He lights up her life

If Regine Velasquez is very happy these days, it’s because she has reason to be – there’s a new man in her life, and with none of her usual reluctance, the Songbird confirms that yes, she’s definitely in love.

The lucky guy’s name is George, and he’s a Toy Shih Tzu. The long-haired, four-legged creature was given to her by SOP co-host Jaya as a birthday gift last summer.

"Diring-diri kasi ako sa aso ni Jaya (a Toy Chihuahua) na ang liit-liit at ang payat-payat, mukha tuloy daga." Regine would run screaming at the sight of it everytime Jaya brought the dog to the SOP set. Regine, who’d never owned a dog, wasn’t expecting to get one for her birthday, but when George came into her life, it was a case of love at first sight.

Now, George not only sleeps next to Regine; he goes everywhere with her. She even bought him his own set of puppy dog outfits (on the day that we sat down for this interview, George – who’d just come from a visit to his vet – was sitting on Regine’s lap, wearing a Batman-inspired outfit with the letters "Batdog" emblazoned on the back). Regine even jokes about getting him a doggie passport and visa so he can accompany her on her planned US tour.

Is George a poor substitute for the presence of a man in her life? Regine can’t help but laugh when people insist that something must be missing from her life because she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Besides, says Regine, she’s so busy with her career that there is no time to contemplate the lack of a man in her life. She doesn’t feel that there’s a vacuum in the first place. "Hindi siya kakulangan. I don’t look at it that way. I chose this path. I wanted it, so why would I think na may kulang? I am serious about my career, because I don’t want to get to a point where I have to say, ‘Why didn’t I do that?’"

That doesn’t mean she’s shutting the door on love. Regine is open to the possibility of falling in love eventually, but not just with any guy. "He has to be able to get over the fact that I’m Regine Velasquez, and just see me," she says.

Regine thinks it will be another two or three years before she’s ready to even think of retiring. Next year, she marks her 20th anniversary in the music business. What are her thoughts about that? "I can’t believe I lasted two decades," she says. "And after all this time, I’m still doing good, my songs are still being played on the radio. It’s an accomplishment."

She believes the secret to her longevity in the business is her willingness to experiment – with her look, her career choices, and her music. "Once I knew what I wanted to do, I wasn’t afraid to experiment." For instance, her decision to go first, into movies, then into TV via SOP and Pinoy Pop Superstar (as well as soap operas like Forever in My Heart), those decisions added a new dimension to her career.

One person played a big role in her development as an artist: her former manager, Ronnie Henares. Although the two of them parted ways eventually, Regine always says that she wouldn’t be where she is without Ronnie. "He made me concentrate as a singer first, then he encouraged me to branch out. He thought it would be a good idea for me to do film and TV. Marami siyang naibigay sa akin, as a performer and as a person. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him."

But everyone must move on. Today, Regine is firmly in control of her own career, which was what she had in mind when she decided to cut her ties with Ronnie. "I felt at that time na lumalaki na ako, at gusto kong turuan ang sarili ko how to be more responsible with myself as an artist and as a person."

At this point, she has achieved practically all of her goals. She has also given her family the life she’s always dreamed of giving them. So when will Regine be ready to slow down? Not anytime soon, judging by the number of projects she still has lined up. Aside from SOP and Pinoy Pop Superstar, there is a movie with Piolo Pascual, which she will start shooting next month. There’s another movie calendared for next year, and her forthcoming concert series, Reflections, which ran for four consecutive weekends at the Aliw Theater and will go on stage on Dec. 9 and 10.

It’s been a while since Regine did a concert series. Her last one was Songbird Sings Streisand in 2003. Although she’s done so many concerts in venues throughout the country and around the world, Regine says there’s nothing like the intimacy afforded by a series. "Na-miss ko na mag-perform sa (concert) series," says Regine thoughtfully. "I like doing a series, because it’s more fun. You have a smaller audience and a smaller venue, and more time. Ang dami mong madi-discover."

The series is billed Reflections because it will be a reflection of all the things that make up Regine as a performer. She’ll sing songs mostly of artists who’ve influenced her musically, among them Kuh Ledesma, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Of course, her fans won’t miss Regine’s rendition of her own hit songs. "It will be like a retrospective concert, but not totally," explains Regine. "I won’t sing all the songs I’ve done since I started, but it will be an evening for looking back on how I started, on artists who’ve influenced me and the songs that I love."

There are a lot of those, to be sure. As a performer and as a person, Regine has led a most colorful, busy life. Such that if she had to retire at this point, she wouldn’t mind. She still has some goals – like building her dream house and, believe it or not, starring as Darna in a movie or TV series – but on the whole, it’s been a good 20 years.

"I had a great time, a great run," says Regine. "I’m very thankful and I feel so blessed already." Yes, the Songbird is soaring, and will no doubt continue to do so for a very long time.