Jose Maria Chan was featured in Time Magazine
Veteran singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan was compared to American singer Mariah Carey in a recent feature published by Time Magazine.
Every time the “ber” months start, Filipinos are already preparing for the holiday season. This time of the year also gives extra popularity to one singer. JMC is the Christmas icon in the Philippines.
His songs for this particular season are well-loved by many. Aside from his songs, Pinoys are also fond of sharing his memes. Previously, JMC shared that he is aware of the memes about him and he is happy that Filipinos regard him as a Christmas symbol.
Jose Mari Chan’s popularity has reached the other side of the world. Based on the article in The Philippine Star, the veteran Pinoy singer was featured in Time Magazine for being the face and voice of Christmas in the country.
The article even featured a meme showing his face peeking into the frame. This kind of meme starts to surface as early as August 31.
A portion of the article also mentioned that if there is Mariah Carey in the US, the Philippines has JMC.
“The face peering out is that of Jose Mari Chan, a Philippine sugar business owner whose icon status has earned him the local moniker “Mr. Christmas.” Whereas Mariah Carey’s voice may ring in the winter spirit in America, it’s Chan’s carols that have, over the past few decades, become ubiquitous throughout the final four months of every year in malls, restaurants, karaoke bars, and radio broadcasts across the archipelagic Southeast Asian nation of 110 million people.”
Time Magazine, 2023
It was also noted in the article that JMC is “first a businessman, and second a singer-songwriter.” On why he is allowing people to take selfies with him, he said that he has no heart to say “no” and he does not want to appear arrogant.
Meanwhile, even Mariah Carey acknowledged that Filipinos are celebrating Christmas earlier than the rest of the world. She previously shared a post showing that her holiday season song All I Want For Christmas Is You was streamed more this year compared to last year. She said that she would allow this for her Filipino lambs.
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