Charice, ‘Before It Explodes’

For a pint-sized teen popper, Charice has one very tall voice. The 18-year-old singer really opens up the pipes in her new single, 'Before It Explodes,' which was co-written by Bruno Mars.

We could make assumptions about Mars' intention behind this one, but Charice has already taken out all of the guess-work. "The song is about these two people: they have to stop the madness before it explodes," she tells Broadway World, in reference to the relation between her new single and Bruno Mars' hit, 'Grenade.' "It's amazing because, you know, 'Grenade' is about your love for a person that is not even paying attention to you! (Laughs) You have to stop the madness before it explodes -- in 'Before It Explodes' -- and then it explodes in 'Grenade'!"

Makes sense to us! 'Before it Explodes' is top-notch from front to back, but we especially love how Charice gives us an emotional and vocal rawness in the bridge:

"There ain't nothing that can save us / We're too close to the edge / And what's the use of going on if we're lying to each other every word that is said / It's too late for us now / 'Cause we can hear the countdown / It's getting close / It's gonna blow / Stop the madness / Before it explodes"

Charice, who portrays Sunshine Corazon on 'Glee' in her spare time, dropped 'Before It Explodes' last week, as the frontrunner single for her sophomore international album, which is slated for this fall. Just a day after she released this one, she gave us a taste of her Nick Jonas-penned tune, 'One Day.'

We think this one was a gold star choice for a comeback single!

Rating: 9/10

Listen to Charice, 'Before It Explodes'