For Regine Velasquez, losing her voice during her anniversary concert was an ordeal that taught her a valuable lesson. In an interview aired on the GMA talk show H.O.T. TV on November 18, Regine revealed that she felt it was God’s way of telling her that she will still be loved, no matter what happens.

“For the first time also, in my whole entire career, hindi ako natakot (I was not afraid),” she was quoted as saying in an article on PEP.ph. “I was somehow at peace… I don’t know why, but I think it was God telling me, ‘I’m not gonna give you back your voice, but I will give you something better.’”

“Nagising nga ako dun sa sinabi ni Vice Ganda, e, na ano pa nga naman yung kailangan kong i-prove (I only realized that when Vice Ganda asked me what else do I have to prove?)?” she continued. “I have been doing this for twenty-five years. And siguro, pagbali-baligtarin man, alam n’yo na kung… how I sound when I sing. Parang iyon na 'yun, iyon 'yung lesson sa akin, na parang everybody was there to celebrate with me (And even if you mix it up, you still know how I sound when I sing. I felt like that was the lesson I learned, that everybody was there to celebrate with me.). It wasn’t about me showing everybody na I still have it, that I can still do it… It was a celebration… It’s really for the fans!”

Regine also revealed the reason why she cried backstage after the concert, saying that she was overwhelmed by the love she felt from her fans. “Kasi, unang-una, hiyang-hiya talaga ako sa audience, na nagpakita ako doon na wala akong naipakita, wala silang nadinig,” she said. “Pangalawa, I was also crying because I felt so loved. Naramdaman ko yung support ng mga taong, karamihan, hindi ko kakilala. Na ang akala ko madi-disappoint ko sila, pero hindi pala. So maraming-maraming salamat (First, I was really embarrassed that I appeared onstage even if I wasn’t able to show anything, even if they did not hear anything. Second, I was also also crying because I felt so loved. I felt the support of the people there, a lot of whom I don’t know. I thought they’ll be disappointed, but that wasn’t the case. So thank you so much.).”

(Photo courtesy of PEP.ph)