YouTube star Maria Aragon stars in her own music video

By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ

August 19, 2011, 4:00pm

Maria Aragon hopes to be a good influence to others (Photo from her official website)

MANILA, Philippines – Filipina-Canadian YouTube sensation Maria Aragon has achieved another milestone at a tender age: Starring in her own music video.

Maria has already filmed the official music video for her version of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” which is part of her debut album, reported abs-cbnNEWS.com.

She related how the shoot went, saying during her interview, "I feel really grateful to be here thank you. We had to do a lot of takes and there's a lot of concept to it.”

The 11-year-old singer’s homemade video of the Lady Gaga hit which the former's sister uploaded on YouTube last February was Maria's ticket to fame, generating over 40 million hits. More, she impressed none other than Lady Gaga herself who hailed Maria as “the future.”

The Winnipeg-based Maria is currently in the country together with her family for a vacation as well as for some showbiz commitments.

In spite of her accomplishments, Maria apparently keeps a good head on her shoulders. In her interview with “The Buzz” last month, the young singer noted being humble as the best advice she would give to others.

“You should always stay grounded. I’ve been through a lot but the thing is you should always stay grounded. I would never be like big-headed and I always stay with God. I always pray with my family every night.

“Just be always grateful for what you have because there are some kids or a lot of people that don’t have what we have. We’re very privileged to have what we have,” said Maria.

She may have a long way to go but Maria is determined to make a difference in her own way.

“Obviously I wanna make a change. Hopefully I influence other people to make a change too,” she said.

YouTube's Maria Aragon visits Ormoc

By JECELYN V. MACAHINDOG

August 18, 2011, 8:00am

MANILA, Philippines  -- Fil-Canadian Maria Aragon has visited her mother’s hometown, Ormoc City.

The 11-year-old YouTube sensation flew to Ormoc with her family last Friday, Aug. 12, GMA News reported.

Maria’s mother, Menchie Catangcatang-Aragon, lived in Brgy. Dolores in Ormoc City before migrating to Canada.

Maria also took advantage of the trip by serving the purposes of Couples for Christ’s Answering the Cry of the Poor (ANCOP), a cause Maria supports.

Maria, her mother, father Veni Aragon, and siblings Linger, Rojuane and JV, also dropped by the offices of Ormoc City Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez, Mayor Eric Codilla, and some schools in the city.

As previously reported, Maria was saddened to see the condition of poor Filipino children and vowed to help them.

In a post on her official Twitter account (@mariiiaofficial), Maria urged her Pinoy fans to help her send poor children to school. “Let us all help the children of the Philippines go to school... On August 21 at the MOA Grounds, join me at the CFC Global Ancop Walk!” she posted.

A day before her hometown touchdown, Maria also met with Vice President Jejomar Binay.

The young singer paid a courtesy call to VP Binay at the Coconut Palace in Manila on Thursday, Aug. 11, ABS-CBN News reported.

Maria thanked VP Binay, whom her family regards as one of the first persons to congratulate her when she was just starting her now flourishing career.

Maria, who performed Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” before VP Binay and some personnel of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), said “I want to say thank you for the support.”

Maria Aragon duets with Canadian PM, greets Lady Gaga on her birthday

By ALEX VALENTIN BROSAS

March 31, 2011, 11:58am

Fil-Canadian YouTube sensation Maria Aragon sings "Imagine" with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Screen grab from YouTube)

MANILA, Philippines – YouTube singing sensation Maria Aragon’s luck continues to blossom,  with her recently performing with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. 

Harper, who is seeking federal re-election in May, surprised the Aragons with a visit to their Winnipeg residence Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) with his wife, Laureen. The visit drew a lot of paparazzi, who prodded Harper to sing with the eleven-year-old celebrity. The PM acquiesced by performing John Lennon’s “Imagine” on the piano together with Aragon.

But before Harper’s performance, Aragon greeted her idol, Lady Gaga, by singing her own version of the pop superstar’s  hit “Born This Way.” She injected words in the song to address the pop icon.

“Happy birthday Lady Gaga and I hope you enjoyed your....my version of  'Born This Way'," she addressed the pop singer. "A little bit of happy birthday. I hope you enjoy your 25th birthday and I hope that you  have more than 25 years to come. 

"I just really love you for the way you are. I hope you really stay Gaga and hopefully I get to see you again. And I wanna  wish you more luck, more support and I just wanna say thank you because without you I would be nothing here playing my piano. I wouldn’t have been wearing this shirt or  I wouldn’t got this hat. I wouldn’t post this video up. Just thank you and I love you and

happy birthday," she said.

Last week, Aragon was invited to sing at Piolo Pascual’s concert in Toronto, Canada. 

“Now that I’m gonna be singing with Piolo Pascual and I have his signature on this hat. This hat is really very special. I have a lot of family there. I can see he’s really very nice,” she said in an interview aired on “Bandila,” March 29.

Aragon, who was born and raised in Canada, hopes to visit the Philippines soon. The  Aragons have not visited the country since they migrated to Canada in 1997.

“I’m kind of giving it a thought, too. We have a lot of family there,” Aragon said.

Aragon gained cyber prominence when her YouTube video of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” was discovered by the pop icon. She became a singing sensation when Lady Gaga shared her video with her millions of fans on Twitter.

“Can’t stop crying watching this, this is why I make music, she is the future,” Lady Gaga tweeted that time.

A lot of things followed suit. Aragon guested in a radio show where she sang a duet with her idol. She also made a guest appearance on the 'Ellen DeGeneres' talk show. And in a rare chance, she performed with Lady Gaga at the Air Canada Center in Toronto.

"Maria represents what this song is all about," Gaga said. "It's all about the next generation and the future.”

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with its own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. (053)555-8464/09164422611/  09173373687