 |
| Regine Velasquez-Alcasid |
Motherhood has Regine Velasquez-Alcasid toning it down, holding back the vocal pyrotechnics and opting to showcase a more tender side in her latest album, Hulog Ka ng Langit, released by Universal Records.
The
hefty album containing 17 tracks is mostly made up of songs that are mainly
dedicated to Regine’s son, Nate, felt most in the lead single, Hulog Ka ng Langit. But the songs in the
album can also extend beyond the love of mothers to children to that of the
love between couples as well. Nate himself makes a few cameo appearances
throughout the album, from banging the piano keyboards right at the beginning,
to saying goodnight at the end, immortalizing his earliest years on record.
Regine
exhibits a great deal of restraint for most of the tracks notably in Rainbow Connection, Tomorrow, Someone’s Waiting
for You, The One Real Thing and Happiness. It’s very mellow and laidback
as if she’s singing lullabies to put little Nate to sleep. But there are
instances wherein she steps it up a notch and reminds people that she’s one of
the most amazing belters in the land with the tracks Araw, Ulap, Langit, New Born,
and Sa’yo Na Lang Ako.
Husband
Ogie Alcasid makes a guest appearance in a duet of Just the Way You Are originally recorded by Bruno Mars. Regine acted
as one of the judges during the Philippine Popular Music Festival 2013 and two
songs from the competition, Araw, Ulap,
Langit and Sa’yo Na Lang Ako are
included in this album. She puts her own spin in these two songs by letting her
vocals soar towards the end.
Even
though Regine primarily dedicated this album to her son, she also has dedicated
it to her father, Gerardo Velasquez, fondly known as Mang Gerry, who passed
away last February. And with his departure, the Christmas song Hele ni Inay has become the most moving
track for me. Even though it’s a song longing for a mother instead of a father,
it doesn’t take away from the poignancy and relevance of this song and I can
only imagine how emotional Regine will be if she decides to sing this live come
Christmas time.
Overall,
Regine has put out an extremely personal album with songs that mean a lot to
her and loved ones. The title track Hulog
Ka ng Langit is Regine’s way of telling that her son was a blessing from
heaven. Regine, along with her record label Universal Records believed that
blessings are meant to be shared hence the release of this album. Other tracks
in the album include Amazing, My Child, Tomorrow, Nathaniel (Gift of
God), You, You Got It and God Gave Me You.
Regine
Velasquez-Alcasid’s latest album Hulog
Ka ng Langit, released by Universal Records, is now available at record
stores nationwide. The title track Hulog
Ka ng Langit and the rest of the tracks are available in digital format at MyMusicStorePhilippines and
iTunes.
Hulog Ka ng Langit
Tracks:
1. Hulog Ka ng Langit
2. Rainbow Connection
3. Amazing
4. My Child
5. Pag-ibig
6. Tomorrow
7. Someone’s Waiting for You
8. Araw, Ulap, Langit
9. Just the Way You Are
10. Nathaniel (Gift of God)
11. The One Real Thing
12. Happiness
13. Hele Ni Inay
14. You
15. Sa’yo Na Lang Ako
16. You Got It
17. God Gave Me You
