Background and career
Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez ( rij-EEN vel-ASK-ez; 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. Velasquez rose to prominence after winning the television talent show Ang Bagong Kampeon in 1984 and the Asia Pacific Singing Contest in 1989. 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. 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. She explored Manila sound and kundiman genres on her second and third studio albums, Nineteen 90 (1990) and Tagala Talaga (1991). 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 Wanna 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 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). 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), Idol Philippines (2019), and Idol Kids Philippines (2025). 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, 23 Awit Awards, 18 Aliw Awards (including 3 Entertainer of the Year wins), 22 Box Office Entertainment Awards, and 18 Star Awards for Music. Referred to as "Asia's Songbird", she has consistently been credited with inspiring a generation of Filipino singers.
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's 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. In 1984, at fourteen, Velasquez auditioned for the RPN's 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.
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. 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's 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.
Velasquez released her second studio album, Nineteen 90, in 1990. She worked with Louie Ocampo on the album's lead single "Narito Ako", which was originally recorded and performed by Maricris Bermont and written by Nonong Pedero for the 1978 Metro Manila Popular Music Festival. Later that year, she headlined her first major concert at the Folk Arts Theater. She recorded "Please Be Careful with My Heart" with Jose Mari Chan, who released the track on his album Constant Change; she also sang backing vocals on Gary Valenciano's "Each Passing Night", which appears on his album Faces of Love. In 1991, Velasquez made her North American concert debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City, a first for an Asian solo artist. British theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh later invited Velasquez to audition for the West End production of the musical Miss Saigon. She received a letter from the production offering to train her in London, which she declined: partly due to her lack of experience in musical theater, and also because she wished to remain with her family. Velasquez's third studio album Tagala Talaga was released in October 1991. It includes cover versions of recordings by National Artist for Music recipients Ryan Cayabyab, Lucio San Pedro, and Levi Celerio. The album's lead single, titled "Buhay ng Buhay Ko", was originally recorded by Leah Navarro and was written by Pedero, with whom Velasquez had worked on Nineteen 90. Other notable singles from the album include "Anak" and "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan". PolyGram Far East announced a joint-venture licensing deal in the Philippines in July 1993 with the formation of its subsidiary PolyCosmic Records. Velasquez recorded a duet titled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" with Canadian singer Paul Anka, which became the new label's first release. The single was later included on her fourth studio album Reason Enough. David Gonzales of AllMusic described the album as "more attuned to international ears" and said Velasquez's vocals are "thin and unimpressive". One of its singles, "Sana Maulit Muli", won the Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist in 1994.
Velasquez released her fifth studio album Listen Without Prejudice in 1994. She worked with songwriters, including Glenn Medeiros, Trina Belamide, and John Laudon. The album was released in several countries in Southeast and East Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The album's lead single "In Love with You" features Cantonese singer Jacky Cheung. Gonzales commended the record's themes and said, "Cheung's presence on the duet had much to do with the overseas success". The album had sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide, including 100,000 in the Philippines, making it Velasquez's best-selling album to date. Velasquez's sixth studio album My Love Emotion was released in 1995. The title track, which was written by Southern Sons vocalist Phil Buckle, was described by Gonzales as a "triumph [and] an outstanding vehicle, containing a strong melody and hook in the chorus". The album made a combined regional and domestic sales of 250,000 copies. For her seventh studio album Retro (1996), Velasquez recorded cover versions of popular music of the 1970s and 1980s from artists including Donna Summer, Foreigner, and the Carpenters. The album's only original track, "Fly", is credited to Earth, Wind & Fire members Maurice White, Al McKay, and Allee Willis, because the song interpolates the melody of their single "September". Velasquez left PolyCosmic in 1998, and signed a six-album contract with the MJF Company. That year, her ninth studio album Drawn was released. MJF head Mark J. Feist wrote and produced most of the tracks, including the lead single "How Could You Leave". Drawn sold more than 40,000 copies and was awarded a platinum certification within two weeks of its release.
Velasquez produced most of her next album R2K, which was released on November 27, 1999. She recorded remakes of Jeffrey Osborne's "On the Wings of Love", Dionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again", Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing", and ABBA's "Dancing Queen", among others. Gonzales criticized the record's "infatuation with Western popular music" and called Velasquez's singing "self-assured [but] also unimpressive". Commercially, R2K sold more than 40,000 copies in its second week of release, earning a platinum certification, and was certified four times platinum a year later. R2K has since been certified twelve times platinum, becoming the highest-selling album by a female artist in the Philippines. On December 31, 1999, Velasquez was a featured musical act in 2000 Today, a BBC millennium television special that attracted a worldwide audience of more than 800 million viewers with its core program broadcast across the world's time zones, which began with Kiribati Line Islands and ended in American Samoa. Velasquez headlined and directed the R2K Concert at the Araneta Coliseum in April 2000, which won her Best Female Major Concert Act at the 13th Aliw Awards. Ricky Lo from The Philippine Star was generally impressed with the production and complimented Velasquez's "boundless energy and creativity". She also performed a concert at the Westin Philippine Plaza that year, which spawned the release of her first live album Regine Live: Songbird Sings the Classics in December 2000. Although it was criticized for its audio mixing, the album was certified six times platinum. Velasquez worked with Filipino songwriters for material on her eleventh studio album Reigne. The album and its lead single "To Reach You" were released in December 2001. Other singles were Tats Faustino's "Dadalhin" and Janno Gibbs' "Sa Aking Pag-iisa". Gonzales called the album "an adventurous set" and praised the quality of the songwriting. Velasquez won the inaugural 2002 MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist Philippines in February 2002. She performed "Cry" with Mandy Moore to promote the theatrical release of Moore's film A Walk to Remember. In March, Velasquez hosted the first season of Star for a Night, which is based on the British talent show of the same name. In April, she headlined a benefit concert called One Night with Regine at the National Museum of the Philippines, which was a collaboration with ABS-CBN Foundation to benefit Bantay Bata Foundation's child abuse response fund. The show won Best Musical Program at the 7th Asian Television Awards. At the 2003 MTV Asia Awards, Velasquez won her second consecutive award for Favorite Artist Philippines. In May 2003, she embarked on Martin & Regine: The World Concert Tour with Nievera. The following month, Velasquez returned to host the second season of Search for a Star. That November, she had a concert residency named Songbird Sings Streisand, a tribute to American singer and actress Barbra Streisand, at Makati's Onstage Theatre.
