Name (required):

  Expression ^{(Optional mood/title along with your name) Examples: (happy, sad, The Joyful, etc.) help)}

  E-mail address (optional):

* Type your message here:
>" And the songbird sings " >By Orleigh C./ Supahnova > >Yes, I concede. Until that night, I declared in my >heart that Regine Velasquez is not just “a close >second” to Lea Salonga: she is, indeed, a class of her >own. > >From her humble beginnings to her triumph in the music >industry, no one has been more successful than Regina >Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez. From the moment she >burst into the limelight at 14 in Ang Bagong Kampeon, >winning her way to the title, hands down, with a >unique rendition of “In Your Eyes “, and until the >release of her latest album, Covers, there was and has >been no one quite like Regine Velasquez. > >So there we were, seated in the middle of the >sweltering hot New Cebu Coliseum that fateful >Saturday, deliberately forgetting about our dates for >our “Sabado Nights”, and painstakingly watched The >Machismos (composed of Jake Roxas, Carlos Morales, the >Cebuano male model Sol Glass and another) make a >spectacle of themselves, as well as the forgettable >Viktoria in her self-parody of Fever. Thank God Ogie >Alcasid is a superb entertainer, whose concert Best By >Request it was, that made me endure my hunger (we >skipped dinner just to be there, imagine!) for me to >see for myself the songbird. (One of the highlights of >Ogie’s concert was when he dared somebody in the >audience to sing with him, and a brave soul conquered >the stage. It turned out to be Mylene Yu, the Cebuana >grand finalist in Search for a Star where Sarah >Geronimo had won at the age of 14.) > >And there she was, looking incandescent in her hot >pink number, the songbird herself casting spells to >her legions of fans (who, without warning, scurried >towards the edge of the stage) in all but three songs. >When she sang Dadalhin, I felt she was, literally, >carrying me to some paradise with her magical voice. > >Soon after, she sang Shine that bowled me over, almost >fearing for Regine’s life because she hit those notes >like there was no tomorrow. > >“Siya na gayud,” I heaved a sigh (or was it a >whimper?) to my seatmate, Niza Mariñas. Regine is at >the pinnacle of her art, I told myself, an affirmation >uttered like a true supahfan. > >Even the legendary film composer, Michel Legrand, >recalled his awe and surprise at her acumen for >musical phrasing: There was nothing she couldn’t do >with that voice, and she had an instinctual [music] >taste that brought genius to everything she sang. The >songbird is a perfectionist, pouring all her time and >energy into songs. I was simply blown-away, the Lea in >me slowly dissolving, like salt in water. > >Fans are united in their love of the multitalented >star and their hatred of what they perceive to be >sensation-seeking critics. There are Regine fan clubs, >fanzines, cyber-fansites, collectors, groupies, and >just plain Regine aficionados. > >For them, Regine is a trailblazer who has developed >her own unique sense of style and beauty. Her >lifework, as expressed in her music, is a defiant >reexamination and redefinition of these terms -- >beauty, style, woman, artist -- on her own terms. > >But for me, Regine Velasquez is more than just another >consumer culture icon. > >She is a true diva. A supahnova sensation. She is >timeless, enduring, phenomenal. She has triumphed as >herself in a town that thrives on make-believe, and >she has done it all without mirrors. > >I just can’t wait for December when Lea is coming to >town.

Notice: Copies of your message may remain on this and other systems on internet. Please be respectful.