Kuh Ledesma

Ledesma was married to Luisito "Louie" Gonzalez (grandson of Elpidio Quirino, sixth President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953).

Gonzalez's mother Victoria Quirino-Gonzalez, daughter of the former president, married shipping magnate Francisco Delgado after the death of his first wife.

Maria Socorro "Kuh" Hashim Ledesma (born March 16, 1955) is a Filipino singer and actress.

Regarded as “OPM's Pop Chanteuse”, she is noted for her "masterful" and "rich distinct vocal style."

With a career spanning over 40 years, Ledesma is recognized as one of Asia's most successful pop singers.

She has already performed in over 1,000 concerts in various parts of the world.

She was notably one of the first artists to be called a "diva" in the entertainment industry.

She has since been honored with numerous accolades including the prestigious 'Pilita Corrales Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 12th PMPC Star Awards For Music, 'Singer of the Year' at the 2022 Gawad Banyuhay Awards, the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 2020 Aliw Awards and 'Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino Award' at the 25th Awit Awards for her significant contribution to Philippine music industry.

During the 1980s, Ledesma performed solo concerts at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the Araneta Coliseum, PICC and the Philippine Folk Arts Theater.

During the political ambience of the 1980s, Ledesma paid tribute to Ninoy Aquino at the end of one of her shows at the Cultural Center of the Philippines by singing an a cappella rendition of "Impossible Dream" and "You'll Never Walk Alone (Hindi Ka Nagiisa)".

In 1982, Ledesma launched an all-Filipino concert, 'Ako ay Pilipino' ("I am a Filipino") at the Cultural Center of the Philippines which featured a repertoire of ethnic sounds, classic kundimans and pop songs, tapping into the rich node of indigenous art and contemporary pop music to produce alternative approaches to songs.

Her show eventually became a television special followed by two albums.

This was immediately followed by another production at the CCP, 'Inspired Madness' in 1983, which was created in collaboration with Philippine film director Peque Gallaga and musical director Ryan Cayabyab.

From 1984 to 1986, Ledesma joined the APO Hiking Society in 'Ang Pinoy Nga Naman (1, 2, and 3)' at the Folk Arts Theater.

On June 3, 1988, Ledesma performed in the musical KUH of the Year at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York.

Ledesma has her own production company Headline Concepts and built concert venues such as the Music Museum (a combined theater-restaurant built in 1988 in the Greenhills commercial complex, San Juan, Metro Manila); and the Republic of Malate in Manila, a facility located along Mabini Street in Manila, which housed a restaurant, bar, dance club and theater.

In 1989, Ledesma became the first Filipino artist to win the coveted Salem Music Award.

In March 1989, after competing with other top singers, Ledesma was selected to represent Asia at the Salem Music Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In 1991, Ledesma accepted an invitation to be a member of the panel of judges during the Miss Universe beauty pageant in Las Vegas.

Ledesma was also one of the judges in the coronation night of Miss Universe 1991.

In February 1994, Ledesma had the 'Two of Hearts' concert with balladeer Jack Jones.

During 1995's Valentine's season, she performed with Kenny Rankin.

Ledesma started the new millennium in a Valentine show with The Platters.

In 1997, she released her US debut album Precious, which contains songs penned by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald.

The album became a Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Jazz charts.

Renowned American music database, AllMusic, hailed Ledesma as one of the best singers in the Philippines.

She is the founder of Music Museum, one of the most popular concert venues in the country.

It has since hosted concerts of Sarah Geronimo, Lea Salonga and Regine Velasquez.

Ledesma had a series of concerts with foreign artists such as Noel Pointer, Jack Jones, Kenny Rankin, The Platters and Michel Legrand followed by other concerts with popular Philippine artists such as Regine Velasquez (U.S. tour, 1999), Pops Fernandez and Jaya ('Power of Two', 1999).

After Ledesma's four-night concert with the jazz violinist Noel Pointer, she released the album, The Voice, The Violin.

However, The Republic of Malate was destroyed by a fire in November 2001.

In 2002, Ledesma had Valentine presentation with Michel Legrand.

Gonzalez was arrested on March 10, 2007, for the killing of his stepbrother, Federico Delgado, who was found dead with multiple stab wounds.

Kuh Ledesma, a born-again Evangelical Christian, has a daughter with Gonzalez.

Ledesma's career in music began when she joined the Lastiko band (formerly known as Ensalada band) in Bacolod while she was still a nursing student at Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod.

Ledesma finished the course and successfully passed the Philippine National Nursing Board Exam and became a registered nurse.

Ledesma and her bandmates Toto Gentica and Jet Montelibano later went to Manila to form the Music & Magic band which became pivotal for her career.

She later received the lead role in the pop ballet Rama Hari by Alice Reyes.

She eventually went solo with "Dito Ba?", Ledesma's first hit song.

Ledesma's husband, Louie Gonzalez, voluntarily surrendered to the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation on July 16, 2008, after an arrest warrant for murder and physical injuries was issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 Judge Thelma Medina amid the Court of Appeals' review of the case.