Undeniably one of the greatest singers in the Philippines, if not in the world, Lea Salonga is considered an icon in the music industry. From recording, to television, to film, to theater, to Hollywood, Lea Salonga is the most successful singer to crossover each, leaving a mark in every field.
The award-winning singer-actress may be very busy as of the moment but Lea Salonga will be seen in a new reality singing competition called “Kanta Pilipinas” which is coming soon in TV 5.
To promote the new show, Orange Magazine TV, along with select Bloggers and other member of the press, had an exclusive sneak preview at the set of “Kanta Pilipinas” music video shoot.
In a sit-down interview, Lea Salonga gamely answered all questions thrown by members of the media. One asked, who she’d like to do a duet with and she answered, she’d love to work with Regine Velasquez, Lani Misalucha, and Bituin Escalante, among others. When asked if she’d like to sing with Anne Curtis, she replied, “I’m not sure that she should make a career out of singing.”
Anne Curtis never claimed that she’s a singer BUT dreamed of becoming one. Luckily, Viva Management fulfilled her wish with a debut album and her first major concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Annebisyosa: No Other Concert” filled the huge venue and was a huge success.
Although Lea Salonga never really attacked Anne Curtis, the international singer did, however, had a few things to say about off-key singers.
Here’s Lea Salonga’s transcript about her interview:
“Aaah…can you check your ears please? Really, if you are going to spend your money go to where you know you’re gonna have a good time and if you are a real discerning concert-goer you will go to where you know your ears will have a good time.
I don’t like going to concerts where people are out of tune, to be quite honest- I hate it, HATE it. I cannot stand it. I cannot listen to somebody out of tune for maybe more than 10 or 20 seconds . After that, I’m gonna kill myself.
At that point it’s like ‘Give me a gun, a razor blade, I need a way out of here and like quickly, you know? I feel that desperate to get out of the room.
I like to listen to people who make it sound so easy and there’s passion and you know that there was craft and a lot of thinking behind what they’re doing and I have such respect for that, you know? That’s what I enjoy.
When I leave and I go, “Oh my God! That was so awesome,” you know?
I don’t want to be like, ” Wow that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.” I don’t wanna have to say that. I don’t ever wanna have to say that to anybody, you know?
So the one’s who actually put a concert, put up something good so that the audience when they leave, you know? “That just changed my life, I wanna go back again. Are they gonna do it again in an hour, I’m gonna buy another ticket and go back in.”
That’s what a lot of singers try to achieve and that’s what I personally try to achieve…”
(Transcript source courtesy of Interaksyon)
Although TV 5 gave the impression that Lea Salonga attacked Anne Curtis, Lea strongly denies it (I was there during her interview and do not remember anything of the kind happening). In her twitter posts, Lea Salonga said:
“A full transcript of an interview answer I gave today has just been posted. I didn’t diss or attack
@annecurtissmith directly…but I have strong opinions about off-key singers. Anne herself doesn’t identify as a singer. I respect that and said so today.So before anyone decides to launch an attack because of what I said, which I stand by, find out exactly what I said in full, and in context.
There are people calling themselves singers without the talent to justify it, taking away business from those that rightly deserve it.
That is what burns me, and is insulting to all singer-craftsmen, gifted artists that work so hard and need to be heard and patronized.
Truth is I said Anne says herself she isn’t a singer so I can’t be angry with her. She made a dream come true and I respect that.
I don’t know why TV5 drew that conclusion. But an assumption was made. There you go.”
Hopefully, this issue won’t cause any rift between Lea Salonga and Anne Curtis.
