Charice Officially a GLEEK: Joins Cast Next Season

The Phillippine Daily Inquirer confirms that Charise, the Filippina singing sensation will join the cast of GLEE next season.  Her manager, Grace Mendoza, tells the Inquirer: "Yes, it's true, Charice will soon join GLEE...And not just as a guest, but as part of the cast in a new season."

Charice, the 18 year old sizzling hot singing star from the Philippines, landed the No. 8 slot on last week's Billboard charts with sales of 42,985 for her self-titled CD, it was confirmed today by 143/Reprise Records. With her 4th appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show the day of release, followed by a half hour performance that evening on QVC, Charice has clearly captured the hearts of Americans of all ages--and Canada as well, where her CD debuted at No. 4.

"Pyramid," the first single (performed with Iyaz) was No. 1 two weeks ago on the Billboard Dance Charts and is currently being played on over 100 radio stations. Sales of "Pyramid" have jumped 384% the week of the CD's release. The YouTube phenom's viral video of "Pyramid" has received well over six million views. There were also three million views of the official video which has been added into rotation on MTV. Charice is scheduled to perform on Regis & Kelly on June 16th.

"She stands barely five feet tall...but when pop singer Charice opens her mouth, out pours a voice as burly and sure as Whitney Houston's in her "I Will Always Love You" prime," raved the Daily News. "A powerhouse performance...the stuff of a young Celine, Whitney or Mariah," People Magazine has written.

"This has been the most exciting week of my life," said Charice. "It's been such a dream come true for me and my family to have so much love from fans all around the world.

Charice started her singing career at age four when her mother, also a singer, discovered the pint size girl singing on a table. She went on to perform in hundreds of singing contests in Southeast Asia. One of her many fans ("Chasters") put one of her performances up on YouTube and a star was born. She first appeared in the US on the Ellen Show and then came to the attention of Oprah Winfrey and "Hit Man" David Foster, who signed her and executive produced her current album. In 2009 Charice appeared in the "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" film and performed the Diane Warren-written and David Foster-produced "Note to God," which had digital sales of over 110,000 copies.

Television's most award-winning new series, GLEE was recently honored with a Peabody Award; a Golden Globe for Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical; a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; and a People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy. The music from GLEE is an international sensation with "Glee: The Music, Volume 1" and "Glee: The Music, Volume 2" topping charts in Australia, the U.K., New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. In the U.S., over 4.5 million songs have been downloaded, and both albums have been certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000 units.

GLEE follows an optimistic teacher who - against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach - inspires McKinley High's Glee Club to conquer the world one singing competition at a time. GLEE stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.

GLEE airs at 9pm on FOX Tuesdays.