The Kaleidoscope Side of Ceres Cabel: I Am A Certified Fan Girl (From Spice Girls to SHINee)

Almost all of us have our own favorite artists. But we cannot escape ourselves being a fan, and sometimes we wish that we will meet them soon or better that we will be their friends. I’m gonna share you on how I became a fan girl.

Boy bands and girl groups are very popular in the 90’s. That time I was a grade school student from University of Santo Tomas, seeing myself as one of the Spice Girls. Yes! I was a fan of Spice Girls. My favorite was Emma Bunton (a.k.a. Baby Spice). She’s so cute when I saw their music video “Wannabe”. I love their songs so much, either ballad or upbeat. One of my favorite songs is “Viva Forever”. I was so happy when they got reunited few years ago and released their singe “Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)” after Geri Halliwell (a.k.a. Ginger Spice) decided to go solo. Because of Spice Girls, I became a pop music addict.

Spice Girls (from top-left: Mel C, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Mel B) 

Early 2000’s, a boy band named A1 called my attention. Their song “Living The Dream” is my most favorite. My favorite member is Ben Adams but I realized that I like Mark Read. I was so sad when they got disbanded around 2003.  After that, they released “A1: The Best Of” album, consists of all their hits from albums “Here We Come” to “Make It Good”. The songs “High & Dry” and “You’re Not In Love” are my favorites from that album. Few years after, Ben Adams joined Celebrity Big Brother in UK and ranked 5th placer. Last year, they released their latest album “Take Me Home” but without Paul Marazzi. I’m happy that A1 still lives on and continues singing upbeats and ballads under their label Columbia Records – Sony Music.

A1 (from top-left: Paul Marazzi, Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Mark Read)

I was first year high school student in University of Santo Tomas Education High School (UST-EHS) when Sarah Geronimo won the singing competition “Star For A Night”. She was third year high school student at the same high school institution. Last 2003, our class president named Michael Lamaisri told me that I was going to represent our section for our acquaintance party and perform an intermission number. I wasn’t prepared because I hadn’t brought my minus-one, but he advised me to sing acapella instead. When the program had started, Sarah Geronimo, representing her section, first sang Lara Fabian’s “Broken Vow”. After few minutes, Michael called me and said, “You’re next.” I was so nervous that it’s my first time to sing onstage and entertain the audience. I sang “Stay” by Carol Banawa. When I finished the song, everyone applauded. I was so happy and because of that performance, I made myself very popular in EHS community, either ahead or beyond of me. I was nicknamed “The Next Sarah Geronimo of EHS”. I can’t believe that I see myself as Sarah Geronimo. She’s one of my favorite female artists in the Philippines. I had her albums from “Popstar: A Dream Come True” to “Just Me”. I still don’t have her concert DVDs and her latest albums “OPM” and “Music & Me”. Toni Gonzaga, Carol Banawa, and Juris are the other female Filipino artists that I also enjoyed listening to their songs.

Sarah Geronimo

Around 2003, ABS-CBN aired the Taiwanese idol drama “Meteor Garden”. F4 fever in Manila was on. That time, I enjoyed watching this drama, from the first episode until the finale of “Meteor Garden Season II”. I just wanted to watch their concerts “The Event” with Van Ness Wu and Ken Zhu and “Happy 50 TV” with Jerry Yan and Vic Zhou but I can’t because I had no enough money yet and I was sure that my parents wouldn’t allow me to go there. But being an F4 fan, I bought StarStudio magazines with F4 specials and their albums, even their solo albums (except Jerry’s and Van Ness’s, I just bought Vic’s and Ken’s). When F4 declined popularity, I’m not fond of watching their idol dramas. Because of F4, I love listening Mandarin pop music.

F4 (from left: Ken Zhu, Vic Zhou, Van Ness Wu, Jerry Yan)

I had a crush on a young boy named Jesse McCartney a year after. He is famous in US with his released tracks “Beautiful Soul” and “She’s No You”. I bought his albums except his latest album “Departure”. The song “Because You Live” is my most favorite. I also bought two magazines about his autobiography. I found out that he has already a girlfriend named Katie Cassidy. But, on the other hand, I was glad that at least he’s happy. Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Jonas Brother are also my favorite American artists.

Jesse McCartney

Summer 2008 entered. I finished my freshman year at University of Santo Tomas College of Commerce and Business Administration when ABS-CBN aired the Taiwanese idol drama “Hana Kimi”. Fahrenheit members Wu Chun and Jiro Wang starred in this drama. I found out that Jiro Wang was first seen in drama “It Started With A Kiss” before “Hana Kimi”. Because of Wu Chun, I got interested with Fahrenheit. I quickly searched on Google about them, watched their other dramas, and bought all of their albums online. I spent more than PhP 3,000, including the freight cost just to complete my collection. When Wu Chun and Calvin Chen visited Philippines for Romantic Princess Philippine Promo Tour last July 2008, I wasn’t able to see and meet them in person because I had classes and I was sure that there were a lot of Filipino Fahrenheit fans who will go at the ABS-CBN, but I had a chance to watch them on TV. They appeared at “Entertainment Live”, “Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 Gala Night”, “ASAP ’08”, and “The Buzz”. I also downloaded their best pictures, either individual or group. For the first time of my entire life, I registered as a member of Fahrenheit-Globa1 Forum and Fahrenheit Family Philippines. Because of Fahrenheit-Globa1 Forum, I was updated about what’s super hot and latest about them – dramas, shows, albums, endorsements, music videos, and songs. And also, I became the fourth administrator of FahrenheitFacts on Twitter. I never thought that it’s been more than four years that I still like and love this Taiwanese boy band. I WAS BEING IN LOVE WITH CALVIN CHEN. He’s my most favorite Fahrenheit member. I had completed all four albums in CD+DVD album versions. But when Wu Chun left Fahrenheit, my interest in them got lessen in updating what's latest about them. Now, I just read and like posts in our group page in Facebook on recent news about them. However, I wouldn't forget that I've become a fan of this handsome boyband from Taiwan. 

Fahrenheit (from right to left: Wu Chun, Aaron Yan, Jiro Wang, Calvin Chen) 

I wasn't a pure K-Pop fan that time when I listen songs and watch MVs from Rain and BoA. I just liked them. When 2009 came, famous girl group from JYP Entertainment called Wonder Girls released their song "Nobody" and the large scale group from SM Town Entertainment called Super Junior went famous because of their song "Sorry Sorry". Then a lot of popular artists like FT Island, 4Minute, and U-Kiss visited the Philippines to promote their albums through mall tours and guest appearances in some shows on TV. The K-Pop fever went on fire when Super Junior set their first Manila concert named "Super Show 2". I didn't watch but I realized how K-Pop music is in demand until now. A lot of rookie groups introduced and knew because of MYX, the number 1 music channel in the country. When Super Junior released their song "Mr. Simple" and Girls' Generation released their song "The Boys", I wanted to play all over again and do the dance steps as I saw their MV on TV. Then the Mnet Asian Music Awards had simulcast airing in YouTube so I tried to watch it online and I was amazed with performances of popular Korean groups: Miss A, Trouble Maker (JS from Beast and HyunA from 4Minute), 2NE1, Girls' Generation, and Super Junior to name a few. Because of that, I became a K-Pop fan. Thus, I liked listening songs from several K-Pop artists such as 2NE1, CNBlue, and T-ara. When I searched on the internet, I found out that BoA, Super Junior, and Girls' Generation are from the same agency which is SM Town Entertainment, I started to download and tried to listen some popular hits from almost all SM Town artists until I liked the 5-member boyband SHINee, most especially their sexiest member, Kim Jonghyun. I highly anticipated their comeback last month titled Sherlock. Now, I like watching shows on KBS (Music Bank and Immortal Songs 2) and Arirang (Showbiz Korea and Pops In Seoul). Plus, I'm looking forward with the agency's latest projects: (1) movie titled "I Am" which featured behind-the-scenes and performances from SM Town Live in Madison Square Garden, New York to be released on May 10, (2) first leg of 2012 SM Town concert tour in Los Angeles, California, and (3) drama called "To The Beautiful You" starring SHINee's Minho and f(X)'s Sulli to be aired on SBS at the second half of the year. 

SHINee (from left: Onew, Taemin, Jonghyun, Minho, Key)

From Spice Girls to SHINee – that’s my story. Whenever they were already gone or still existing in entertainment circle, the most important is their unforgettable songs and music videos that are being played almost every day. As a fan girl, those albums and other merchandises are worth expensive, but my happiness is still priceless.

@iam_smtowngirl