That voice behind 'Voices'

By Ivy Lisa F. Mendoza
Manila Bulletin
October 3, 1991

Of course, you must have already heard how that voice came to be. Years upon years of honing by joining at least 200 amateur singing contest (70 percent of which she won); the already famous "underwater training" resisting pressure while singing with half-body submerged in water: vocalizing while tightly curled up on a sofa, thus applying force down on her powerful diaphragm.

Of course, you know that only Regine Velasquez was trained this rigid way.What started out as a small voice belting our on makeshift stages during town fiestas, Regine now joins another big voice in local entertainment industry, Martin Nievera, in a concert aptly titled 'Voices' slated Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5, 7:30 p.m., at the ULTRA.

A harmonious blending of lung power, that's what people can expect from the Nievera-Velasquez collaboration, as 80 percent of the show will feature all-new duets from tandem. Martin and Regine will render their respective versions of "The Greatest Love Of All," the song closest to both their hearts. There will also be song swapping - Martin will croon to "Narito Ako" and Regine to "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin."

Regine credits her training to her omnipresent father Gerry, "Mang Gerry" or "Tatay Gerry" to showbiz denizens.

"I was not aware that my father had a career plan for me, and all those things that we had been doing are towards one goal," Regine says, "Everything was part of a plan, to train her until she is ready to turn professional," explains Mang Gerry.

Regine recalls the hardships she would go through as her father's obedient daughter."We would go to as far as Pampanga, walk miles and miles wearing high-heeled shoes just to reach the stage. I won some, lost some. But if I lost, I never felt bad, especially when I knew that there was cheating. Basta alam ko I was the winner because I did my best," Regine avers."Her training was patterned after boxer Rocky Marciano's.

Ang sabi ng marami crude daw ang training niya dahil sa backyard lang ginagawa. Pero still, lumabas pa rin siyang magaling," Mang Gerry says. This thus justifies his mean sofa training Regine, an issue that has become a laughing stock in the industry.

But Mang Gerry doesn't mind at all. They do the laughing, he and Regine takes the raves and the earnings. Now as everyone can see, father and daughter are reaping the fruits of their efforts. Regine is slowly but surely getting up there, if she's not up there yet - a plum prize in an international singing contest, hit records, solo concerts such as last year's "Narito Ako" at the Folk Arts Theater, and this year, a combination which even top singer Celeste Legaspi describes as a team tandem.

The day after "Voices," Regine flies off to the Big Apple. The little voice from rustic Bulacan is out to conquer Carnegie Hall. Lemar International, the New York-based outfit which also presented Gary V. last year, banks on Regine to perform to a full house come Oct. 11. Performing with Regine are Ray-An Fuentes, with Louie Ocampo as the musical director.