Songbird struggles, but prefers her voice now

She’s probably done countless concerts in a career that has spanned 31 years. But Asia’s Songbird Ms. Regine Velasquez still gets the jitters whenever she has a forthcoming show like “R 3.0” which will be held on October 21 and 22 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Actually, I am more nervous now,” said Regine at the press conference of her concert held at the B Hotel in Quezon City.

She lost her voice five years ago and it was kind of traumatic for her. She doesn’t want the same thing to happen again. Nonetheless, she is excited with her forthcoming concert.

Regine is overwhelmed by the support and the love that she is getting from fans. She receives tweets from her followers, saying they will be supporting her concert.

“I get tweets telling me that they want to celebrate this milestone with me. I am very humbled by those messages. And it inspires me even more,” said the better half of OPM President Ogie Alcasid.

While she may want to do more things to make the concert even more unforgettable, Regine realizes her body is telling her that she has limitations.

“Akala natin, our brain tells us, hindi tayo tumatanda pero nagma-mature naman tayong lahat. Parang sabi ng brain mo nasa 20s ka pa rin at ang dami mo pang gustong gawin but I actually realized na hindi pala pwede. I actually realized na I am old na pala. There are some things that I can’t just do anymore. Well, I probably can do it pero baka after noon I have to be hospitalized or I have to sleep nonstop for a week,” Regine said as she burst into laughter.

“But that is reality. We all go through it. Tumatanda talaga tayo. The good thing to it, I am not the only one who goes through it. Lahat tayo, we experience it. Okay na rin iyon.”

During the concert, Regine will be performing songs that she sang in past concerts. But this time it will be more challenging for her.

“Mas iba na ang challenge kasi iba na ang boses ko. It is harder to do it, unlike before na binubuka ko lang ang bibig and my voice just comes out, like it came out from heaven. But it is no longer like that. I need to exert more effort. There is more struggle but personally, I actually prefer the sound of my voice now. It’s just harder for me to sing,” the singer admitted.

When she was younger, Regine said her voice was kind of squeaky. Now it is fuller and she can play with it more.

“Personally, I like the sound of my voice now. Ogie says he likes the struggle that my voice has to go through. Kasi now, you see my passion even more,” she said.

To prepare for her concert, Regine is undergoing vocal training.

“Because I have not been using my voice except for concerts which only happens once or twice a year. My voice seems to have ‘rested’ so I just have to strengthen it more and also train my ear to get used to the sound that I am producing. And hopefully with that, bumalik din ang confidence ko.”

Regine says that once you get old and you experience something harrowing like losing your voice, it kind of stays with you for a while.

“When I lost my voice, it was a very traumatic experience for me. I never experienced that before. It stayed with me. Wala na siguro akong magagawa except to pray. I am praying for strength, for God to keep me mentally and physically fit,” she said.

Regine sold out her anniversary concert tickets within two days after these were made available. The massive demand for seats from thousands of fans here and abroad prompted Regine to agree to a second show which will be on October 22 in the same venue. Tickets to this show are expected to sell out anytime now.

Another proof of Regines’ enduring appeal is the fact that she came up with two big hit singles in a span of a month. These are her version of the Up Dharma Down song “Tadhana” which was released last August and the new original titled “Hugot” which came out two weeks ago. Both are cuts from her upcoming album also titled “R 3.0.”

The concert will also feature performances by Ogie Alcasid, Morissette Amon, Mark Bautista, Sarah Geronimo, Jed Madela, Lara Maigue, Jona, Julie Anne San Jose, Aicelle Santos, Erik Santos, Angeline Quinto and other surprise guests.

“R 3.0” is presented by VIVA Live and iME in cooperation with GMA Network, co-presented by PLDT Home and Belo Medical Group. Tickets to the Sunday, October 22 show are still available.