Lani Misalucha

Filipino vocalist Lani Misalucha quickly exchanged her early label as the Multiplex Queen for the designation Asia's Nightingale. In her formative period she concentrated on renditions of material associated with established divas such as Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. By the mid-1990s reviewers in her native Philippines had begun to recognize her as a diva in her own right. She captured the Best Singer prize at the Asia Song Festival in 1998. The next year she earned top distinction in the Best Lounge Act category at the Aliw Awards. The Awit Awards likewise honored her with a second consecutive Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist trophy for the single Can't Stop Loving You. In 1999 she also received an Awit Awards nomination for Best Stage Actress, linked to her lead performance as Sita in the three-hour musical Rama and Sita. Critical recognition coincided with growing popularity that extended to Manila's President Joseph Estrada, who asked her to sing at his daughter's wedding and reception.

Music formed a continuous thread in Misalucha's upbringing. Her mother, Esperanza Dimalanta, sang opera as a coloratura soprano, while her father, Benjamin Bayot, performed as a tenor. During childhood her parents insisted on regular vocal practice as well as participation in sports. Her sister May later entered the music profession. Three other siblings—Karlyn, Novi, and Osi—received musical encouragement yet did not pursue singing careers like their sisters. From age 15 she took part in school drama productions. In 1986 she won first place in a gospel-music singing contest. Subsequent stage appearances included work with the Andres Bonifacio Concert Chorus at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Additional contest victories followed, among them one sponsored by the Manila Institute of Religion. At Manila's Philippine Christian University she joined the glee club. Holiday seasons supplied further outlets, including Christmas tree-lighting ceremonies presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons. She continues as a church member together with her spouse Noli Misalucha and daughters Lian and Louven.

Her initial professional engagement arrived in 1993 when she supplied backup vocals for the band Law of Gravity, fronted by Bodjie Dasig. With support from the bandleader and his wife, Odette Quesada, she prepared her debut album, the 1996 Alpha Records release More Than I Should. That recording earned six Katha Award nominations and two Awit Award nominations. After performing at the Asian Song Festival in 1998 she issued her second album, her first project for Viva Records.