MANILA, Philippines—Filipino singer Charice Pempengco has scored another triumph in her international career when her single “Note to God,” released only in the United States, broke into the Amazon.com and iTunes music charts.
Amazon is America’s largest online retailer, while iTunes accounts for 70 percent of worldwide sales of digital downloads and is the No. 1 music vendor globally. “Note to God” is currently No. 2 on Amazon’s MP3 Downloads Bestsellers and Hot New Releases section, and No. 1 on the Movers and Shakers, or the biggest gainer in sales rank as of Tuesday. It is also No. 9 on the iTunes chart. The song is partly an emotional prayer whose lyrics are about what one would say in a letter to God.
It has just been posted on YouTube—the video-sharing website where the world discovered Charice—and is the first single in her forthcoming debut album being produced by her musical mentor, David Foster. It is actually a cover version of a composition by Diane Warren (who also wrote Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing;” Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me;” and Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart”).
The 16-year-old Charice first sang the song on America’s highest-rating TV show “Oprah” only on Monday—the day it was also released as a digital download. On the Amazon Bestsellers chart, “Note to God” ranks behind the Black Eyed Peas’s “Boom Boom Pow” but has overtaken Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face,” Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb,” Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” Beyoncé’s “Halo,” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” On the iTunes chart, Charice’s single is ahead of Eminem’s “Beautiful.”
Charice was again featured in a high-profile show on May 9 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she performed with Foster in a tribute concert for Celine Dion.
If I wrote a note to God
I would speak whats in my soul
I'd ask for all the hate to be swept away,
For love to overflow
If I wrote a note to God
I'd pour my heart out on each page
I'd ask for war to end
For peace to mend this world
I'd say, I'd say, I'd say
Help us find love cause love is over due
And it looks like we haven't got a clue
Need some help from you
Grant us the faith to carry on
Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone
Cause it seems like so much is goin wrong
On this road we're on
If I wrote a note to God
I would say what on my mind
I'd ask for wisdom to let compassion rule this world
Until these times
If I wrote a note to God
I'd say please help us find our way
End all the bitterness, put some tenderness in our hearts
And I'd say, I'd say, I'd say
Give us the strength to make it through
Help us find love cause love is over due
And it looks like we haven't got a clue
Need some help from you
Grant us the faith to carry on
Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone
Cause it seems like so much is goin wrong
On this road we're on
No, no no no
We can't do this on our own
SoGive us the strength to make it through
Help us find love cause love is over due
And it looks like we haven't got a clue
Need some help from you
Grant us the faith to carry on
Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone
Cause it seems like so much is goin wrong
On this road we're on
If I wrote a note to God
