Regine in Season

By Ivy Lisa F. Mendoza
Panorama
July 14, 1991

Big things began to happen to pop singer Regine Velasquez when she cut her hair short. Shorn of shoulder-length tresses and looking very much like a young boy, the girl with the big voice had beaten Hollywood actress Demi Moore to the close-cropped look by about two years. Regine stresses his point by pounding a finger on the table.

"I was ahead of Demi," she says, her big brown eyes widening and gleaming impishly. "People began to notice me when I cut my hair. I don't know why. Para bang, suddenly they discovered me, found out I could sing, and started watching my shows."

Some people were even surprised they liked Regine. First attracted by her new look, they were mesmerized by her voice-powerful vocals that wrench the heart and wring the soul. Regine's voice, too. Had been heard ahead of Mariah Carey, the American pop singer known for her gut-tearing ballads.

Most pop stars seem to play around with their locks: from peroxide blonde Madonna turned brunette; Irish rock singer Sinead O'Connor first sported a Mohawk before she finally went bald; even Pops Fernandez has occasional forays with her hairstylist and had been the first among the local stars to wear very short bangs before she combed her hair into a '60s fly away.But Regine's mane is not her career's main thing. She claims she cut it out of frustration and not as a concession to fashion.

"I cut my hair when my 18th birthday concert was postponed," says Regine, now 21. "A foreign group would also be performing on the same dates and (my producers) thought I should back out. Hindi man lamang ako pinagbigyan. Dahil sa frustration ko, nagpaputol ako ng buhok."

A star usually has a trademark look, and Regine found hers after losing a concert date. The short hair revealed all of Regine's gamine features - the wide eyes, clear skin, elfin smile, and upturned nose. It lent her sophistication beyond her years, transforming a gawky, scrawny kid into a woman onstage. It also made dressing up easier for her. More important, the boyish bob-look found a bigger audience for her.

Last year, Regine sold out her first major concert at the Folk Arts Theater heralding her arrival as an important pop artist and elevating her stature among pop goddesses Kuh Ledesma and Zsa Zsa Padilla. Her single "Narito Ako," a remake of the Maricris Bermont original has since become a double platinum record. She may have backed-out from the possible plum role of Kim in the London musicale "Miss Saigon" but Regine is convinced she's made the right choice."I couldn't see myself as Kim," she admits. "Parang hindi bagay. With my short hair, siguro one of the soldiers pa. But seriously, I didn't want to leave my career here. Sayang naman ang aking pinaghirapan dito."

This July 20, Regine performs at the ULTRA for a bigger stage and a bigger show called "Regine in Season." And she's scared.

"The Folk Arts Concert was my first. Fine, napuno. But part of that was probably the people's curiosity about me. In fact, when we were planning that show, I felt sino ba ang manonood nito? For my lounge shows, I feel confident of my audience. I know I have a market. They say I get the AB crowd. Ang CD ang problema ko. Hindi ko alam kung naabot ko na sila.

"Regine In Season," says Regine, will show her different moods as a singer and artist. Her material will mostly be new, and the concert designed on a concept of evocative of the season.These days, Regine admits to being careful with her shows and insists to meticulous preparations to the mounting of her shows. She would rather be taken seriously as an artist rather than a pop star and claims that she still doesn't feel like a star.