They do not call Regine Velasquez the 'Asian songbird' for nothing. Her powerful singing, at times, comforts an audience like a cat's purr but, at others, epitomises what riveting Asian English singing should be like.
'I still get nervous when I perform for the high-society crowd,' said the Filipina diva. 'They are more difficult to please. But there is always the hope that some rich and handsome guys will be in the audience!' The chances are she will be busy not only singing but searching when she stars at a fund-raising function at the Grand Hyatt with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra tonight.
Last week, she performed for the handsomely rich Brunei royal family. But she does little socialising on such occasions. 'I like to take off my make-up and sleep.' At heart, Regine is your typical girl-next-door, on stage professionally elegant and demure. But off stage, she is your confidante. Perhaps that has something to do with her humble beginning.
Regine received no formal vocal training but, nonetheless, sang her way to concert arenas after winning numerous competitions in her teens. She made herself a household name in the Philippines after appearing in Penthouse Live, a top-rated television show.
Still, it is hard to imagine her getting nervous on stage - especially as the 26-year-old recently celebrated her 10th anniversary in showbiz. Along the way, she has sung duets with Paul Anka (It's Hard to Say Goodbye) and Canto-pop king Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (In Love With You).
'I think that now I know what I want and I am more confident when I sing, unlike before [when] I was this 16-year-old babe. Now they can't just tell me to do this and that. If I don't like something, I complain.' She has little to complain about, though, as far as her career is concerned. She staged a party-like, free outdoor concert with over 20,000 attending, to celebrate her decade in showbiz.
'We couldn't finish the concert because it rained in the fourth-last song. But everybody had fun,' Regine says.