Phil Younghusband: Celebrity Duets' new eye-candy

He may be skilled in the field, but there’s no denying that the stage loves ex-Chelsea Football Club striker Phil Younghusband.

As the youngest contestant in GMA-7's Celebrity Duets, Phil himself admits that he has no experience in singing. But he impressed us here at FemaleNetwork.com when he sang a few lines for us, after much coaxing, during our interview with him. He has improved a lot from his first performance on the show; he revealed that he has, in fact, been practicing a lot, showing us just how determined he is to win the competition.

We're curious: how did you get into Celebrity Duets?

GMA-7 invited me and my manager thought it would be interesting, but at the end of the day, I still had the final say. It was different, and I thought I couldn't sing in front of a lot of people, but I like the show and I was encouraged by my manager, family, and friends to join because they said it would be fun. It's a challenge and I enjoy challenges.

What can you say about being the rumored forerunner when it comes to number of votes now?

I didn't know that I'm leading! [It's just that] if I'm not singing well, I feel down. It's something I've never done before but I want to be the best.

How do you train for the show?

I take voice lessons, which are difficult; they aren't your usual voice coaches but they're good. It's difficult to hate what you love. When you're in front of the camera, it's hard to re-enact how good the practice was, it's really different when you're practicing and then singing in front of people. I try techniques like holding my ears, trying to get the tune.

What keeps you busy?

Practicing for the show--right now it's really all about practice, practice, practice! I'm also busy learning Tagalog and going to the gym.

Would you sing a lot of Filipino songs?

No, I've got to stick to what I know best. My first song was modern and upbeat, which was very difficult. So [I'm opting for] something slow, a ballad--one thing I've learned is to stick to what I'm good at, so that's my strategy. Maybe I'll try to entertain people, but I've learned that your performance is important. Whatever I'm doing on the stage, I hope that entertains people. That's why I’m enrolled in a gym now--I'll take my top off in one of my performances! (He also told us that, when at a loss one time for what song to sing next, he decided to go to a record store and chanced upon a CD of Side A--and this is where he got the idea for the song he'll be seeing tomorrow on the show!)

We know that Celebrity Duets isn't a permanent thing. So do you have plans after the show?

I don't know right now, maybe I’ll go into show business, who knows. I'm more of a person who doesn't like to plan too far ahead. I like to take things as they come, as long as I'm enjoying myself, I'd do it. It's difficult to tell if I can play football here, since it's not very popular here; it's difficult to play full-time. But I love football, I still watch and play. At the moment though, I'm not too sure. London--who knows, maybe. I take things one at a time. Maybe an album?

I'd run for president if I beat Bayani (Sec. Bayani Fernando, who is also part of the show)! We already have a joke about it--"What would you prefer, an old BF or a good-looking young husband?" (laughs)

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