MANILA, Philippines?There were a lot screaming fans, some of them crying unabashedly. Others gave the performer a jumping?not standing?ovation.

This was how Grace Mendoza, the Philippine manager of Charice Pempengco, described the hot reception the 17-year-old international singing sensation got in Singapore recently.

Laguna-born Pempengco was a special guest in the finals of the 2009 ?Singapore Idol? talent competition held on Dec. 26 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, that country?s biggest sports and entertainment venue.

The following day, clips of Pempengco?s performance were uploaded on YouTube, the video-sharing website in which she was discovered about two years ago. One video had already been viewed by more than 9,000 people. A fan who shared the videos online claimed a crowd of 8,000 watched Pempengco at the Singapore stadium.

?We were really surprised at how the Singaporeans loved Charice,? Mendoza told the Inquirer Wednesday.

?It was totally unexpected. I myself was stunned and overwhelmed,? Pempengco said.

She was the only guest performer on the show, said Mendoza. The producers were reportedly compelled to get Pempengco after Singaporean fans sent e-mails clamoring for the Filipino singer.

The YouTube videos of her performance in Singapore showed a more confident Pempengco with a more mature voice easily gliding from low to high notes.

She appeared in trendy calf-high leather boots and used her personalized Sennheiser microphone studded with Swarovski crystals?reportedly worth P500,000.

Though very familiar to her Filipino fans, the songs she sang?a medley of Whitney Houston?s ?I Have Nothing? and ?I Will Always Love You? from ?The Bodyguard? film soundtrack, and ?Note to God,? a single from her forthcoming debut album recorded in the United States?cast a spell on the audience at the Singapore stadium.

After Pempengco?s first spot number, the show?s host was so bowled over that he almost knelt in adulation of the singer, said Mendoza.