2. Anna Fegi
Anna Fegi (born April 18, 1977) is a Filipino singer and
actress. She has performed internationally in over seventy
countries and is known for her work on the popular
show ASAP on the ABS-CBN television network and The
Filipino Channel (TFC), her performances in the Himig
Handog competitions, as well as her two solo albums released
under the Sony BMG label. Fegi is recognized by her powerful
voice, high vocal range, and trademark curly hair.
3. Early life
Anna Fegi was born in Toledo, Cebu, Philippines and is the fourth of
seven children born to Gaudencio and Soccoro Fegi.[2] The family is a
very musical family and they spent time together singing and performing
while living in Barangay Lutopan. Her mother was a religion teacher
at De La Salle Andres Soriano Memorial School (ASMS) and her father
was the school audio/visual technician. The family lived together in a
small house in the teachers' compound on the school campus. Her father
built his own sound systems from scratch and it was on those systems
that he played records and cassette tapes while Anna learned to sing
along. Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston were two of the early
influences of Fegi as she learned to sing along to their records. At the
encouragement of her parents, Anna entered local singing contests and
performed for school and church events.
4. Career
Fegi was first discovered by Ryan Cayabyab and producer
Judd Berlin during a talent search in Cebu when they were
looking for a new member of the award-winning
group, Smokey Mountain.[2] She was just fifteen years old
when she moved to Manila to begin rehearsals for the group.
She performed two years later as a part of the group's third
batch, along with Chedi Vergara and Jason Angangan, while
touring in Japan in 1994.
5. Early career
After performing in Smokey Mountain, she turned to the world of musical
theater and joined the Japan tour of the musical Hair with Tetsuya
Bessho.[3][5] This tour lasted for three months and afterwards she
returned to Cebu to resume her studies at University of San Jose–
Recoletos where she was a Mass Communication student and an
Amparito Llamas Lhuiller Educational Foundation (ALLEF) scholar,
foundation of Cebuana philanthropist Amparito Lhuillier.[1] She continued
performing for school events and was able to tour the United States for
the first time as a part of the school's Dramatics and Cultural Ensemble,
directed by Dr. Milagros Espina.[3] Fegi was inducted into the inaugural
class of the USJ-R Dramatics and Cultural Ensemble's Hall of Fame in
2018.
6. In 1997, Ryan Cayabyab wrote the song "Rainbow in My
Cloud" as the theme song for the animated movie Vulcan (in
the Philippines known as Anak ng Bulkan) and asked Fegi to
record it. The recording won an Awit Award in 1998 for Best
Theme Song for Movie/TV/Stage.
7. Move to Manila (1998–2006)
In 1998, Fegi decided to leave school and move to Manila to
become closer to the music scene. One of the first people she
was introduced to was her future manager, Bibsy Carballo.
Carballo became Fegi's manager for five years.
8. Television network ABS-CBN produces a televised song writing
competition each year called Himig Handog. Fegi entered the
competition in 2000 performing the song "Larawan," composed by Dodjie
Simon, which won the People's Choice Award.[7][8] Upon her success
from "Himig Handog," she signed a record deal later that year with
the Sony BMG. This led to her release of two successful solo albums.
Fegi's debut album titled Every Step of the Way was recorded in 2000
and released in 2001.[9] It featured the original recording of the popular
song "I Need You," although LeAnn Rimes, another Sony BMG artist,
released it sooner. In 2000 Fegi joined the popular ABS-CBN television
program ASAP.[3] She went on to perform as a regular member of the
show for five years. The show is broadcast worldwide as a part of The
Filipino Channel. Her segment, titled Versus, with fellow singer Bituin
Escalante became a popular feature on the show. In 2000, she became
a front support act for the Irish pop vocal band Westlife for their "East
Meets West" concert tour in Manila.
9. It was also in 2000 that Fegi joined Atlantis Productions for her first
musical theater role in Manila. She appeared in the role of "Pilate"
in the Atlantis Productions staging of the musical Jesus Christ
Superstar in Manila.[10] This led to an ongoing working relationship
with well-known Manila theater directors Bobby Garcia and Chari
Arespacochaga.[3] Fegi continued her work with Atlantis
Productions in 2001, performing in role of "Maureen" in the
musical Rent at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in
Singapore.[3][11] The next year, in 2002, she performed the role of
"Magenta" in the musical Rocky Horror Show at the RCBC Theater
in Manila, and again in 2003 in the role of "Deena Jones" in the
musical Dreamgirls, also in Manila.
10. Fegi performed in 2000 and 2001 in the GMA Network's televised
song writing competition called "Metropop Song Festival." In 2000,
she performed the song "Tell Me Why," a duet with Robby Navarro.
In 2001, she performed the song "Destiny" on the show. Although
she did not win, her performance was later released on compilation
albums.[14] In 2002, Fegi appeared in a national television
commercial for Coca-Cola.[15] She also appeared as a guest on
television shows and specials on the ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5,
and Studio 23 networks. She is often hired for corporate events for
large companies such as Coca-Cola, Bayer Philippines, Levi's, San
Miguel, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Toyota, and PLDT. In
2003, Fegi was nominated for an Awit Award for Best Performance
by a Female Recording Artist for the song "Closer You and I."
11. She released her second solo album, Straight Ahead, in 2003.
This album contained the popular song "Saan Ka Na Kaya
Ngayon"[16] This would be her final release under her
recording contract with Sony BMG and was noted as having
more Tagalog language songs under the Original Pilipino
Music (OPM) genre. The album earned two Awit
Award nominations in 2004: "Saan Ka Na Kaya Ngayon" for
Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist as well as
"Even If" (with Luke Mejares) for Best Performance by a Duet.
12. In addition to her solo albums, Fegi recorded for a few compilation
albums. In 2003 she recorded the song "That's What Love Is For," which
appeared on the album titled Mga Misteryo Ng Liwanag which was
released under the Universal Records label.[18] In 2004, Fegi recorded
the song "I Hear my Name," which appeared on the album Kapayapaan
Songs of Faith and Hope, which was released by the Jesuits
Communications Foundation. Fegi also appeared on two movie
soundtracks in 2004, including the song "Minsan Pa," the title theme
sound for the movie of the same name. She appeared in a scene in the
movie as a piano bar singer. Fegi's song "Wala Ka Na" was used on the
soundtrack for the movie Masikip sa Dibdib, which was produced by Viva
Films. Fegi also appeared as a singer in the movie, along with many
popular singers such as Regine Velasquez, Martin Nievera, Ogie
Alcasid, Lani Misalucha, Sarah Geronimo, and many more.
13. In the next few years, Fegi continued performing in
the Philippines as well as tours to Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
Singapore, Guam, and back again to the United States. Her U.S.
tour included stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San
Diego in California and the Golden Nugget in Las
Vegas, Nevada.[19] In 2003, Fegi won the Grand Prize of that
year's Himig Handog competition on the ABS-CBN network.[20] That
year she performed the song "Kailan Kita Mamahalin" by composer
Arnel de Pano.[20][21] In 2004, Fegi was a judge on the ABS-
CBN television competition Star in a Million. The following year in
2005, she producer her own award-winning tour in venues
throughout Metro Manila. For her work, Fegi was awarded both
the Awit and the Aliw Awards for "Best Female Singer in Bars and
Lounges."
14. Move to Hong Kong (2006–2007)
Although Fegi experienced both critical and commercial success
in Manila, she continued searching for more growth in her
performing career. She decided to pursue an opportunity to return
to the stage in performing the role of Nala in the Festival of the Lion
King at Hong Kong Disneyland in Hong Kong.[7] Fegi went on to
complete three contracts with the company during 2006 and
2007.[23] In September 2007, she decided not to sign another
contract with Disney to finish her college degree. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from University of
San Jose–Recoletos in April 2008, while receiving awards for
"Outstanding ETEEAP Graduate" and "Outstanding Project Study."
15. Cruise ships (2008–2012, 2014–
2015)
Also in the spring of 2008, Fegi received an offer from Royal
Caribbean International to travel as a featured singer with
their cruise line. Her first contract was on board the Radiance of the
Seas where she toured Alaska, California, and South America. She
renewed her contract and performed on board the Brilliance of the
Seas in Europe and the Middle East.[25] Her next contract was on
board the Mariner of the Seas, which took her back to Europe for 6
months. Her last contract was to be a part of the take-out cast of
the luxury ship Azamara Quest. During this contract she traveled
throughout the countries of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
16. During her time on board cruise ships, Fegi experienced two
life-threatening incidents. In December 2010 while she was on
board the Brilliance of the Seas, the ship was caught in a
storm off the coast of Egypt and experienced severe damage
after experiencing strong wind and waves.[26] Then again in
March 2012, the Azamara Quest experienced a fire in the
engine room.[27] The fire was put out, but the ship suffered
extensive damages while sailing between
the Philippines and Malaysia.[28][29] Many guests praised the
efforts of the crew and the entertainment department, of which
Fegi was a member, for keeping spirits high immediately
following the near death experience.
17. For her work on board cruise ships, Fegi was awarded a
special citation for "Filipino Recording Artists Championing the
World of Cruise Entertainment" at the 2011 Awit
Awards ceremony.
18. In 2014, Fegi and her husband returned to work with Azamara
cruises.[32][33] In 2014 they worked on board the Azamara Journey,
which visited over forty countries in Asia and Europe. Fegi was
specifically chosen for the project as it was a major overhaul of
their onboard entertainment. Fegi performed her own featured
headliner show during her five months on board. Her husband
Adam was the drummer and musical director on board the
ship.[34] In late 2014 they returned to the Azamara Quest, which
visited over forty countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe from
November 2014 until July 2015.[35] In their return to ships both Fegi
and her husband began writing a travel and entertainment column
for Cebu Daily News, a daily newspaper published in Cebu by the
Inquirer group.
19. While working on board, Anna appeared in a TV documentary
titled Nigel Marven's Cruise Ship Adventures with British
wildlife television host Nigel Marven. In the episode, Fegi,
along with a few of her cast members followed Marven
from Kochi, India and through the country side of
the Kerala region. The episode originally aired on W
Channel in the United Kingdom and other channels throughout
Europe.
