MUSIC CAREER (LIVE AND RECORDINGS)
US ASIANS: Did you need/recall needing much encouragement to sing with your cousin playing guitar, on the living room coffee table to family members, at the age of two – that seems to be an extension of Mom’s description that you were very articulate at that age?

I didn't need much prodding or pushing. Singing was something I loved doing, even at that young age. (Lea Salonga)

US ASIANS: What provided the opportunities for you to record your first album, Small Voice – that became a Gold Record, at the age of ten?

LEA SALONGA: There were people close to me that believed that I had something special enough that it was worth recording my voice and selling my records. My mother was the biggest proponent of this... she personally headed to Raon to bring copies of my early records to the stores, and the one who believed that a "kid's record" would sell when no one else thought it would. So, she created the opportunity. It wasn't handed to her, or me.

US ASIANS: What did you learn from your music idols such as the Osmonds, Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John and Abba? Do you have any additional idols that have influenced your music career and/or stylings?

LEA SALONGA: These singers all had/have clear voices that really helped the listener focus on the lyrics besides the tone and music.

US ASIANS: When you were 14 and singing with people such as Martika, Shaniece, Rashaan Patterson, Drew Barrymore, Kim Fields and Alyssa Milano – did this confirm that you were doing something that you love to do for the rest of your life?

LEA SALONGA: Not really, no. Confirmation came when I was doing Miss Saigon.

US ASIANS: Do you still train with teachers such Zenaida Amador (drama), Baby Barredo (drama and voice), Mary Hammond (voice) and others before performing on stage?

LEA SALONGA: Zeneida Amador passed away, and I haven't trained with Tita Baby for so long. Mary lives in London so I don't train with her currently... my voice teacher is Marta Woodhull and she's based in LA. When I have the time, I do train with her when I feel I need help to reach high notes before a long run, to get my body technically prepared for the grind.

LEA'S VIEWS ON THE NEW SINGERS

Regine Velasquez US ASIANS: Do you feel that the current crop of talented young “birit divas” (i.e. Sarah Geronimo, Rachel Ann Go, Frenchie Dy, Nina, etc.) and “belt-out divas” (i.e. Regine Velasquez, Lani Misalucha, Banig, Pops Fernandez and Zsa Zsa Padilla) sometimes allow their enormous singing gifts get in the way of being an artist (i.e. Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Bonnie Raitt, Liz Wright, Michelle Branch, U2, Prince, Jose Mari Chan, Gary V., Kuh Ledesmo, etc.) that is interpreting a song’s lyrics (as oppose to being talented entertainers) – having noted that you are first drawn to the words? LEA SALONGA: Their style is their style, and I can't say that their gifts get in the way of anything. How they choose to interpret their songs is their own. My way is my own. There are singers that choose to focus on one aspect of a song; I choose another thing. To each his own.

US ASIANS: Performing before which celebrity provided the most rewarding experience? It is noted that you’ve performed for Queen Elizabeth II, George Bush, First Lady Mrs. Bush, George W. Bush, Prince Phillip, Hilary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton.