Regine Velasquez

Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez-Alcasid (; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipino singer, actress and record producer. She gained recognition by winning both the 1984 Ang Bagong Kampeon and the 1989 Asia-Pacific Song Contest, representing the Philippines in the latter. Velasquez rose to fame with the release of "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang" from her self-titled debut album in 1987. The album was generally well received and produced two more singles, "Urong Sulong" and "Isang Lahi", that established her as a commercially viable Filipino pop artist. Velasquez-Alcasid signed a recording contract with Polygram Records in 1994 and released Listen Without Prejudice, marking her debut as an up-and-coming artist in the Southeast and East Asian region. It became her best-selling record in the region to date and produced "In Love With You", which became her most successful single of the 1990s. Its accompanying music video was named Video of the Decade by MTV Asia. Velasquez parted with Polygram in 1997, citing a lack of creative control over her music and public image, and signed a record deal with VIVA Records the following year. She was given full conceptual and creative control as the executive producer of R2K (1999). The album became the best-selling album by a female artist in the Philippines, and the best-selling album by a local artist in 1999 and 2000. Velasquez ventured into film with a lead role in Wanted Perfect Mother (1996). She continued to play female lead roles in romantic comedy films — including Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw (2000) and Pangako Ikaw Lang (2001), with the latter being the highest-grossing Filipino film in 2001. She has also been successful in television with the shows Maalaala Mo Kaya (2002), Forever In My Heart (2004), Diva (2010) and Poor Señorita (2016). In the first of these, she appeared as a mentally challenged woman in a featured episode, which earned her a Star Award for Best Actress, while the other three were lead roles in prime time television shows. During her career, Velasquez has sold more than 8.5 million records regionally. According to the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) she is the best-selling artist of all time in the Philippines, with seven million certified albums sold domestically and a further 1.5 million in Southeast and East Asia. Covers, Vol. 1 (2004) became her eighth album with sales exceeding 200,000 copies, more than any other solo artist in the Philippines. Velasquez has won two Asian Television Awards, two MTV Asia Awards, 21 Awit Awards, 21 Box Office Entertainment Awards, 13 Aliw Awards and nine Star Awards for Music, and has been consistently credited with inspiring a generation of Filipino singers. Referred to as "Asia's songbird", she is regarded for her vocal range, agility and use of the belting technique.