Regine vs Lani: Who will win?

Breaking news: Mylene preggy again!

It‘s confirmed: Mylene Dizon (top) is infanticipating.

‘Yes,’ June Torrejon, Mylene’s manager, told Funfare. ‘Six weeks.’

The father is none other than Paolo Paraiso (bottom) by whom Mylene has a three-year-old love son, Tomas. They are not married; neither do they live together.

They said that they had broken up although they remained friends. Obviously, ‘much more than friends.’

It was Paolo who broke the good news to his friends.

Asked if Mylene and Paolo will ever get married, June said, ‘Ask them.’

* * *

Pitted against each other for almost a decade now as the Philippines’ foremost belters — with unbelievable lung power unmatched by any of their contemporaries — who can easily fill major venues from the Araneta Coliseum to the concert halls of Atlantic City’s casino resorts and California’s grandiose theaters, Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez and Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha will finally settle their professional rivalry in an ultimate face-off that can be billed as the “concert of the decade.”

That’s what Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre is looking forward to with bated breath.

“What their male counterparts, Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano, would not do despite pleas from US producers and fans alike over the years, Regine and Lani gamely took on as a challenge to give their followers an ultimate concert thriller,” said Edmund in an exclusive report.

Aptly called The Main Event, the duel of the two topnotch divas will be staged at the Newark Symphony Hall in Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 20, with Christopher de Leon as special guest. This East Coast performance is produced by Calla Lily Entertainment Productions, the same group behind the highly-successful Wowowee show at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall recently.

Before the show reaches New York-New Jersey shores, The Main Event will have two West Coast performances, on Sept. 6 at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles and on Sept. 13 at Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco. Both California shows are produced by StarMedia Entertainment, and will have Martin as guest performer. Next stop is Arie Crown Theater in Chicago on Sept. 19.

After the New Jersey leg on Sept. 20, the show will head to Toronto, at Canada’s Roy Thomson Hall, on Sept. 21.

All shows will be directed by Lorrie Ilustre.

Here’s the rest of Edmund’s report:

Who will reign supreme during this showdown is hard to predict. Although Regine and Lani — or Lani and Regine — have worked together previously on GMA 7’s Sunday show S.O.P. along with other top Filipino performers like Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs and Jaya, this is the first time the two will take center stage in a full-length show with only the two of them as stars.  

 Regine is a multi-platinum artist who has collaborated with such big names as Paul Anka, Brian McKnight, Mandy Moore, Stephen Bishop, Jim Brickman, Peabo Bryson, David Pomeranz and David Hasselhoff, to name a few. She also has appeared in several blockbuster films opposite illustrious leading men like Christopher de Leon, Aga Muhlach, Piolo Pascual, Robin Padilla, Dingdong Dantes and Richard Gomez. She has a Best Actress Award for her portrayal of a mentally challenged woman in the TV anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya.

Lani, on the other hand, is also a platinum-selling artist who became the first Asian to headline a main showroom of the Las Vegas Strip, performing with the Society of Seven. This year, she won as the critics’ choice for Best Singer in the recent 27th annual Best of Las Vegas Award by the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Celine Dion was the readers’ pick in the same category). She was also handpicked by international superstar Josh Groban to perform with him in his Awake Tour 2007 in Manila.

Both formerly managed by starmaker Ronnie Henares, Regine and Lani often land in the Top Three favorites of any Filipino music afficionado. In fact, American Idol (AI) finalist Ramiele Malubay included both Regine and Lani in her bio at AI’s official website as her musical influences, along with Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and the Jackson 5.

But there can be only one queen and fans of the two superstar divas will now have the chance to pick who between Regine and Lani truly deserves the crown.

(Note: For tickets to The Main Event at Newark Symphony Hall (130 Broad Street), call 732-7630021, 848-2880458, 732-8500442, 732-2510324, 908-9069788, 908-2422427, 718-4760181 or 908-2651430. Or call Ticketmaster at 201-5078900. Ticket prices are $58, $78, $88, $98 and $125 (VIP). For other shows, call Star Media Entertainment at 818-5499005, 818-5471456 or 818-9135818.)

What’s up?

? Cinemabuhay is now accepting entries for 2009. E-mail to [email protected]. Deadline is Nov. 30. Or visit www.pldtsmartfoundation./org/...http://numbalikdiwa.wordpress.com/cinemabuhay/

? The CD Price Drop sale at Music One Alabang branch goes on until Thursday, Sept. 11, with discounts as much as 70 percent. Hundreds of titles are available coming from all genres like pop, alternative, indie, rock, R&B, New Age, classical, electronica world, heavy metal and hip-hop.

? Monday, Sept. 8, is the feast day of Our Lady of Nativity, birthday of Mama Mary. It’s fiesta time in Las Navas (Northern Samar), Calbayog City (Western Samar) and Borongan (Eastern Samar). Maupay nga patron sa mga sugad ko mga Waray!

(E-mail reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected])