KNOWN for her Valentine’s Day shows, the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is not going to halt this tradition as Regine Velasquez-Alcasid is gearing up for her first digital concert. Titled Freedom, the Feb. 14 concert will be streamed and will feature a new repertoire.
“A lot of the songs for this concert are not within my comfort zone. I wanted to surprise and satisfy my audience and hopefully will be able to do that in the Freedom concert,” Ms. Velasquez-Alcasid said during a press conference on Jan. 27 held via Zoom.
“[The concert is about] singing what I want. I also wanted to be free of the expectations of people — you know how every year I would have a concert and I’m always stressed about the expectations of people watching my concert, I want to be free of that,” she added, explaining the name of the concert.
She wants to surprise her fans and viewers by singing songs “not in [her] genre” or songs they haven’t heard her sing before.
While the concert will be streamed, it will be held inside a studio and will still have Ms. Velasquez-Alcasid wearing beautiful designer gowns, as is her trademark during her Valentine’s concerts. In last year’s concert where she performed with Sarah Geronimo, Ms. Velasquez-Alcasid wore several gowns from Filipino designers Mak Tumang, Leo Almodal, Jot Losa, and Nat Manilag.
She said during the press conference that such is her dedication to present herself wearing her signature designer gowns, that she sells the gowns after the concert to ensure that her viewers don’t see her wearing the same outfit in the next show.
“I will still give my 200% in the performance but since I won’t see [the audience] personally, the performance level will be higher… [because] I want them to have a full concert experience even through their phones, laptops, or wherever they will watch the concert,” Ms. Velasquez explained.
And since it’s a full concert experience, it will feature a live band, backup singers and dancers, and a special guest. The concert will be directed by Paolo Valenciano with musical direction by Raul Mitra.
The Freedom concert will be streamed on Feb. 14, 8 p.m., on ktx.ph, TFC IPTV, and iWant TFC. While VIP tickets are currently sold out, general admission tickets can still be purchased for P1,200 via ktx.ph. — ZB Chua