Regine Velasquez

Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez (born April 22, 1970) is a Filipino singer and actress.

She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and belting technique.

She had unorthodox voice training during her childhood, where she was immersed neck-deep in the sea.

Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez was born on April 22, 1970, in Tondo, Manila, to Teresita (née Ansong) and Gerardo Velasquez.

She has three sisters—Cacai, Diane, and Deca—and a brother, Jojo.

Her family moved to Hinundayan, Southern Leyte, where Velasquez spent the early years of her life.

At age three, Velasquez became interested in music after listening to her father's lullabies.

She would listen to her mother play guitar and piano while her father sang, and cited Sharon Cuneta's "Mr. DJ" as one of the first songs she learned.

Velasquez started singing at age six; she underwent intensive vocal training with her father, who immersed her neck-deep in the sea and had her go through vocal runs.

She credits this unorthodox method for strengthening her core and stomach muscles, and developing her lung capacity.

Velasquez placed third in her first singing competition on Betty Mendez Livioco The Tita Betty's Children Show.

When Velasquez was nine, her family moved to Balagtas, Bulacan, where she attended St. Lawrence Academy and competed for her school at the annual Bulacan Private Schools Association singing competition.

Velasquez rose to prominence after winning the television talent show Ang Bagong Kampeon in 1984 and the Asia Pacific Singing Contest in 1989.

In 1984, at fourteen, Velasquez auditioned for the reality television series Ang Bagong Kampeon.

She qualified and became the show's senior division winner, defending her spot for eight consecutive weeks.

Velasquez won the competition and was signed to a record deal with OctoArts International.

Under the name Chona, she signed a recording contract with OctoArts International in 1986 and released the single "Love Me Again", which was commercially unsuccessful.

In 1986, Velasquez initially used the stage name Chona and released the single "Love Me Again", which failed commercially.

At the recommendation of another OctoArts recording artist, Pops Fernandez, she appeared on The Penthouse Live! While rehearsing for the show, Velasquez caught the attention of Ronnie Henares, a producer and talent manager who signed her to a management deal.

Velasquez adopted the stage name Regine at the suggestion of Martin Nievera, Fernandez's husband and The Penthouse Live! co-host.

The following year, she adopted the stage name Regine Velasquez for her debut studio album, Regine (1987), under the guidance of Viva Records executive Vic del Rosario and producer Ronnie Henares.

Velasquez signed with Viva Records and released her debut album Regine in 1987.

Henares served as an executive producer and worked with songwriters Joaquin Francisco Sanchez and Vehnee Saturno.

Three singles were released in 1987: "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang", " Urong Sulong", and "Isang Lahi".

During this period, Velasquez appeared on the ABS-CBN television shows Triple Treat and Teen Pan Alley.

Two years after Regine 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.

She explored Manila sound and kundiman genres on her second and third studio albums, Nineteen 90 (1990) and Tagala Talaga (1991).

Velasquez released her second studio album, Nineteen 90, in 1990.

After signing an international record deal with PolyGram Records, Velasquez achieved commercial success in some Asian territories with her fifth album Listen Without Prejudice (1994), which sold more than 700,000 copies and became her highest-selling album to date, aided by its lead single "In Love with You".

She experimented further with jazz and adult contemporary genres on My Love Emotion (1995), while she recorded covers on Retro (1996).

After she left PolyGram to sign with Mark J. Feist's MJF Company in 1998, she released the R&B-influenced album Drawn.

Velasquez's follow-up record, R2K (1999), was supported by remakes of "On the Wings of Love", "I'll Never Love This Way Again", and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", and was subsequently certified twelve-times platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI).

Velasquez played leading roles in the romantic comedies Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw (2000) and Pangako Ikaw Lang (2001), and received the Box Office Entertainment Award for Box Office Queen for the latter.

Her performance as an intellectually disabled woman in an episode of the anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya (2001) earned her a Star Award for Best Actress.

She expanded her career into reality television talent shows as a presenter on Star for a Night (2002), Pinoy Pop Superstar (2004), and The Clash (2018), and as a judge on StarStruck (2015) and Idol Philippines (2019).

Having sold more than seven million records domestically and 1.5 million in Asia, Velasquez is the best-selling Filipino music artist of all time.

Her accolades include two Asian Television Awards, two MTV Asia Awards, 22 Awit Awards, 16 Aliw Awards (including 3 Entertainer of the Year wins), 22 Box Office Entertainment Awards, and 14 Star Awards for Music.

Referred to as "Asia's Songbird", she has consistently been credited with inspiring a generation of Filipino singers.

She later starred in the prime time television series Forever in My Heart (2004), Ako si Kim Samsoon (2008), Totoy Bato (2009), Diva (2010), I Heart You, Pare! (2011), and Poor Señorita (2016).

Velasquez also won the Golden Screen Award for Best Actress for playing a document forger in the comedy film Of All the Things (2012).