Regine, nagdurusa sa menopause voice!

Nataranta sila Regine Velasquez nang na-soldout agad ang ticket ng kanyang Finale concert sa Oct. 17 sa SM MOA Arena.

Sold-out in less than an hour ang tickets. “We didn’t actually expect that it was going to be sold out right away. Parang mga one hour. So, we were kind of expecting it naman na masu-sold-out siya. At least mga a day or two, ganyan. Pero hindi naman for minutes, ‘di ba? Parang, ‘Huh? Wala nang ticket?’ So, parang nataranta din kami agad. At people were asking for one more night. So syempre, nahirapan din ‘yung kapatid ko kung saan pa namin ilalagay ‘yung one more night. Kaya naging Monday na lang siya. So, we had to add one more night just to... So, nagkaroon ng third night,” pag-amin ni Regine kahapon sa ginanap na media conference.

Ito ay kasabay ng pag-amin niyang may problema sa kanyang boses.

Aniya, nagkaroon siya ng tinatawag na ‘menopause voice.’

“I went through something like... it’s called the menopause voice. My vocal chords is actually very clean, there’s no polyp, there’s nothing, but somehow, alam mo ‘yung nagka-crack ‘yung boses ko, and somehow, I cannot control the voice,” umpisa niya tungkol sa pinagdaraanan.

“And there was a time, parang nakalimutan kong kumanta, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on with me, but every time I would go and see my doctor, there was nothing wrong.

“It’s a system of menopause and it’s actually devastating. Not all women experience it but sabi ni (Vicki) Belo, it apparently affects 50% of women in the absence of estrogen. ‘Yung parang kumakapal na ‘yung vocal chords, nawawala ‘yung elasticity ng vocal chords which is unique,” dagdag niyang paliwanag tungkol sa kanyang pinagdaraanan na may kaugnayan sa kanyang edad.

Dry raw ang kanyang boses at talagang nahirapan siyang kumanta. “One day, I woke up and it’s just like my voice was taken away from me. I couldn’t sing, nasisintunado ako,” saad pa niya.

Nilinaw naman niyang nandiyan pa rin ang boses niya pero talaga raw hindi na katulad ng dati. “I still have my voice, it never left, it’s just that it’s in a different form so I have to work with what I have now. I can no longer be what I used to be 10 years or 20 years ago. I can no longer sound like that,” paliwanag niya.

“And there was a time, parang nakalimutan kong kumanta, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on with me, but every time I would go and see my doctor, there was nothing wrong.”

Nilinaw rin niyang hindi pa magreretiro sa pagkanta ang Asia’s Songbird pero ngunit handa na siyang talikuran ang major concert stage.

At ang nakatakdang Finale concert sa SM Mall of Asia Arena ay hindi raw hudyat ng kanyang retirement. Sa halip, plano niyang mag-focus sa mas maliliit na venue habang sinusubukan ang iba pang showbiz opportunies na hindi nangangailangan ng pagkanta.

Aminado si Songbird na ang major concerts ay mas demanding na habang siya ay nagkaka-edad lalo na nga at may pagbabago sa kanyang boses.

Naging tapat si Regine tungkol sa mga pagbabago sa kanyang boses at sinabing ayaw na niyang ilagay ang sarili sa mga sitwasyong maaari siyang pagtawanan o kutyain dahil dito. “I’ve been saying this for a long time. I’ve been very, very honest about the changes in my voice. I don’t want to be ridiculed about it anymore,” dagdag niyang pahayag.

At nakaranas na siya ng mga pagkakataong nawawalan siya ng boses habang nasa concert. Kaya napapaisip siya kung bakit niya pa kailangang ipagpatuloy ang pagpapahirap sa sarili sa ganoong paraan. “I’ve already experienced moments like that many times, where my voice gives out. And I keep asking myself, why? Why should I have to go through that? I feel like you have to quit while you’re ahead. That’s what I said, and that’s how I feel about it,” she said. “I also don’t like the feeling of just singing and feeling like you’re dying already. I don’t want to feel that way either.”

But anyway, idinidiin din ni Regine na para fans ito, sa nagmamahal sa kanya sa apat na dekada: “This is a thank you concert to everyone who’s been supporting me all these years. You know, for the 40 years that they have been supporting me. So we wanted it talaga as a thank you concert. So my sister Cacai wanted it for free talaga. Kaya lang, we couldn’t afford it. So we were really trying our best to get a sponsor who can sponsor the two nights. But again, hindi namin talaga kaya.

“So we opted to have one night na libre. Tapos ‘yung isang gabi. Para ma-afford namin na malibre ‘yung isang gabi. Kailangang magbayad sila ng isang gabi. Kumbaga ibenta namin ‘yung isang gabi. Para for those people who cannot afford, for those fans who cannot afford, kailangan naman namin ibenta ‘yung isang gabi.”

At bilang Finale, binibigyan din ni Regine ang mga manonood ng dahilan upang bumalik sa magkakaibang gabi dahil hindi pare-pareho ang line-up ng kanyang mga kanta. “I’ll be covering at least, I don’t know, maybe 50 percent of the songs I’ve recorded, the songs I’ve popularized, or the songs that have become my signature songs,” sabi pa niya tungkol sa magiging line-up ng kanyang kanta sa concert.

Ang naging isyu lang talaga nila ay ang scalper na dumagsa nang magbenta sila ng mga ticket. “Marami rin kasing scalpers. Marami, marami talaga nagsamantala sa free concert. At nakita namin lahat ng mga fans na nagrereklamo na hindi sila nakakuha ng email confirmation na nakauha sila ng tickets.

“So, nag-meeting kami, usap-usap kami. So, one way that we can do this is ngayon, ‘yung mechanics kailangan po nila mag-download ng mWell PH App. Kailangan nilang ipakita pag-claim ng tickets na mayroon sila na active ‘yung app at ginagamit nila. So, mayroon nga kaming post doon.

“So, that’s one way. Kasi ang scalpers can have 10 accounts, meaning 10 tickets iyon, or times two per account kasi. So, 20 tickets ‘yun. So, mayroon isa na talagang nagkaroon ng parang 20 accounts na registered niya. So, one way kasi. You can have so many, kasi marami kang email, ‘di ba? But, you can’t have 20 apps ng mWell PH App, diba? Kasi one lang ‘yun. One account lang sa mWell,” sabi pa niya tungkol sa kanyang Finale concert na excited nang manood ang lahat.

indi sila nakakuha ng email confirmation na nakauha sila ng tickets.

“So, nag-meeting kami, usap-usap kami. So, one way that we can do this is ngayon, ‘yung mechanics kailangan po nila mag-download ng mWell PH App. Kailangan nilang ipakita pag-claim ng tickets na mayroon sila na active ‘yung app at ginagamit nila. So, mayroon nga kaming post doon.

“So, that’s one way. Kasi ang scalpers can have 10 accounts, meaning 10 tickets iyon, or times two per account kasi. So, 20 tickets ‘yun. So, mayroon isa na talagang nagkaroon ng parang 20 accounts na registered niya. So, one way kasi. You can have so many, kasi marami kang email, ‘di ba? But, you can’t have 20 apps ng mWell PH App, diba? Kasi one lang ‘yun. One account lang sa mWell,” sabi pa niya tungkol sa kanyang Finale concert na excited nang manood ang lahat.