Regine Velasquez

Regine Velasquez ranks among the Philippines’ most commercially dominant Filipino pop performers, having also built credits as a recording artist, record producer, and screen actress. At home she carries the titles “Asia’s Songbird” and “The Queen of Pop,” honors earned through an expansive vocal range, stylistic versatility, and signature command of the belting technique. Her career totals exceed several million units sold; she remains the country’s all-time best-selling artist, certified at seven million albums domestically and an additional 1.5 million across Asia. Accolades include one Asian Television Award, two MTV Asia Awards, eighteen Box Office Entertainment Awards, sixteen Awit Awards, and twelve Aliw Awards.

Her introduction to singing occurred in early childhood, culminating in a first talent-competition appearance at age six. Because she could not yet read lyrics, her father—who would later manage her career—recited each line for memorization. Across roughly two hundred amateur and professional contests she secured sixty-seven victories.

At fourteen she entered the televised talent series Bagong Kampeon, qualifying with the song “Saan Ako Nagkamali,” selected by her father, and ultimately winning with “In Your Eyes.” The victory yielded a recording contract with Octo-Arts; her debut single, issued in 1986 under the name Chona Velasquez, was titled “Love Me Again.” In 1989 she represented the Philippines at the Asia-Pacific Song Contest and achieved wider recognition with “Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang,” drawn from her self-titled first album. Both critics and consumers responded favorably, cementing her standing as a pop artist.

She moved to Polygram in 1994 and released Listen Without Prejudice, which became her strongest seller of the decade largely on the strength of the single “In Love with You.” Its video was later named “Video of the Decade” by MTV Asia. Seeking full creative autonomy, Velasquez departed Polygram in 1997 and joined VIVA Records the following year. Serving as executive producer of her own 1999 album R2K, she delivered the best-selling album by a female artist in the Philippines as well as the nation’s top-selling release for 1999–2000. The project consisted chiefly of covers drawn from ABBA, Dionne Warwick, George Benson, Michael Jackson, and the Isley Brothers; its first charting single was a remake of Jeffrey Osborne’s “On the Wings of Love.”

The 2001 album Regine marked a deliberate shift toward material written primarily by Filipino songwriters. Lead single “Dadalhin” set new domestic airplay benchmarks, occupying the top position on local playlists for seventeen weeks. The record ultimately surpassed 120,000 units and received triple-platinum certification.

Parallel to her music career, Velasquez entered film in 1996 with the lead role in Wanted Perfect Mother. Positive audience response led to further leading parts in romantic comedies such as Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw (2000) and Pangako Ikaw Lang (2001), the latter becoming the year’s highest-grossing Philippine release. Television work followed with appearances in Maalaala Mo Kaya (2002), Forever in My Heart (2004), Diva (2010), and Poor Señorita (2016).

An MTV Asia Award nomination arrived in 2002; she ultimately claimed the inaugural Favorite Artist: Philippines trophy. That same year she hosted the debut season of the local adaptation of Star for a Night. Her television special One Night with Regine, a benefit for a social-welfare organization, earned Best Musical Program honors at the seventh Asian Television Awards. Returning to cover projects, she issued Covers, Vol. 1 in 2004 and Covers, Vol. 2 in 2006. Signing with Universal in 2008, she released Low Key in November, another collection of interpretations featuring songs by Christopher Cross, Dan Fogelberg, Don McLean, and Rita Coolidge.

Two years later she unveiled the double-disc set Fantasy. The first disc contained new Original Philippine Music recordings; the second assembled hit covers such as Madonna’s “Papa Don't Preach” and the Eagles’ “Love Will Keep Us Alive.” Both the album and its singles earned five Awit Award nominations and achieved platinum status. After becoming pregnant in 2011, Velasquez took a hiatus, returning the next year with the lifestyle talk show Sarap Diva, which also highlighted her cooking. In 2013 she released Hulog Ka Ng Langit, again blending Filipino-composed material with covers including “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie, “Tomorrow” from the Broadway musical Annie, and Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.” At the Awit Awards the following year she received Best Inspirational Record for “Nathaniel (Gift of God)” and Best Christmas Recording for “Hele Ni Inay.”

In 2017 she hosted the fourteen-episode late-night variety program Full House Tonight and announced her return to VIVA Records. August saw the release of a cover of Up Dharma Down’s “Tadhana” as a pre-release single, followed by the original track “Hugot” as the lead single from the October album R3.0. In November she launched the concert tour Mr. and Mrs. A with her husband, singer Ogie Alcasid, performing across the Philippines and in U.S. cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, New York, and San Diego.