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| Birth Name(s) : Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Record Producer, Model and Entrepreneur |
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Full Regine Velasquez Biography
Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez (born April 22, 1970), nicknamed Asia's Songbird, is a Filipino singer, actress, and TV host.
Velasquez 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
Velasquez 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 pop hit "Promdi". Her first major solo concert, Narito Ako, was standing-room only at the Folk Arts Theater, with Gary Valenciano as guest. The concert was so well received that Velasquez was given six standing ovations by the audience.
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. 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.
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.
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.Reflections (2005)
In mid-October, she released a movie co-starring Robin Padilla, Till I Met You which became her highest grossing film. The romantic comedy was shot in scenic Tagaytay and marked her second movie with Padilla. The cast includes veteran actor Eddie Garcia among others. As part of her 20th anniversary celebration, she staged Twenty, at the Araneta Coliseum in mid-October 2006. The concert boasted a full symphony orchestra and the country's best conductors namely Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, Gerard Salonga, Louie Ocampo, Raul Mitra and Mon Faustino as her guest conductors. The show is also one of the most memorable concert of Velasquez, featuring her most memorable songs, her humble begginings and a very emotional Songbird we ever see.
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.
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 arrangements of existing songs. Her first hit, "Narito Ako", was a cover.
She has recorded original songs by writers such as Janno Gibbs, Mark Feist, Trina Belamide, Martin Nievera, Vehnee Saturno, and Ogie Alcasid. Some notable ones are "Isang Lahi", "You've Made Me Stronger", "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw", "Sa Aking Pag-iisa," and "You Are My Song."
Velasquez'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 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 played 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 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.
Velasquez acted in two more romantic films in 2002 and 2003 called Ikaw Lamang, Hanggang Ngayon with 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.
And this October, Velasquez will starting to shoot a movie with her sweetheart Ogie Alcasid. The movie also featured Wendell Ramos and Lovi Poe (Daughter of the late Fernando Poe Jr.). The movie was produced by GMA Films and Viva Films. The movie will hit the theaters on 2008. |
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