Even before she was hailed as the grand champion of the reality talent show Star Power in 2010, Angeline Quinto has always been a big Regine Velasquez fanatic and she is not afraid to show it. “Si Ms. Reg ang isa sa mga napakalaking pangarap ko na natupad,” says Angeline, former kontesera, now Queen of Teleserye Theme Songs.
Angeline was eight when she started listening to Regine’s music and joining amateur singing contests. She would use Regine’s songs as contest piece, even if she was still too young to hit the high notes. “Sana Maulit Muli” was the first Regine hit that landed Angeline a second-runner-up win.
Angeline’s story shares parallel plot with that of Regine, who started out as kontesera as well. Angeline admires Regine so much she would try to sing her songs everyday. The constant practice helped widen her vocal range, thus almost sounding like her idol.
At 12, Angeline joined the talent search Star for A Night hosted by Regine. The latter was told by her father that one of the contestants had an altar dedicated to her. Angeline shares that she would often receive clippings of Regine’s articles and photos as birthday gifts from friends. And these memorabilia she would post on a ‘sacred’ wall.
The same feeling of meeting her idol for the first time resonates even until now that she’s already friends and is able to share the stage with her. Angeline still gets starstruck with Regine, such magnitude of the admiration she feels. Angeline’s fangirl story reminds us of the Law of Attraction, that whatever we visualize and believe in will eventually transcend in our realities.
For someone who grew up without the care of biological parents, Angeline also dreams of raising her own happy family someday. She takes inspiration from a cousin who’s also a product of a broken family but has managed to build a two-parent home for her kids. While Angeline is known for keeping her private life private, she confirms having a special someone at the moment.
As message to aspiring singers, Angeline highlights the value of patience and tenacity. Her success didn’t happen overnight. She had to endure a series of defeat before getting to where she is today. But, if anything, Angeline is grateful even to her moments of failures.
“Sa buhay, hindi lahat madali. Hindi kung anong gusto mo o pangarap mo, eh makukuha agad. Sa dinami-dami ng mga contest na sinalihan ko, kung hindi man ako nanalo sa mga ‘yun, tinanggap ko ‘yun nang buong puso kasi alam ko na mayroon talagang tamang panahon si Lord para sa akin,” Angeline relates.
Growing up, Angeline would take inspiration from Regine’s success story and remind herself that she can also make it. “Kahit hindi tayo mayaman, kahit hindi buo ang pamilya, hindi ‘yun magiging hadlang kung mayroon kang pangarap sa buhay,” With loud determination and passion that brought her to where she is today, Angeline truly makes her idol proud.
To answer questions from her supporters, the Queen of Teleserye Theme Songs considers spending more time with and cooking for her Mama Bob as her biggest achievement this quarantine.
Asked for a message to her TOTGA (The One That Got Away), Angeline says, “Kung ano man ang mayroon siya ngayon, sana happy siya. ‘Pag dumating ‘yung time na ako naman ang magiging masaya sa buhay pag-ibig ko, sana ganoon din siya kasaya.”
Nothing could make Angeline quit showbiz. She will stay as long as she has the voice, the power to make other people happy, and her supportive fans.