2006 January 29 - The National Anthem Singer

It would have been disrespectful not to have written anything about the girl who sang the Philippine National anthem in the Pacquiao-Morales fight. A lot of people were talking about her and asking who she was. Texts from friends were overwhelming that I just had to say something about it. To describe her performance I would have to borrow from Simon Cowell in American Idol - "She was extraordinary! Unfortunately, extraordinarily bad." The singing itself was riddled with flat notes but she managed to cap it off with a shriek of "LABAN PACMAN!" at the end of the anthem with a voice that would undoubtedly scare the Wicked Witch of the West. With the anthem she managed to sink the Philippines as much as the government and the not-to-be-named plotter of the Oakwood Mutiny sank the economy. It is a feat not easily claimed by many. So let us not be too harsh on the singer. There is no sweet victory without the bitter taste of a badly sung National Anthem on worldwide TV.