With a golden voice that only belongs to her, it would be impossible not to recognize Regine Velasquez singing – otherwise she intentionally changes her sound and act less poised than she truly is. That’s what happened in one of the recent editions of It’s Showtime’s hit segment “Hide and Sing” where Regine guested as a mystery singer and only Vice Ganda, among the bunch of hosts, recognized the Asia’s Songbird.
The OPM icon looked back on that exciting experience. Although it felt uncomfortable wearing the PPE and face shield, she had fun playing the game. Even her husband Ogie Alcasid and son Nate argued while trying to guess who she is among the three ‘TagoKanta’.
Regine also reacted to the historical collaboration of ABS-CBN and TV5 for the simultaneous airing of ASAP Natin’ To. It was a glorious moment for every Kapamilya. Regine feels overjoyed, says she hopes other Kapamilya programs will also get wider reach sooner.
Solid Reginians have another musical event to look forward to as the Songbird stages a Valentine concert, this time to be streamed online. The news is VIP tickets were sold out in 12 hours!
The preparation started last year. She’s involved in the show’s overall production, unlike her recent concerts where she was also busy being a wife and mom. Besides, she’s getting used to doing virtual performances. That’s why every detail has been easy so far, “I had a whole year of practice, a whole year of doing online shows. So, lahat ng pwedeng ma-encounter, na-encounter na namin or ne-experience na namin as far as I know. Kung meron pang darating, gano’n naman talaga, we’ll just deal with it when it happens kasi gano’n talaga, walang perfect.”
Regine doesn’t want to dwell on what could get wrong like technical difficulties, and the downsides such as having zero live audiences. For her, what matters is she has the platform, so she will use it to entertain and inspire others in any way possible, “Ini-imagine ko na despite what we’re going through, I’m still able to touch your hearts, I’m still able to make you smile, laugh a little bit, forget what’s happening in the world, so I will give my one thousand percent.”
She also promised to offer her audiences fresh, new repertoire, “Basically, I chose which ones to sing and the genre is completely out of my comfort zone, it’s not my usual pop concert.” She knows experiments are risky but she believes it will be worth it. And this boldness is one of the reasons why we keep on craving more music from Regine. She never loses her appeal as Filipinos’ ultimate singing idol.
But, would you believe that even the Asia’s Songbird still feels nervous on stage? She even feels tensed on ASAP Natin’ To. She said it’s a normal part of the experience. It would even be surprising not to feel the butterflies at all.
Sometimes the pressure also helps her not to rest on her laurels, especially when it comes to taking care of her voice. Regine mentioned that a singer’s voice can be easily affected by factors such as misuse, stress, sickness, and temperature. Yet, for someone so pro like her, there’s no problem with drinking cold water.
Asked for her advice to aspiring artists, Regine emphasized passion for everything they do in life, “Kasi ‘pag passionate ka, makikita ‘yung ng tao. The audiences can see that, so they get inspired by what they see.”
She added that nothing beats the fulfilment of being able to inspire other people. It’s a cycle, “When you get to whatever job, eventually ‘yung next step mo is to inspire na. Kasi ‘pag nag-uumpisa ka, you’re climbing, struggling, and trying to prove yourself to everyone, then, eventually you go past over those things and now it’s your turn to encourage.”
When she was younger, there were times when she thought of giving up. But as she matures, as a woman and an artist, she also learned to be more appreciative of her blessings. Her comeback after giving birth to Nate was a turning point in her life.
She didn’t feel as good, as though her voice has changed, enough to make her want to stop singing “I was so disappointed and it’s so heartbreaking for me to hear myself sound something like that. I’m not used to it,” she said.
With Ogie’s constant encouragement, she realized that she was just going through a phase. Add to that her realization that changes are a normal part of growth. She couldn’t sound like a 20-something singer anymore because she’s getting older, and that’s perfectly fine. “I actually prefer my voice now. Sometimes it would crack, it’s not as clean as I wanted it to be but I have to say it has gone through a lot. It has experienced many and so I’m happy the way I’m producing this voice now.”
Now in her 50s, Regine no longer dwells much on the sound. What matters is she sings from the soul, touches a lot of hearts, and makes a difference in the lives of her listeners.