Charice: The next Celine Dion

Charice: The next Celine Dion

She's only 4-foot-9, but Charice has a towering voice. When she applies her vocal pipes to a Whitney Houston ballad, she makes it look as easy as tying her shoelaces.

"She's incredible," says her producer and mentor, Grammy-winner David Foster. A veteran at nurturing new artists, he likens Charice's star power to another talent he helped discover. "It's like the first time I saw Celine Dion. It's exactly the same to me."

Even Dion is paying attention to the teen. In 2008, she invited Charice on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York for a duet of her hit song "Because You Loved Me." Charice, who has idolized Dion since she was 4, was only 16 at the time.

Last week, Charice celebrated her 18th birthday (we interviewed her a couple of weeks beforehand) by releasing her self-titled debut album in the United States.

She may have gotten her start singing power pop ballads in local contests in her native Philippines (which later translated to key performances for Oprah and Ellen), but her album has a more youthful, dance-pop feel. The lead single "Pyramid," featuring singer Iyaz, is in the No. 1 spot on Billboard's dance chart.