109 Facts About Regine Velasquez

Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez is a Filipino singer and actress.

Regine Velasquez is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and belting technique.

Regine Velasquez had unorthodox voice training during her childhood, where she was immersed neck-deep in the sea.

Regine Velasquez rose to prominence after winning the television talent show Ang Bagong Kampeon in 1984 and the Asia Pacific Singing Contest in 1989.

Regine Velasquez explored Manila sound and kundiman genres on her second and third studio albums, Nineteen 90 and Tagala Talaga.

Regine Velasquez experimented further with jazz and adult contemporary genres on My Love Emotion, while she recorded covers on Retro.

Regine Velasquez played leading roles in the romantic comedies Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw and Pangako Ikaw Lang, and received the Box Office Entertainment Award for Box Office Queen for the latter.

Regine Velasquez won the Golden Screen Award for Best Actress for playing a document forger in the comedy film Of All the Things.

Regine Velasquez expanded her career into reality television talent shows as a presenter on Star for a Night, Pinoy Pop Superstar, and The Clash, and as a judge on StarStruck and Idol Philippines.

Regine Velasquez's accolades include two Asian Television Awards, two MTV Asia Awards, 22 Awit Awards, 17 Aliw Awards, 22 Box Office Entertainment Awards, and 17 Star Awards for Music.

Regine Velasquez was able to stretch whatever little money we had.

Regina Encarnacion Ansong Regine Velasquez was born on April 22,1970, in Tondo, Manila, to Teresita and Gerardo Regine Velasquez.

Regine Velasquez's family moved to Hinundayan, Southern Leyte, where Velasquez spent the early years of her life.

At age three, Regine Velasquez became interested in music after listening to her father's lullabies.

Regine Velasquez 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.

Regine 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.

Regine Velasquez placed third in her first singing competition on Betty Mendez Livioco The Tita Betty's Children Show.

When Regine 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, Regine Velasquez auditioned for the reality television series Ang Bagong Kampeon.

Regine Velasquez won the competition and was signed to a record deal with OctoArts International.

In 1986, Regine Velasquez initially used the stage name Chona and released the single "Love Me Again", which failed commercially.

Regine Velasquez released her second studio album, Nineteen 90, in 1990.

Regine Velasquez 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.

Regine Velasquez recorded "Please Be Careful with My Heart" with Jose Mari Chan, who released the track on his album Constant Change; she sang backing vocals on Gary Valenciano's "Each Passing Night", which appears on his album Faces of Love.

In 1991, Regine Velasquez made her North American concert debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City, a first for an Asian solo artist.

Regine Velasquez 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 because she wished to remain with her family.

The album's lead single, titled "Buhay ng Buhay Ko", was originally recorded by Leah Navarro and was written by Pedero, with whom Regine Velasquez had worked on Nineteen 90.

Regine Velasquez recorded a duet titled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" with Canadian singer Paul Anka, which became the new label's first release.

David Gonzales of AllMusic described the album as "more attuned to international ears" and said Regine Velasquez's vocals are "thin and unimpressive".

Regine Velasquez released her fifth studio album Listen Without Prejudice in 1994.

Regine Velasquez worked with songwriters, including Glenn Medeiros, Trina Belamide, and John Laudon.

The album had sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide, including 100,000 in the Philippines, making it Regine Velasquez's best-selling album to date.

Regine Velasquez left PolyCosmic in 1998, and signed a six-album contract with the MJF Company.

Regine Velasquez produced most of her next album R2K, which was released on November 27,1999.

Gonzales criticized the record's "infatuation with Western popular music" and called Regine Velasquez's singing "self-assured [but] unimpressive".

On December 31,1999, Regine 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.

Regine 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.

Regine Velasquez 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.

Regine Velasquez worked with Filipino songwriters for material on her eleventh studio album Reigne.

Regine Velasquez won the inaugural 2002 MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist Philippines in February 2002.

Regine Velasquez performed "Cry" with Mandy Moore to promote the theatrical release of Moore's film A Walk to Remember.

At the 2003 MTV Asia Awards, Regine Velasquez won her second consecutive award for Favorite Artist Philippines.

Later in November and December 2005, Regine Velasquez had an eight-day concert residency named Reflections at the Aliw Theater.

Regine Velasquez appeared in Songbird, a weekly late-night musical television show that featured performances by musical guests.

Regine Velasquez featured in the musical television special The Best of Me, which was filmed at her residence in Quezon City.

Regine Velasquez signed a deal with Universal Records and released an album titled Low Key in December 2008.

Regine Velasquez returned to television on October 6,2012, with Sarap Diva, a weekly lifestyle talk show.

The concert received generally favorable reviews; Manila Bulletins Jojo Panaligan called it a "redemption of reputation", while Dolly Anne Carvajal of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said Regine Velasquez did not fail to make up for the initial cancellation of the show.

For both shows, Regine Velasquez received four nominations at the 5th Star Awards for Music, winning Best Female Major Concert Act for Silver and Concert of the Year for Foursome.

Regine Velasquez won Best Inspirational Record for "Nathaniel " and Best Christmas Recording for "Hele ni Inay" at the 27th Awit Awards, while Hulog Ka Ng Langit won Album Cover of the Year at the 6th Star Awards for Music.

In February 2015, Regine Velasquez appeared alongside Nievera, Valenciano, and Lani Misalucha in a concert titled Ultimate at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Regine Velasquez received accolades at the 47th Box Office Entertainment Awards, 7th Star Awards for Music, and 5th Edukcircle Awards for the production.

Regine Velasquez hosted Full House Tonight, which ran from February to May 2017.

Regine Velasquez hosted the first season of the television talent show The Clash, which premiered on July 7,2018.

Sharon Cuneta and Regine Velasquez co-headlined a concert, Iconic, at the Araneta Coliseum in October 2019.

Regine Velasquez contributed to the soundtracks of the thriller series The General's Daughter and the drama series Love Thy Woman.

Regine Velasquez released the promotional single, "I Am Beautiful", for their print media advertising campaign.

In February 2020, Regine Velasquez worked with Sarah Geronimo on a joint concert titled Unified.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Regine Velasquez organized virtual benefit concerts in support of relief efforts.

Regine Velasquez curated One Night with Regine on April 25,2020, to benefit the Bantay Bata Foundation's COVID-19 response fund; the special raised million.

In collaboration with Alcasid, Regine Velasquez joined forces with PLDT, Inc for its No Learner Left Behind fundraiser.

Regine Velasquez said she crafted the virtual show because of her desire to perform material from a variety of music genres and step out of her comfort zone.

Regine Velasquez featured on Davey Langit's single "Ipinagpanata Kita", released in August 2021.

Regine Velasquez returned as a judge for the second season of Idol Philippines, which premiered on June 25,2022.

Regine Velasquez then appeared as a guest judge on the first season of Drag Race Philippines, a spin-off of RuPaul's Drag Race.

At the 13th Star Awards for Music, Regine Velasquez won Concert of the Year and was named Female Concert Performer of the Year for her work on Unified.

On October 13,2023, Regine Velasquez released a cover of Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", the lead single from her upcoming studio album, Reginified, which would feature remakes of songs she performed in previous concerts and televised appearances.

Regine Velasquez made her film debut with a minor role in the 1988 comedy film The Untouchable Family.

Regine Velasquez has appeared in a series of supporting roles in comedies, including Pik Pak Boom and Elvis and James 2.

The film critic Noel Vera dismissed its plot as the "nth variation of Roman Holiday", but credited Regine Velasquez for showcasing "her own public persona and charisma and sense of humor" to her character.

Regine Velasquez portrayed a florist who meets a patient at the hospital where her father was admitted.

Regine Velasquez was named Box Office Queen at the Box Office Entertainment Awards.

Also in 2001, Regine Velasquez appeared in an episode of the anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya, playing an intellectually disabled woman.

Regine Velasquez next took on the role of a woman who falls in love with a widowed man in the drama Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka.

That year, Regine Velasquez starred alongside Bong Revilla in the superhero film Captain Barbell.

Regine Velasquez next starred in romantic dramas, reuniting with Padilla in Till I Met You and with Pascual in Paano Kita Iibigin ; the latter earned her FAMAS and Luna Award nominations for Best Actress.

Regine Velasquez initially turned down an offer to star in the drama series Totoy Bato in favor of a musical-themed television project, but agreed after the latter production faced significant delays.

Regine Velasquez portrayed the part of the love interest to Padilla's character.

Later in 2011, Regine Velasquez left the show for health reasons and was replaced by Iza Calzado.

Regine Velasquez next starred in the independent film Mrs Recto, a comedy-drama set principally on Recto Avenue.

Regine Velasquez then portrayed the titular character in Yours Truly, Shirley, an independent drama directed by Nigel Santos.

Regine Velasquez ultimately agreed to the project after Santos convinced her to take the part.

Regine Velasquez received a nomination for Best Actress at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival.

In January 2020, Regine Velasquez briefly appeared in the iWant comedy series My Single Lady.

Since her childhood, Regine Velasquez has considered Sharon Cuneta a role model and credits Cuneta as a key inspiration who led her to pursue a musical career.

Regine Velasquez's music is influenced by artists such as Sheena Easton, Angela Bofill, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey in her early years.

Regine Velasquez has been influenced by many Filipino artists; early in her career, she cited Kuh Ledesma, Joey Albert, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, and Pops Fernandez as her role models.

Regine Velasquez has paid tribute to Filipino songwriters, including George Canseco, Rey Valera, Basil Valdez, Ryan Cayabyab, and Willy Cruz.

Regine Velasquez began working with foreign songwriters while planning her first regional album Listen Without Prejudice, which according to AllMusic is "oriented towards easy-listening love songs with adventurous, contemporary touches".

Regine Velasquez is known for her use of vocal belting, and credits the vocal training she received from her father as a child:.

Regine Velasquez just took us to the beach for a picnic.

Regine Velasquez read that Rocky practiced, shadow-boxed in the water.

Regine Velasquez is a soprano and is often praised for her range and technical ability.

Regine Velasquez has often been criticized for the excessive use of belting and oversinging.

Regine Velasquez has often been regarded as a powerhouse for her performances and musical content.

Regine Velasquez has been credited for her work and performances with international artists, including 98 Degrees, Alicia Keys, Coco Lee, Peabo Bryson, and Stephen Bishop.

Regine Velasquez became associated with the United Nations Children's Fund in 2001 and worked on a documentary titled Speak Your Mind, which is about homeless children in Payatas, Quezon City, one of the Philippines' largest open dumpsites.

In 2005, Regine Velasquez appeared in an episode of the lifestyle talk show Mel and Joey, and donated proceeds from an auction of her gowns to the GMA Kapuso Foundation's Christmas Give-a-Gift project.

In 2009, Regine Velasquez headlined a benefit television special called After The Rain: A Hopeful Christmas in the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana.

Regine Velasquez has worked on brand marketing initiatives for American fast-food restaurant chains Wendy's and KFC.

Regine Velasquez has signed advertising deals with several other brands, including Digitel, Lux, Nestle Philippines, Nokia, and Smart Communications.

Regine Velasquez has worked with fast-food restaurant chain Jollibee since 2018, and has appeared in several commercials with her son.

Regine Velasquez became a spokesperson for Ariel laundry detergent and Vicks medicines.

Regine Velasquez gave birth to their son, Nathaniel James, via caesarean section on November 8,2011.

Regine Velasquez has been the recipient of lifetime achievement awards, including the Awit Awards Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino, the Star Awards for Music's Pilita Corrales Lifetime Achievement and Natatanging Alagad Ng Musika, FAMAS Awards' Golden Artist, and Myx Music's Magna Award.

Regine Velasquez was ranked first in Female Networks 2011 countdown of the "Top 25 Best Filipina Singers" and was included in Top 10 Asia magazine's list of "Ten Most Admired Female Singers in Asia".

Regine Velasquez has received recognition for her work in television and film, such as the Box Office Queen award in 2002, the Star Awards for Television's Best Actress in 2002, and the Golden Screen Awards' Best Actress in 2013.

Regine Velasquez has received a total of 22 Awit Awards, 22 Box Office Entertainment Awards, 17 Aliw Awards, and 17 Star Awards for Music.

In December 2007, Regine Velasquez was honored with a star on the Philippines' Walk of Fame.