What a Riot Wednesday! Rico and Karla caught up with Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, a.k.a. Asia’s Songbird, on All Out to talk about her experience dealing with changes in the entertainment industry, and her upcoming online concert.
It’s no secret that concerts and live music have almost completely transformed over the past year, encouraging artists to find new, creative ways to keep their audiences entertained. Even artists who have been in the industry for several years, like Regine and husband Ogie Alcasid, found themselves facing a new challenge.
Fortunately for all of us who are fans of Regine (and really, who isn’t?), her online concert entitled Freedom is streaming this February 14, 2021! The title ‘Freedom’ has a lot of significance to Regine right now. “We all want to be free of our fears, our anxiety, our depression. we want to be free of our home!” The singer explained, “I wanted to be free of those expectations that people have in me, and I just wanted to entertain them the best way I can, and I wanted to sing the songs that I want to sing for everyone.”
Regine also jokingly asked the audience to lower their expectations for the upcoming show. “Puwede bang babaan niyo nang konti yung expectations niyo, para ma-surprise ko pa kayo?” She says if they already know what to expect, the experience isn’t as exciting! We guess she has a point, but also, she’s not called Asia’s Songbird for nothing!
Jokes aside, what can viewers expect from Freedom? “We are going to be on a concert stage! We are doing this live sa ABS-CBN studio complete with a set. We have a live band, I have a special guest that I’m going to be working with for the first time.” And the entertainment value doesn’t just stop at the singing! “Visually, it will be different also, because they’ll be seeing a lot of things sa background, marami silang makikita.”
It seems like Regine’s got a big show in store! She also hinted that the audience will see a somewhat different side to her musical talent and sing songs that aren’t within her usual genre. “I thought I’d give my audience really something new,” she told Rico and Karla.
“It’s going to be a real concert, the only difference is that you’re going to be able to enjoy it from the comforts of your homes.” We can’t wait to see Freedom – with production value this incredible, it’ll be just like going to a real live show, but without worrying about traffic or being too far from the stage to see anything!
With a home full of music lovers, you’d think that the Alcasid household is filled with happy tunes and lots of singing. But it turns out that for many months, this wasn’t the case for Regine. When Karla commented on the singer’s joyful outlook, she admitted that she felt very differently during the first few months of the lockdown. “I also experienced some not-so-nice things. I never knew that I’d have an anxiety attack,” Regine said.
What saved Regine from this state of mind? It was music! Thanks to Ogie, Regine found that spark within to start singing again. “My wonderful husband encouraged me to sing! So he would learn my songs, playing the piano,” she shared. “Talagang paghihirapan niya, he will play it for me so that he can play the piano and I can sing.” The couple continued doing this for about 3 months, and it helped the both of them greatly. The power of music and true love!
Of course, it helps that Ogie Alcasid is one of the funniest guys out there. According to Regine, her husband sometimes goes into full character throughout the day or invents funny songs that never fail to make her laugh. It just goes to show how a happy, healthy relationship can do wonders. And it really reflected in the way Regine’s atmosphere throughout the interview — absolutely glowing inside and out!
Another thing the couple have been doing together over the past few months is helping each other with online performances! The two are used to performing together, but now they’ve taken on different roles: being each other’s technicians. Lucky for Regine, Ogie is pretty experienced in handling the technical aspect of the online shows. Regine on the other hand? “Minsan pinapatay ko yung minus one niya in the middle of the song, so he has to start over!”
Though virtual performances are new territory for them, Regine recognizes the significance of her job at a time like this. “At this time when people are getting depressed, having anxiety attacks — by the way, I also experience that — a little bit of entertainment will not hurt eh. In fact, it gives us hope pa nga ‘di ba? A little bit of laughter… and music is so good to heal the soul!” We’re so grateful that she’s continued to bless us with her talent!
Her advice for aspiring singers? Be passionate! “In everything that you do naman, kahit na ano, you need to be passionate. Otherwise, it’s not gonna be a success, because you’re not putting everything into it. You have to give your 1000% to everything that you do in life,” she said. Regine recalled the moment in her life when she decided singing would be her passion: It was at a singing contest when she was only 6 years old, and she loved the feeling of being on stage and hearing the crowd’s applause. She also fondly remembers how the title “Asia’s Songbird” came to be: It was coined by her manager in the 90s when her career started to rise, but now Regine sees it as a term of endearment more than a title, and she loves it.
For those who don’t succeed at first, Regine says, “You keep trying! You know, when I was younger, I must've joined something like 300+ singing contests, and I only won not even half of it.” She credits her father for encouraging her to keep on trying and growing until she got better. “You never give up. Hindi ako naniniwala sa failure. I think for me, you fail when you stop.”
We had an amazing time talking to this Songbird, and we’re looking forward to seeing what she has in store for the upcoming digital concert! FREEDOM streams worldwide on February 14, 8:00 PM Manila time. Tickets are available for P1,200 ($24.99 for international viewers) via ktx.ph and soon on other platforms.
Watch the full interview on All Out below: