” Charice’s ear-ringing number from her most recent—albeit underwhelming—“Glee” outing, debuted on the Hot 100 last week in 87th place.)

Another heady source of Pinoy pride is “Glee’s” Fil-Am charmer, 24-year-old Darren Criss, who plays Blaine Anderson, Chris Colfer’s love interest in the series. The swoon-worthy singer-actor was born in San Francisco, California, but his mother is a native of Cebu (his father’s Irish). His Pinoy roots explain why he is as talented as he is charming.

Before Criss struck gold with “Glee,” he was best known for his portrayal of Harry Potter on the viral YouTube videos, “A Very Potter Musical” and “A Very Potter Sequel,” which were actually stage musical-comedies based on the popular JK Rowling series.

Lead singer

For the hit TV show, as the lead singer of The Warblers (New Directions’ all-male a cappella singing rival), Criss covered Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” and hit No. 1—the first time a “Glee” single has reached the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart!

The versatile performer’s other numbers (most of them sung with Tufts University’s The Beelzebubs) are even better, most notably his gorgeous duets with Colfer (“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” from the group’s Christmas album) and Lea Michele (“Don’t You Want Me?”), as well as his sizzling versions of Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” and Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister.”

Happily, both tracks are featured in “Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers,” which debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 2 last week. The collection includes two bonus tracks that were not performed on the TV show: Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb’s “What Kind of Fool” and Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” —You can’t get any sexier than that!