Lea Salonga (born 22 February 1971) is a pop singer and actress from Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines. She is one of the best-selling Filipino artists of all time and has received many awards for her work in theatre.
Salonga has been performing since she was a child and at the age of seven she had already made her debut in the musical “The King and I”. Through her childhood she performed in many other musicals such as “Annie”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, and “Paper Moon”. At the age of nine she released her debut album called “Small Voice”. Due to the success of the album she was given her own variety show labeled “Love, Lea”. In 1988 she released her second studio album called “Lea”, which did exceptionally well in the Philippines with two singles reaching the No. 1 spot on the Philippine Top 40 chart. The album also showcased Salonga’s talents as an R&B performer.
In 1989 Salonga earned the coveted role of Kim in the musical “Miss Saigon”. The musical was so successful in London that it was moved to Broadway in 1991 with Salonga continuing her performance as Kim. Her performance was critically lauded and earned her an Oliver, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and the Theatre World Awards. In 1993 Salonga returned to Broadway to play the role of Eponine in the musical “Les Miserables”. That same year Salonga performed the song “A Whole New World” at the Academy Awards, which was a song she sang in the Disney movie “Aladdin”. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1993 Salonga released her self-titled album, which was her first album to be released internationally. The album was released through Atlantic Records, which made her the first Filipino singer to be signed to an international record label. The album did well on the music charts and contained the singles “Vision of You”, “Every Time We Fall”, and “We Could Be in Love”.
Throughout the mid 90s Salonga continued to perform in musicals and films. In 1998 she provided the singing voice in the popular Disney movie “Mulan”. In 1999 she released the album “Lea…In Love”, which contained elements of easy listening, jazz, and R&B. The album did well on the charts and produced the singles “Even If”, “Friend of Mine”, and “Reachin’ Out”. That same year she released the album “By Heart”, which reached the No. 1 position in the Philippines on both the pop and R&B/Soul albums chart. In 2002 Salonga returned to Broadway to perform in the musical “Flower Drum Song”, which garnered her much critical acclaim.
In 2005 Salonga embarked on her first US tour, which made stops in all the major cities and included a sold out performance at Carnegie Hall. In 2007 Salonga released her first studio album in seven years called “Inspired”. The album contained a selection of some of Salonga’s favorite songs such as “To Hear You Say You Love Me”, “Who Are You”, and “Two Words”. Throughout the late 2000s Salonga continued to perform in musicals such as “Cinderella” as well as appear in film and television. In 2013 Salonga joined the television program “The Voice of the Philippines” as one of the coaches. Salonga’s career has showed her immense talents in film, theater, and music. She has received many awards for her work and has pleased many audiences with her musical performances.
Dakha Brakha
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