Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez (born April 22, 1970), nicknamed Asia's Songbird, is a Filipino singer, actress, endorser and TV host. She is undoubtedly the most successful Filipino singer of all time. While there have been artists from The Philippines who reached international stardom but left the country in their pursuit of success, Velasquez's career was planted and blossomed locally and as predicted, she has become an international icon respectively.
Velasquez's belting voice is noted for its vocal range, power, and technical ability. She received critical acclaim and commercial success for her singing and acting endeavors. Following her success in the Asia Pacific Song Festival, a series of records released in the region consolidated her position as one of Asia's top-selling performers, yielding several multi-platinum certifications. Initially marketed as a pop music singer, she later distanced herself from the genre, developing a more sultry and sophisticated image.
Velasquez was the first Filipino to stage a solo concert at the Main Hall of Carnegie Hall, part of Carnegie Hall's centennial-year concert series.Her album Listen Without Prejudice achieved platinum certification in seven countries. In 2000, she performed the country's millennial theme, televised in 55 broadcast networks throughout the world to coincide with midnight in Manila.
Her single, "In Love With You," a duet with Jacky Cheung, topped Channel V and MTV's Asian charts and was a number one hit all over Asia. She has collaborated with artists such as Paul
Anka, David Hasselhoff, 98 Degrees, Brian McKnight, Mandy Moore, Ronan Keating, Stephen Bishop, Jim Brickman, Peabo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne, Dave Koz , Lea Salonga, Grasshopper, Coco Lee, and Michel Legrand.
She embarked on several television and film projects, receiving a Best Actress Award for her portrayal of a mentally challenged woman in Maalaala Mo Kaya. As of 2007, Velasquez is in the forefront of Filipino popular culture. She is a concert director, record producer, fashion designer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Velasquez helped form IndiMusic, a record company partnered with the late Bella Tan's Universal Records. She is currently managed by Aria Productions.
Biography
1970–1986: Early life and discoveryVelasquez was the first child of Teresita and Gerardo Velasquez, born in Tondo, Metro Manila, Philippines on April 22, 1970. Her family moved to Hinundayan, Southern Leyte, where Velasquez studied at the Hinundayan Central School.
The Early Years Music figured largely in her early development; her father sang the children Sinatra lullabies and her mother accompanied family singalongs on her guitar.
Her father trained her voice by having her sing while submerged neck-deep in the ocean; her mother taught her how to move on stage and interpret songs. Before she could read, her father taught her song lyrics. At six, Velasquez participated in a nationally-televised amateur singing competition, The Tita Betty's Children's Show. Her piece, "Buhat Nang Kita'y Makilala" ("Since I Met You"), won third place and "youngest contender." Velasquez joined more singing competitions in small towns around the country. By nine, Velasquez and her family had moved to Balagtas, Bulacan, where she studied at Balagtas Central School. She later studied at St. Lawrence Academy (now College of St. Lawrence), the institution to which she attributes her good English diction. She placed second at the Miss St. Lawrence Academy pageant. She won Vocal Solo and Vocal Duet for her school at the annual BULPRISA (Bulacan Private School Association) competition. Her parents saved money on competitions by designing and sewing her gowns using materials at hand and fabric from old gowns.
Velasquez won the top prize in 67 of approximately 200 competitionsAt fourteen, Velasquez entered the senior division of Ang Bagong Kampeon, a nationally-televised singing competition, hosted by Bert "Tawa" Marcelo and Asia's "Queen of Songs", Pilita Corrales. Her father suggested that she audition with "Saan Ako Nagkamali" ("Where Did I Go Wrong"). She won for eight straight weeks and became the first grand champion of the show. The show's musical director, Dominic Salustiano, suggested her winning piece, George Benson's "In Your Eyes." She won a contract with Octoarts, recording the single "Love Me Again" as "Chona Velasquez," her nickname. She then joined the Organisasyon ng mga Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), an organization of Filipino singers, performing in music lounges all over Metro Manila. Members of OPM helped her out by giving her industry advice and by lending their gowns for her performances. [7]
1986–1987: Early commercial successPops Fernandez, another artist signed by Octoarts, hosted the variety show Penthouse Live! with her then-husband Martin Nievera. She invited Velasquez to appear on the February 16, 1986, show. Ronnie Henares, the show's producer, offered to manage her career and she accepted. Nievera suggested that she drop Chona and use Regine as her screen name. That year, her father resigned from his job as a construction estimator to fully attend to his daughter's career.
Viva Records signed Velasquez to a contract in 1987, releasing her self-titled debut album. The album contained the hits "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang," "Isang Lahi," and "Urong Sulong."
Her first regularly televised performances were musical variety shows with ensemble casts, such as ABS-CBN's Triple Treat and the Sunday variety show Teen Pan Alley. Velasquez and Alley's Janno Gibbs continued to collaborate throughout the years, creating the musical Kenkoy at Rosing, recording the hit cover song "Magkasuyo Buong Gabi," and performing duets in concert.
1988–1991: International exposureVelasquez won the grand championship of the Asia-Pacific Singing Contest, an international competition held in Hong Kong, with "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls. Her win garnered her celebrity status throughout Asia; from then on, she was hailed as
Asia's Songbird. Carnegie Hall, New York at the age of 21. She signed with Vicor records and released several albums, starting with Nineteen 90. The album included her Tagalog hit single "Narito Ako" ("Here I Am"), her first Ogie Alcasid-penned song, "I Have To Say Goodbye," and her duet with Jose Mari Chan, "Please Be Careful with My Heart."
Her first major solo concert, Narito Ako, was standing-room only at the Folk Arts Theater, with Gary Valenciano as guest.
Regine's debut United States solo concert, Narito Ako sa New York (Here I Am in New York), was held at the Main Hall of Carnegie Hall on October 11, 1991, part of one hundred events of its centennial celebration.
Velasquez is the first Filipino to stage a solo concert there. (The first Filipino group act to perform is the Apo Hiking Society)[8]
While in New York, Velasquez auditioned for the Broadway production of Miss Saigon. She was allegedly offered the role of 'Kim' but declined, citing inadequate experience.[9] Furthermore, she did not want to follow the internationally-acclaimed performance of Lea Salonga as the original Kim in the West End and Broadway productions.
The album Tagala Talaga ("A Genuine Tagalog Lady") comprised her renditions of classic Filipino compositions by Nonong Pedero, Willy Cruz, George Canseco, Louie Ocampo, Freddie Aguilar, and National Artists for Music Awardees Ryan Cayabyab, Lucio D. San Pedro, and Levi Celerio.
1993–1998: Asian stardomHer fourth record, Reason Enough, was released in 1993 and achieve platinum album status; it featured "Sana Maulit Muli," "Babalikang Muli," and her duet with Gary Valenciano, "Slip Away." It also included a duet with Paul Anka, "It's Hard to Say Goodbye," a cover of a 1986 single.
PolyGram Records released Velasquez's first pan-Asian studio album, Listen Without Prejudice in 1994. The album featured "In Love with You" with Jacky Cheung, "Follow the Sun," "What Kind of Fool Am I?," and "Reason Enough." It sold over 300,000 units throughout East Asia. Two further best-selling albums were released in the region: My Love Emotion, featuring the cult favorite "You've Made Me Stronger," composed by Trina Belamide. The album outsold her preceding album two to one. Her next album, Retro, contained covers of hits from the 1970s, and an acoustic version of "Dance With Me," a duet with her mother, Teresita Velasquez.
Velasquez joined Ryan Cayabyab's musical adaptation of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere at the CCP in 1995. She essayed the tragic role of Maria Clara opposite Audie Gemora's Crisostomo Ibarra, directed by Nonon Padilla. Vic Del Rosario of Viva saw her performance and offered her the lead in Wanted: Perfect Mother, a movie adaptation of the Mars Ravelo comic book series, loosely based on The Sound of Music. Martin Nievera wrote the theme song, "You Are My Song," one of Velasquez's rare original hit singles. The movie was her first starring role and first pairing with Christopher De Leon. She starred in more movies with Viva, and later signed an exclusive contract with Viva Films and Viva Records.
In 1996, she staged Isang Pasasalamat, her free tenth anniversary concert at the UP Sunken Garden. Janno Gibbs, Bernardo Bernardo, The Tux, Nanette Inventor, Ivy Violan, and Martin Nievera were among her special guests. In the same year, Velasquez recorded a Christmas album, Love Was Born on Christmas Day, her final album under Polycosmic Records. She also ended her contract with Primeline, Inc., opting to manage her own career. Viva Records released her multi-platinum R&B and hip hop-oriented album Drawn, produced by Mark Feist, and featuring a self-portrait on the cover. Songs like "How Could You Leave," "I'll Never Say Goodbye," and more upbeat songs like "Once in a Lifetime" and "Messin' With My Head" demonstrated her vocal power, technique, and versatility. The Filipino track "Ikaw" ("You"), was the theme song of her movie with Aga Muhlach. Destiny's Child later covered "Emotions" in 2001 under Mark Feist. In this period, Velasquez moved from her demure image to a more risque appearance.
2000–2005: Regine reigns Regine Velasquez in GMA Network's Global Millenium Day Broadcast (2000) Velasquez sang the Philippine Millennium anthem "Written In The Sand" atop the Manila Peninsula hotel, an event broadcasted live around the world. She released an album entitled R2K ("Regine 2000"), containing "revival cuts" (covers) of international artists and becoming sixfold platinum. She launched the R2K Concert series, filling the Araneta Coliseum for two days.
Regine Velasquez's most notable R2K Concert performance, singing "On the Wings of Love" hanging in mid-air with butterfly wings.Two years later, she released an all-original album titled Reigne, a play of letters from her name and an allusion to her status in the Philippine music industry. The album included songs like "To Reach You," "Dadalhin," and "Sa Aking Pag-iisa" which even had a remix version.
She continued to juggle her singing, film, television, and advertising careers. In 2002, she
received Best Actress for in Star Awards for Television in her dramatic role of a retarded woman seeking acceptance and love. She staged the Bantay Bata Benefit concert, One Night with Regine, set at the stairs of the Philippine National Museum which won Best Musical Special at the 2003 Asian Television Awards. That same year, her MTV Asia special entitled Speak Your Mind was nominated for the UNICEF Child Rights Awards. The production was highly commended for its agendum on child welfare, documenting the plight of homeless children swarming the streets of Metro Manila, in an effort to protect and safeguard their rights.
She also hosted the amateur singing contest Star For A Night which aimed to discover new talents. It launched the careers of Sarah Geronimo and Mark Bautista among others. The weekly show was aired on IBC-13 and was a co-production with Viva. The show also included Mau Marcelo who later on won the Philippine Idol.
Velasquez became the first and second recipient of the MTV Favorite Artist Award (Philippines) in 2002 and 2003. During the 2002 award ceremony held in Singapore, she sang "Cry" in a duet with Mandy Moore, one of the hosts.
In 2003, the Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez World Concert Tour was launched. The first quarter of 2004 saw Regine and singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid in a concert entitled The Songbird and the Songwriter.
In the same year, Velasquez released Covers, comprising cover songs including Original Pilipino Music ("OPM") classics of male singers like Basil Valdez, Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano, Ogie Alcasid, Side A, True Faith, and Ariel Rivera. The album was a commercial success, attaining platinum status five days after its release date. She transferred her amateur singing contest to GMA-7 and changed the name to Search For A Star. The show launched the career of Rachelle Ann Go.
Velasquez starred in GMA's telenovela Forever In My Heart opposite Richard Gomez, Dawn Zulueta, and former flame Ariel Rivera. She produced, directed, and staged a set of concert performances entitled Reigning Still in December 2004. Despite a series of typhoons, the show sold well. It catered more to popular tastes than her late 1990s work, hearkening back to her pop roots.
Reflections (2005)
In 2005, Velasquez and singer Pops Fernandez performed a concert, Queens On Fire, later taking it on an eight-city U.S. tour.
Velasquez held the Reflections Concert series at Aliw Theatre late that year. The stage was decorated with mannequins wearing her gowns from the past decade which were later auctioned for the benefit of GMA's Kapuso Foundation. The concert featured the prodigies "Wyeth Gifted Kids" (saxophonist Jacob Sarreal, violinists Joseph Valdes and Paulina, and classical cellist Pocholo Gutierrez).
She recorded the theme song "Di Na Nag-iisa" for the Darna TV series, based on the Darna comic book character created by Mars Ravelo, and its characteristic yell.
2006–present: Twenty years and still going strongIn 2006, she released the album Covers: Volume 2, featuring covers of non-Filipino songs presented with new arrangements in various musical genres. The first single was "Hold Me In Your Arms," covering the Southern Sons song. Other covers are presented in genres and arrangements differing from the originals. Her Valentine concert at the Araneta Coliseum, Forever After, co-starred Ogie Alcasid, Rico Puno, and Ai Ai Delas Alas. She and Pops Fernandez staged the North American leg of the Queens on Fire concert tour in the spring of 2006. The fantaconcierto hit Forever After tour was staged in key US cities and at the Wembley Arena in London. On August 13, 2006, the Sharon Cuneta Show devoted an episode to Velasquez's humble beginnings. Together with Cacai Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, and Raul Mitra, Velasquez launched the IndiMusic record label.
In mid-October, she released a movie co-starring Robin Padilla, Till I Met You and held Twenty, a 20th-anniversary concert, at the Araneta Coliseum in mid-October 2006. Velasquez recorded "Maghihintay Ako," the theme song for the sci-fi telenovela Atlantika.
In January, 2007, People Asia Magazine's "People of the Year" honored her with the Exemplary Achievement Award, shared with three others.Her movie Paano Kita Iibigin grossed 12 million Philippine pesos on its opening day, May 30, 2007. The soundtrack features duets and solos by the co-stars.
FashionistaVelasquez worked with Bulacan native Louie Mamengo, Rajo Laurel, and Pepsi Herrera to supply her fashions. With her sister Cacai Mitra and Sari-Sari, she released a line of clothing called Reigne in 2004.
When she started in show business, Velasquez was insecure about her beauty. She adopted a pageboy haircut out of frustration when the Jets pre-empted one of her concert dates. With this new look, Velasquez stripped away her country lass image. Velasquez does her own make-up, having learned the craft in order to make her appearance consistent from show to show. She has a tattoo of a monarch butterfly on her lower back and a rose and vines adorning her right ankle.
In 2001, Velasquez was ranked Number 4 in the 100 Sexiest Women in the Philippine edition of FHM Magazine. In 2002 she was featured on Askmen magazine as one of the "99 Most Desirable Women" and was featured as "Woman of the Month".
More Than Just a Pretty FaceRegine Velasquez is a woman of many interests and has shown that she's more than just a singer.
As a director, she has directed her own concerts, music videos and TV shows.
As an actress, she has guested in several TV shows, starred in her own tv soap opera and was awarded a Best Actress Award in Star Awards for an episode in ABS-CBN's "Maalaala Mo Kaya". She has also been crowned "Box-Office Queen" by the Guillermo Mendoza Foundation for her top-grossing film "Pangako, Ikaw Lang".
She hosts her own amateur singing contest, Pinoy Pop Superstar in which she won a Star Award for Best Female Host. She is a regular host of S.O.P. Sobrang Okay Pare".
She is also a product endorser, for commercial food chains like KFC and Wendy's. She has also endorsed of Digitel, Selecta Ice Cream, WOW Magic Sing Karaoke Microphone, Belo Medical Group, and Tissot Swiss Watches. In 2005, the Philippine Department Of Tourism and partners Smart Telecommunications, Jollibee Food Corp., Shell Philippines and Pfizer launched I Love the Philippines, Biyahe Na. Velasquez has recorded promotional songs and several commercials played in the National airports and was the official endorser for the country's tourism campaign.
Regine Velasquez was the singing voice for the lead female character in Adarna the first Filipino full length animated movie based on Francisco Balagtas' epic novel.
Velasquez also lends her voice in Darna (2005 TV Series). Aside from doing the theme song "Di Na Mag-iisa" for the TV Series. Each time the character Narda yells the magic word 'Darna' to transform into a superheroine, it is Velasquez's voice that the television audience hears.
Velasquez is an Entrepreneur and Record Producer. She started her own record label called Songbird Music which aim to help budding singers start their own career. Her interest in fashion has led her to creating clothing line called Reigne in which she herself draws and designs the clothes.
Velasquez is the CEO of Aria Productions and is currently the CFO of IndiMusic group. Velasquez has produced songs for Gabby Eigenmann, Roselle Nava, Dennis Trillo and Sarah Geronimo.
Velasquez is also a
sketch artist and painter. Her artwork graces the cover of her "Drawn" album. She has sported shirts and jeans that she herself designed, and also conceptualizes some of her gowns.
Velasquez recently published Reigne: The Book, a coffee-table book comprising a five-year memento of her portraits.
As a
social worker, Velasquez draws on her popularity to promote and support worthy causes. She has staged fundraising concerts and waives her talent fee to help organizations such as, UNICEF, Bantay Bata Foundation, Kapuso Foundation, Kythe Foundation, Bridges Foundation and Piso Para sa Pasig.
Velasquez' rise to stardom and rags-to-riches story has been a source of inspiration for aspiring singers. Her vocally challenging songs have been a staple in amateur singing contests throughout the Philippines. Velasquez is an avid supporter of new vocal talent, guesting in concerts of new singers she supports, paying forward the support she received from other artists when she was a struggling upstart in the Philippine entertainment industry.
ArtistryVelasquez has said that from childhood she was inspired by musicians such as Barry Manilow, Carpenters, Henry Mancini, Frank Sinatra Elvis Presley, Basil Valdez, Pilita Corrales, Kuh Ledesma, Sharon Cuneta, Lea Salonga, Didith Reyes, and
Barbara Streisand (MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST) which she pays tribute to in her album "the Songbird Sings the Classics. Her music contains strong influences of power ballad music and Broadway music. In recent years, she was able to explore different genres such as pop rock, blues, jazz, r&b/hip-hop, gospel music and dance-pop. As Velasquez began to imbue her sound with bubblegum pop, speculation arose that she was making an attempt to take advantage of the genre's popularity, but she later mentioned in her "Reflections" Concert Series, that bubble-gum pop artists such as Spice Girls are one of her influences in music.
Velasquez's albums received criticism for being too similar in style to the work of international supersingers Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston. Throughout her career, her vocal and musical style has been compared to Carey's and Dion's. Velasquez never denied that she looks up to divas the calibre of Dion and Houston as great influences in her singing style.
Velasquez's musical transition and her use of more revealing clothing and different hairstyles during the late 1990s were in part initiated to distance herself from the image that marketed by her former manager, Ronnie Henares, and also to prove her versatility as
"she surprised her fans with something new", so that "they wont get bored of her image" as she has stated in her CNN interview with Lorraine Hahn.Musical themes and styleVelasquez's output uses electronic instruments such as drum machines, keyboards, orchestra, and synthesizers. Piano and acoustic guitar accompany many of her songs.
Velasquez began commissioning cover songs early in her career and helped spearhead the trend in the Original Pilipino Music ("OPM") music genre of recording entirely new vocals and arrangement. Her first hit, "Narito Ako" was a cover ("revival").
She recorded songs by composers such as Janno Gibbs, Mark Feist, Trina Belamide, Martin Nievera, Vehnee Saturno, and Ogie Alcasid several times for her original songs such as "Isang Lahi", "You've Made Me Stronger", "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw", "Sa Aking Pag-iisa," and "You Are My Song", in the OPM tradition.
Voice ProfileRegine Velasquez is classified as a full-lyric coloratura soprano having a four-octave vocal range by using only her chest register.She can crescendo and decrescendo at fifth and sixth octaves. Regine has her unique abilities from shifting easily from her chest registers to her falsetto or rarely whistle register while at the key of her highest pitch. She credits her vocal skills from her father's training technique wherein she performed vocal exercises while submerged neck-deep in the ocean to strengthen her diaphragm.
This paved the way for a genre of belting for female singers in Philippine music. Her vocal style has been heard in many female singers, and has influenced the likes of Kyla, Jonalyn Viray, Sheryn Regis, Sarah Geronimo, Rachelle Ann Go, Yingzy,Michelle, Tamsy and Nina.
Regine can run through a series of high notes at any position even while lying or sitting in bed [citation needed], in lotus position, or being in a harness up in midair.Acting careerMain Article: Regine Velasquez Filmography
MoviesVelasquez's singing fame help her make a successful crossover into film. In 1987, she got her first movie role as the granddaughter of a mafia clan involved in crimes in the film The Untouchable Family. She soon ventured into the realm of comedy films. She was cast in the 1988 film Pik Pak Boom with contemporaries Dingdong Avanzado, Herbert Bautista and Bing Loyzayga. She then co-starred with comedians Joey de Leon and Rene Requistas in the flick Elvis and James in which she plays a nerdy music aficionado and the love interest of the two.
Her film career took a quick hiatus, but she returned to the cinema in 1996 for her very first lead role in the film Wanted Perfect Mother with actor, Christopher de Leon. She was one of three lead actresses in the musical comedy Do Re Mi (1997). She played a radio disc jockey and the mediator for her two overtly different friends. In 1998 Honey Nasa Langit Na Ba Ako was released; Regine played a ghost who died in a car accident days before her wedding day.
In 1998 Velasquez co-starred with matinee idol Aga Muhlach in the romantic film Dahil May Isang Ikaw. Later, in 2000, she starred opposite Robin Padilla in Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw, a film about a pop star who falls in love with one of her fans.
She reunited with Aga Muhlach in 2001 for Pangako Ikaw Lang which earned Regine the prestigious Box-Office Queen award from the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation.Velasquez acted in two more romantic films in 2002 and 2003 called Ikaw Lamang, Hanggang Ngayon with award-winning actor Richard Gomez, Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka with Christopher De Leon and her first with Dingdong Dantes. In December 2003 Velasquez debuted in her first science fiction film, Captain Barbell, with Ogie Alcasid and Bong Revilla.
Robin Padilla and Velasquez reunited in the movie Till I Met You in 2006 with Eddie Garcia. The movie grossed 40 Million pesos at opening, P93,112,265 overall. Till I Met You is currently the highest-grossing movie of the diva's career.
Piolo Pascual and Velasquez appear together in the film Paano Kita Iibigin after working together in the Ang Iibigin Ko'y Ikaw episode of GMA's defunct weekly drama series Habang May Buhay in 2000 and the Lobo episode of ABS-CBN's ongoing weekly drama series Maalaala Mo Kaya in 2001. Paano Kita Iibigin is a romantic drama co-production of Star Cinema and Viva Films under the direction of Joyce Bernal. It was released May 30, 2007.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regine_Velasquez 
