Regine Velasquez

In 1986, Velasquez initially used the stage name Chona and released the single "Love Me Again",[3] which failed commercially.[14] At the recommendation of another OctoArts recording artist, Pops Fernandez, she appeared on The Penthouse Live![14] While rehearsing for the show, Velasquez caught the attention of Ronnie Henares, a producer and talent manager who signed her to a management deal.[14][15] Velasquez adopted the stage name Regine at the suggestion of Martin Nievera, Fernandez's husband and The Penthouse Live! co-host.[3][14]

Velasquez signed with Viva Records and released her debut album Regine in 1987.[16] Henares served as an executive producer and worked with songwriters Joaquin Francisco Sanchez and Vehnee Saturno.[17] Three singles were released in 1987: "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang", " Urong Sulong", and "Isang Lahi".[3] During this period, Velasquez appeared on the ABS-CBN television shows Triple Treat and Teen Pan Alley.[18] Two years after Regine's release, Velasquez represented the Philippines in the 1989 Asia Pacific Singing Contest in Hong Kong and won, performing the songs "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical Carousel and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical Dreamgirls.[3]

Velasquez released her second studio album, Nineteen 90, in 1990.[14] She worked with Louie Ocampo on the album's lead single "Narito Ako",[19] which was originally recorded and performed by Maricris Bermont and written by Nonong Pedero for the 1978 Metro Manila Popular Music Festival.[20] Later that year, she headlined her first major concert at the Folk Arts Theater.[21][22] She recorded "Please Be Careful with My Heart" with Jose Mari Chan, who released the track on his album Constant Change;[23] she also sang backing vocals on Gary Valenciano's "Each Passing Night", which appears on his album Faces of Love.[24][25]

In 1991, Velasquez made her North American concert debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City,[26] a first for an Asian solo artist.[27] British theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh later invited Velasquez to audition for the West End production of the musical Miss Saigon.[28] She received a letter from the production offering to train her in London, which she declined: partly due to her lack of experience in musical theater, and also because she wished to remain with her family.[28]

Velasquez's third studio album Tagala Talaga was released in October 1991.[29] It includes cover versions of recordings by National Artist for Music recipients Ryan Cayabyab, Lucio San Pedro, and Levi Celerio.[30][31] The album's lead single, titled "Buhay Ng Buhay Ko", was originally recorded by Leah Navarro and was written by Pedero,[32][30] with whom Velasquez had worked on Nineteen 90.[19] Other notable singles from the album include "Anak" and "Sa Ugoy Ng Duyan".[30]

PolyGram Far East announced a joint-venture licensing deal in the Philippines in July 1993 with the formation of its subsidiary PolyCosmic Records.[33] Velasquez recorded a duet titled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" with Canadian singer Paul Anka, which became the new label's first release.[33][34] The single was later included on her fourth studio album Reason Enough.[34] David Gonzales of AllMusic described the album as "more attuned to international ears" and said Velasquez's vocals are "thin and unimpressive".[34] One of its singles, "Sana Maulit Muli", won the Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist in 1994.[35]

Velasquez at a press launch 1996

Velasquez released her fifth studio album Listen Without Prejudice in 1994.[36] She worked with songwriters, including Glenn Medeiros, Trina Belamide, and John Laudon.[37] The album was released in several countries in Southeast and East Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.[36][38] The album's lead single "In Love with You" features Cantonese singer Jacky Cheung.[38] Gonzales commended the record's themes and said, "Cheung's presence on the duet had much to do with the overseas success".[36] The album had sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide, including 100,000 in the Philippines,[38] making it the best-selling album of Velasquez's career to date.[27]

Velasquez's sixth studio album My Love Emotion was released in 1995.[39] The title track, which was written by Southern Sons vocalist Phil Buckle,[39][40] was described by Gonzales as a "triumph [and] an outstanding vehicle, containing a strong melody and hook in the chorus".[39] The album made a combined regional and domestic sales of 250,000 copies.[38]

For her seventh studio album Retro (1996), Velasquez recorded cover versions of popular music of the 1970s and 1980s from artists including Donna Summer, Foreigner, and The Carpenters.[41] The album's only original track, "Fly", is credited to Earth, Wind & Fire members Maurice White, Al McKay, and Allee Willis because the song interpolates the melody of their single "September".[42] Velasquez left PolyCosmic in 1998, and signed a six-album contract with the MJF Company.[43][44] That year, her ninth studio album Drawn was released.[44] MJF head Mark J. Feist wrote and produced most of the tracks, including the lead single "How Could You Leave".[44][45] Drawn sold more than 40,000 copies and was awarded a platinum certification within two weeks of its release.[46][lower-alpha 1]

Velasquez performing "Butterfly" during her R2K Concert in April 2000

Velasquez produced most of her next album R2K,[47] which was released on November 27, 1999.[48] She recorded remakes of Jeffrey Osborne's "On the Wings of Love", Dionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again", Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", and ABBA's "Dancing Queen", among others.[47] Gonzales criticized the record's "infatuation with Western popular music" and called Velasquez's singing "self-assured [but] also unimpressive".[49] Commercially, R2K sold more than 40,000 copies in its second week of release, earning a platinum certification,[48][lower-alpha 1] and was certified four times platinum a year later.[50] R2K has since been certified twelve times platinum,[51] becoming the highest-selling album by a female artist in the Philippines.[52][53] On December 31, 1999, Velasquez was a featured musical act in 2000 Today,[51] a BBC millennium television special that attracted a worldwide audience of more than 800 million viewers with its core program broadcast across the world's time zones,[54] which began with Kiribati Line Islands and ended in American Samoa.[55][56]

Velasquez headlined and directed the R2K Concert at the Araneta Coliseum in April 2000,[57] which won her Best Female Major Concert Act at the 13th Aliw Awards.[58] Ricky Lo from The Philippine Star was generally impressed with the production and complimented Velasquez's "boundless energy and creativity".[57] She also performed a concert at the Westin Philippine Plaza that year, which spawned the release of her first live album Regine Live: Songbird Sings the Classics in December 2000.[59][60] Although it was criticized for its audio mixing,[60] the album was certified six times platinum.[61][lower-alpha 1] Velasquez worked with Filipino songwriters for material on her eleventh studio album Reigne.[62] The album and its lead single "To Reach You" were released in December 2001.[63][64] Other singles were Tats Faustino's "Dadalhin" and Janno Gibbs' "Sa Aking Pag-iisa".[65] Gonzales called the album "an adventurous set" and praised the quality of the songwriting.[62]

Velasquez won the inaugural MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist Philippines in February 2002.[66][67] She performed "Cry" with Mandy Moore to promote the theatrical release of Moore's film A Walk to Remember.[53] In March, Velasquez hosted the first season of Star for a Night, which is based on the British talent show of the same name.[68] In April, she headlined a benefit concert called One Night with Regine at the National Museum of the Philippines, which was a collaboration with ABS-CBN Foundation to benefit Bantay Bata Foundation's child abuse response fund.[69] The show won Best Musical Program at the 7th Asian Television Awards.[70]

At the 2003 MTV Asia Awards, Velasquez won her second consecutive award for Favorite Artist Philippines.[71] In May 2003, she embarked on the Martin & Regine: World Concert Tour with Nievera.[72] The following month, Velasquez returned to host the second season of Search for a Star.[73] That November, she had a concert residency named Songbird Sings Streisand, a tribute to American singer and actor Barbra Streisand, at Makati's Onstage Theatre.[74]

In February 2004, Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid co-headlined a concert, The Songbird & The Songwriter, at the Araneta Coliseum,[75] and they embarked on a North American tour that April.[76] At the 17th Aliw Awards, she won Best Female Performance in a Concert and was nominated for Entertainer of the Year for the collaboration.[77] Velasquez hosted the reality talent show Pinoy Pop Superstar, which began airing on GMA Network that July.[78] In October 2004, she released "Forevermore", the lead single from her twelfth studio album Covers, Vol. 1.[79][80] Its songs were originally recorded by Filipino male artists, and it was her most expensive cover album to produce due in part to the cost of securing licensing rights for songs by local songwriters,[79][80] including Ariel Rivera's "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigan", Basil Valdez's "Say That You Love Me", and Nonoy Zuñiga's "Araw Gabi".[79][81] The album has since been certified six times platinum.[61][lower-alpha 1]

Later in November and December 2005, Velasquez had an eight-day concert residency named Reflections at the Aliw Theater.[1] The sequel album Covers, Vol. 2 was released in February 2006.[82] Unlike its predecessor, it contains songs by foreign artists, including Alanis Morissette's "Head Over Feet", Blondie's "Call Me", and Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes".[83] Manila Bulletin's Jojo Panaligan was generally impressed with Velasquez's "versatility" and the album tracks' "jazzy and blues-y interpretation".[82] In October 2006, she performed a concert titled Twenty at the Araneta Coliseum, which won her Best Female Major Concert Act and Entertainer of the Year award at the 20th Aliw Awards.[84][85] In 2007, she became co-host of the reality television show Celebrity Duets, an interactive music competition based on the eponymous original US show.[86]

Velasquez on her Silver concert at the Mall of Asia Arena in 2013

Velasquez developed other television projects in 2008. She appeared in Songbird, a weekly late-night musical television show that featured performances by musical guests.[87] She also featured in the musical television special The Best of Me, which was filmed at her residence in Quezon City.[88][89] Velasquez signed a deal with Universal Records and released an album titled Low Key in December 2008.[90][91] The album consists of cover versions of international songs that she described as "more relaxed, laid-back and restrained".[90] It includes tracks such as Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman", Dan Fogelberg's "Leader of the Band", and Janis Ian's "At Seventeen".[92] The Philippine Daily Inquirer praised the album's maturity and wrote, "[Velasquez] no longer shrieks and shouts as much as she used to".[93] The album sold more than 25,000 copies within two months of its release and was certified platinum.[94][lower-alpha 1] In May 2009, she appeared on the television documentary Roots to Riches, which chronicles her personal and professional struggles, and includes musical performances filmed in her hometown Malolos.[95] Later that month, she hosted the television talent show Are You the Next Big Star?.[96]

Velasquez's next album, a double CD set called Fantasy, was released in December 2010.[97][98] The first disc is composed of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) recordings and the second includes covers of international singles such as Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach", Toronto's "What About Love", and the Eagles' "Love Will Keep Us Alive".[97][99] The Philippine Daily Inquirer called the album "vocally sumptuous" and was generally impressed with Velasquez's vocals and range.[97] Fantasy received a platinum certification[lower-alpha 1] and earned three nominations at the 3rd Star Awards for Music.[98][100] After receiving the Magna Award at the Myx Music Awards 2011,[101] and the confirmation of her pregnancy, Velasquez took a hiatus from public engagements.[102] She returned to television on October 6, 2012 with Sarap Diva, a weekly lifestyle talk show.[103] On November 16, Velasquez performed a concert titled Silver at the Mall of Asia Arena, which was cut short after she lost her voice due to a viral infection.[104][105]

After Silver's cancellation, Velasquez restaged the concert on January 5, 2013.[106][107] The concert received generally favorable reviews; Manila Bulletin's Jojo Panaligan called it a "redemption of reputation",[108] while Dolly Anne Carvajal of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said Velasquez did not fail to make up for the initial cancellation of the show.[109] The following month, she co-headlined in Foursome alongside Alcasid, Fernandez, and Nievera.[110] For both shows, Velasquez received four nominations at the 5th Star Awards for Music,[111] winning Best Female Major Concert Act for "Silver" and Concert of the Year for "Foursome".[112]

Velasquez at an event for Jollibee in 2015

In November 2013, Velasquez's album Hulog Ka Ng Langit was released;[113] it received a platinum certification for two-week sales of 15,000 copies.[114][lower-alpha 1] She won Best Inspirational Record for "Nathaniel (Gift of God)" and Best Christmas Recording for "Hele ni Inay" at the 27th Awit Awards,[115] while Hulog Ka Ng Langit won Album Cover of the Year at the 6th Star Awards for Music.[116] In 2014, she worked with Nievera in a one-night show titled Voices of Love,[117] with Gloc-9 on "Takipsilim",[118] and with Vice Ganda on "Push Mo Yan Teh".[119]

In February 2015, Velasquez appeared alongside Nievera, Valenciano, and Lani Misalucha in a concert titled Ultimate at the Mall of Asia Arena.[120] She received accolades at the 47th Box Office Entertainment Awards,[121] 7th Star Awards for Music,[122] and 5th Edukcircle Awards for the production.[123] In the same year, Velasquez served as a judge on the sixth season of the reality talent television show StarStruck.[124] In November 2015, Velasquez headlined a four-date concert residency called Regine at the Theater, which featured songs from musicals.[125][126]

For a third consecutive year, Velasquez appeared in a co-headlining concert at the Mall of Asia Arena in February 2016.[127] The two-night show, Royals, reunited her with Nievera and also features Angeline Quinto and Erik Santos.[128] Due to the concert's positive critical reception,[129] Velasquez won Best Female Concert Performer at the 48th Box Office Entertainment Awards and Most Influential Concert Performer of the Year at the 6th Edukcircle Awards.[130][131] In December 2016, People Asia magazine included Velasquez on its annual People of the Year list.[132]

Velasquez hosted Full House Tonight,[133] which ran from February to May 2017.[134] The following month, she announced that she had returned to Viva Records and that she had begun production of a new studio album called R3.0.[135] In August 2017, a cover of Up Dharma Down's 2010 song "Tadhana" was released as a promotional single.[136] An original track called "Hugot" was released as the album's lead single the following month.[137] In November she headlined the R3.0 Concert at the Mall of Asia Arena, and two months later, with Alcasid, she played a four-date U.S. concert series titled "Mr. and Mrs. A."[138][139]

In 2018, Velasquez hosted the television talent show The Clash,[140] served as a judge on ABS-CBN's revival of the Idol franchise series Idol Philippines, and hosted the musical variety show ASAP Natin' To.[18] In November, she staged a three-date concert series titled "Regine at the Movies" at the New Frontier Theater.[141]

Sharon Cuneta and Velasquez co-headlined a concert, Iconic, in October 2019.[142] For the show, Velasquez won the awards for Best Collaboration in a Concert and Entertainer of the Year at the 32nd Aliw Awards,[143] having won the latter honor in 2007 and 2009.[144][145] The following month, she released a collaborative single with Moira Dela Torre called "Unbreakable", which was recorded for the soundtrack of the film of the same name.[146] Velasquez appeared as the face of Australian beauty brand BYS and released the promotional single "I Am Beautiful" for the brand's "Be Your Own Expert" campaign.[147][148] She released the soundtrack singles "Ikaw Ang Aking Mahal" for the action television series The General's Daughter (2019)[149] and "Mahal Ko O Mahal Ako" for the drama series Love Thy Woman (2020).[150]

Velasquez organized virtual benefit concerts in support of relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She curated One Night with Regine, a collaboration with ABS-CBN to support Bantay Bata Foundation's COVID-19 response fund in April,[151][152] and appeared in Joy From Home, which raised funds to support Jollibee Group's food aid program in June.[153] On February 28, 2021, she was featured in an online streaming concert titled Freedom.[154]

As a child, Velasquez enjoyed listening to her father singing classic songs to lull her to sleep;[8] she was drawn to traditional songs rather than nursery rhymes because of this routine.[8] Since her childhood, Velasquez has considered Sharon Cuneta a role model and credits Cuneta as a key inspiration who led her to pursue a musical career.[191]

Velasquez's music is influenced by artists such as Sheena Easton, Angela Bofill, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey in her early years.[1][192] She admires Houston for her "style and R&B influence" and Carey's songwriting.[192] On several occasions, Velasquez has cited Barbra Streisand as her main influence and musical inspiration, saying, "I look up to [Streisand] not just because of her enormous talent, but because of her fearlessness and dedication to excellence, her willingness to take risks and to be different."[193] Streisand's music has frequently featured in Velasquez's repertoire throughout her career, including a series of concerts paying homage to Streisand, which Velasquez described as "a pleasure" to perform.[193][194] Velasquez has also been influenced by many Filipino artists; early in her career, she cited Kuh Ledesma, Joey Albert, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, and Pops Fernandez as her role models.[1] She has also paid tribute to Filipino songwriters, including George Canseco, Rey Valera, Basil Valdez, Ryan Cayabyab, and Willy Cruz.[195]

Velasquez's early-career music includes elements of traditional OPM love songs.[196] She described how she developed her musical style, saying, "I was only 16 and people didn't know what to do with me. When they want me to sing love songs, they had to explain to me what it meant because I didn't know the feeling yet."[197] Her debut album Regine includes ballads and bubblegum pop love songs;[196] its themes revolve around feelings of "excitement and uncertainty", as well as "missed chances and regrets".[196] Elvin Luciano from CNN Philippines wrote: "During her [initial] phase, she proved that Filipino love songs don't have to come pre-packaged in the kundiman-rooted love ballad."[196] Her later releases, including Nineteen 90 and Tagala Talaga, capitalized on her popularity; they are dominated by Filipino love songs.[198] Velasquez began working with foreign songwriters while planning her first regional album Listen Without Prejudice,[36][37] which according to AllMusic is "oriented towards easy-listening love songs with adventurous, contemporary touches".[36] The album features tracks with syncopated backbeats and hip-hop influences.[36]

During the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, Velasquez's albums consisted primarily of cover versions of international material because of its commercial viability, and Filipinos' preference for American music.[41][49][196] According to CNN Philippines, "Regine has a knack for choosing songs which at first, may not fit her, but eventually become her own."[196] Many of her songs, particularly in Retro, Drawn, and R2K, contained R&B, soul, and hip-hop elements.[41][44][49] Reigne is an OPM album that she described as "songs influenced by the music, artists, and genres that I enjoy listening to,"[196] and included tracks that are melancholic, sensual, and poetic.[196] Her crossover to film saw significant use of contemporary love ballads in her catalog of soundtrack themes, describing the music as "straightforward, earnest, and lyrically simple".[196]

Velasquez is known for her use of vocal belting,[199] and credits the vocal training she received from her father as a child:

That was in Leyte. A long time ago. I must’ve been 7 years old. It didn't feel like training; [my father] didn't force me to do it. He just took us to the beach for a picnic. We lived near the ocean. While I was swimming, he would ask me to sing ... I think he got the idea from Rocky Marciano, the boxer. He read that Rocky practiced, shadow-boxed in the water. [In the ring] there's no pressure so it's easier … but in the water, you have no choice but to punch harder. My Papa merely applied the same principle to singing.[12]

Velasquez is a soprano and is often praised for her range and technical ability.[27][200][201] Luciano of CNN Philippines complimented her "trademark and sometimes melismatic vocals"[196] while Gonzales adds her singing is "strong, emotive, and confident".[39] She has often been criticized, however, for the excessive use of belting and oversinging.[199] Gonzales described Velasquez's timbre as "thin, unimpressive and unappealing at times", and said her singing is "aiming for a higher [note], [which] she did all too often".[39] Velasquez said, "I don't mean to make any songs hard. It's just that when I'm on stage, with the adrenaline rush and all, you get excited. I do try to hold back [because] otherwise I'd be screaming the whole show, that's not good."[202]

Velasquez has been involved with several charitable organizations. She became associated with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2001 and worked on a documentary titled Speak Your Mind, which is about homeless children in Payatas, Quezon City, one of the Philippines' largest open dumpsites.[223][224] The program was nominated for the UNICEF Child Rights Award.[223]

One of Velasquez's highest-profile benefit concert appearances was in One Night with Regine,[69] which she performed at the National Museum of the Philippines in support of the Bantay Bata Foundation, a child welfare organization.[69] In 2005, Velasquez appeared in an episode of the lifestyle talk show Mel and Joey, and donated proceeds from an auction of her gowns to the GMA Kapuso Foundation's Christmas Give-a-Gift project.[225] In 2009, Velasquez headlined a benefit television special called After The Rain: A Hopeful Christmas in the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy).[226] In October 2010, she became an ambassador for Operation Smile,[227] a nonprofit organization that provides cleft lip and palate repair surgery to children worldwide.[228] She recorded the theme "S.M.I.L.E.", which was written for the project and appears on her studio album Fantasy.[227][99] In November 2013, proceeds from the sales of her album Hulog Ka Ng Langit were donated to the Philippine Red Cross in support of the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) relief.[229]

Velasquez has worked on brand marketing initiatives for American fast food restaurant chains Wendy's and KFC.[230] She has signed advertising deals with several other brands, including Digitel, Lux, Nestlé Philippines, Nokia, and Smart Communications.[230] Throughout 2005, she appeared as the face of the Department of Tourism's travel promotion campaign.[230][231] In August 2009, working with the clothing brand and retail network Bench, Velasquez released two perfumes for women, "Reigne" and "Songbird".[232] In February 2020, she collaborated with beauty brand BYS and launched a line of makeup also called "Reigne". The perfume and makeup names are intentional plays on her name.[233]