So, a lot of things happened on this day in history, not the least of which were the births of George Washington and one of my favorite poets, Edna St. Vincent Millay.
According to thisdayinmusic.com, the #1 song in the USA on 22 February 1971 was The Osmonds' One Bad Apple, while the top song in the UK was George Harrison's My Sweet Lord.
I loved George Harrison, more than I loved Paul McCartney and almost as much as I loved John Lennon. But there is another musician I adore, one who is of the same gender and nationality that I belong to. She's a Filipino national treasure who has transcended geographic boundaries with her talent.
Lea Salonga.
Here she is as Eponine in the musical "Les Miserables," singing one of my favorite songs of all time, "On My Own." This song still brings tears to my eyes.
Here she is accepting the Tony Award in 1991--with intro by Julie Andrews--for her portrayal of the heroine known as Kim in the musical "Miss Saigon." (She also won the Laurence Olivier Award that year for the same role in the same category.)
She was the singing voice of Jasmine in the Disney film "Aladdin," and Mulan's in the animated Disney movie of the same title.
The following clip is a 1999 performance of hers from the musical "Miss Saigon"--a love song titled "The Last Night of the World." Lea was reluctant to reprise the role since the heroine was supposed to be in her teens and she was past that age at the time. But she did agree to do the role once again. Thank God!
I blame this talented woman for my utter lack of a singing voice. Maybe on our birthdate, February 22, 1971, she did something to distract me, to catch all the singing ability that the Lord had to give on that day, haha! But, seeing that it's Lea, I have no major complaints. I am honored (and humbled) to share this special day with her, the dawn of our 36th year on Earth. Happy Birthday, Lea! And yes, I wholeheartedly agree with her Tony Award acceptance speech: dreams surely can come true.
Update: Sanni, that lovely, wonderful lady in Germany, made a poster for me (and for Neila, another blogger who also celebrates her birthday today). Thank you, Sanni; I am so touched. Love you!
48 comments:
Happy Birthday, Liz!!! =)
Sana umulan at dumami ka pa! =)
Kelan ka papainom?
Thanks, HB. Ngayon na din! Offer expires in 3...2...1... :-D
Happy Birthday!
I came THISSSSSS close to seeing Lea in Miss Saigon on Broadway, but I had to change my dates due to some other conflicts. By the time I did see it, she was gone. and to be honest... I didn't care for the show all that much.
A very Happy Birthday, my friend...and just for the record, Les Mes is my all time favorite musical...I've seen it 3 times!! I have the CD and I play it all the time and of course, wish I could sing like that!!!!
Peace
Happy birthday
:)
You are a treasure by yourself, no doubt about it
I like her too, for she sings all the beautiful songs in all the animations that I like so much
Happy Happy Happy lovely Lizza!
ah! edna st. vincent millay.
"My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends
It gives a beautiful light."
Captures my sensibility exactly.
ah! edna st. vincent millay.
"My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends
It gives a beautiful light."
Captures my sensibility exactly.
Wow, I really didn't realize that was all the same lady. There was a day last week, believe it or not, that Lucy and Ethel watched both Aladdin and Mulan. I probably shouldn't admit that!
George Harrison was awesome. I just finished a book my Monty Python Eric Idle where he talks about his great friendship with George a few times. It was really neat to read that stuff.
Happy Birthday, sweet & beautiful Lizza!!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday, Lizza. :D
Hope you have a great day, and many others in the future!
Many, many happy returns of the day!
What a lovely post Lizza....and don't worry - my share of a singing voice was given to someone else too....I suck at singing...
Happy Birthday - I hope it is/was a fab fab day.
A very very very Happy Birthday Lizza! Just like you to train the spotlight on someone else when this is your big day too! Have a good one.
Gumby: Thanks! Yeah, the musical got panned a lot. But we're all proud of Lea. :-D
Odat: Thank you! I wish I could sing like that, too.
ZI: Thank you! Yep, she's a very talented lady.
H: Thank you, dear soul sis!
Maryanne: I feel that way, too. :-)
Michael: Yes, he was. John and George were my favorite Beatles.
Laurz: Thank you!!!
Terra: Thanks! Hope your day was great.
Julia: Thank you very much!
Wendz: Merci! Yours is coming up soon...but I'll do us both a favor and not sing. :-D
Iz: Haha! Thank you very much; hope you're having a good day.
Maligayang Bati! Happy Birthday! Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!
xoXOxo,
San (the one who tries to kick herself, because sweet Lizza has visited her already... a bit too early, because San wasn´t ready! Aaaaargh! Maybe Liz likes to come back for a sec? LOL)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!
Bata pa!
Sanni: Thank you very, very much! Danke schön! I'm not spending just a sec at your site...I'm there repeating the song over and over. Haha!
Have a great day, beautiful. Thanks again.
Sidney: Maraming salamat! Always young at heart I'll be. :-D Your Tagalog is getting loads better, it seems. Hehe.
I came from Sanni's blog and just wanted to drop by to wish you a happy birthday! Take care!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lizza...If I could, I would come over there and spank you...Oh wait it's your birthday not mine. Cheers!!
Rachel: Thank you very much for the greeting and for stopping by. Hope you're having a good day.
Matt-man: Haha! Glad to see being meatless hasn't affected your humor any. Cheers!
What a great birthday post! I am a fan of Lea Salonga - I saw her in both Miss Saigon and Les Mis. And who doesn't love those Disney movies? Did you know she is returning to Les Mis in March to play Fantine?
Anyway, Happy Birthday Lizza!
Happy Birthday, Lizza! So if Lea got the singing, what did you get? It's cool to think that the people who share our birthdays each got something that makes us all unique. Like there's only so much to go around.
And thanks for you post on my blog. Still feeling irksome, but your blog has cheered me up. :)
Enjoy your day!! (or what's left of it!!! --- it's weird being 13 hours behind you... I often forget that).
Yaxlich hopes that Lizza has a very happy birthday. He will sing a bit later on today in her honour. Not that he can sing either but that's not the point.
So are you a bicuspid Aquarian? Or did you fall off the lofty plane of existence?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!
Tammie Jean: Thank you!
You got to see her perform? I am SO envious. Lea played Kim here in the Philippines in the late '90s I believe, and I didn't even get to see that. I regret it enormously. Yep, I did read that she'll be playing Fantine. If you get to see that one too, I hope you give us the details!
Jeremy: Thank you! Lea got the voice, I got the height. :-D
Glad you're feeling a bit better. My birthday is done here, but it's still Feb. 22 in your part of the world, so I'm still celebrating. Woo hoo!
Yaxlich: I'm deeply grateful to Yaxlich for dropping by, I know that he is tired from sitting on the telephone all day (I hope his bum is still okay, though). I would love to hear Yaxlich sing in my honour (hah! UK spelling) but since I can't, I'll just have to imagine him warbling "Happy Birthday." And the thought makes me smile--in a nice way.
Scott: Thank youuuu! But now you just made laugh again because of certain pink images that ran through my mind.
A bicuspid Aquarian? Perhaps, who knows? I certainly don't. But I'm certainly trying to hang on (by my pinkies) to the lofty plane of existence.
Happy birthday!!! I hope your day is filled with joy and love and laughter. Lea is quite a lady. George has always been my favorite Beatle.
Happy Birthday Lizza!!!!!
I am hoping that all your wishes came true today and that each day after is even better.
Happy birthday! Maligayang Bati! Feliz Compleanos!
Natalie: Thank you! That she is. There's this video on YouTube, a tribute to George--done by Paul and Eric Clapton and a few other friends. I hope you saw that one, it brought me goosebumps.
Sgt: Thank you! We have to do our part to make our wishes come true, and I'm going to do my damnedest. But I am blessed, and I believe you are, too. :-)
Debo Blue: Thank you very much! Maraming salamat! Muchas gracias!
Happy happy birthday, Lizza! Don't worry. If anyone is incapable of growing too old too fast, it's probably you.
Cheers!
Maligayang Bati Lizza!
I hope you have the wonderful day you deserve (though I think by the time you read this it's over! Damn time zones!)
Hugs and kisses.
hey lizza, the first i noticed in that poster are what looked like ice-cold SMB's. :D
happy birthday! :)
Happy Birthday!!!!
I loved the singing voices of Jasmine and Mulan!!!
Maligayang bati sa magandang dilag!
Oo nga san ang gimmick/blow-out?
Fan ka pala ni Lea.
Eto blog nya: http://bigsis222.multiply.com/
o diba showbiz?
birthday present ko na yan ha! (kuripot ba?) babawi na lang sa beer...
Hahaha @ Seponine!!! Baka kaanu-ano kaya ni Ulyanine? =)
Maligayang Bati! I hope it is spectacular! Thanks for being such a great ruend in the blogosphere! May the most you hope for be the least you get.
A little bird, *whispers* Sgt. Dub said you were having a birthday. So in my bestest voice, which of course isn't very good...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZA......
HAPPY. BIRTHDAY. TO. YOU!!!
Hope you had a great one!
Migs: I sure hope so. :-) Thanks!
Dan: Thank you very much! Yeah, the time zones can be confusing sometimes. Hugs and kisses back at you.
Maggie: Yep; I seem to have a certain weakness for them. :-)
Thanks for visiting!
Rach: Thank you! I like them, too.
Seponine: Hahaha! Maraming salamat, and thanks for the link to Lea's site.
Hindi lang beer ang gift mo sa akin, ipagluluto mo pa ako ng adobong pusit! (demanding 'no?)
le mess: Magandang tanong yan. Maybe she's one and the same person. Isama mo na rin si Kutkutine. :-D
Bud: Thank you very much for the well-wishes. Have a great day!
Dixiechick: Awww, thanks for the song. :-) And thanks for visiting. Nice of our little bird to mention us yesterday.
Maligayang Bati!I am so sorry i am late getting around the blogs!!!
SOOOOO
In my best "Marilyn Monroe" brethless voice...
Happy birth-day...to...you
Happy birth-day to ...nnnhhh ..you
Happy birth-day dear Lizza
Happy Birthday mmmm to you
MUHWAH
Smooches gropes and some birthday rubbing--hopes your head is well today *grin*
Ooohh, you are soooo Liz! ;-)
That Marilyn Monroe imitation more than makes up for the lateness. Smooches and gropes to you, too. And yes, head is clear. Very. :-D
Happy belated Lovely, I'm sorry i missed it.
won't happen again ;)
Kiyotoooooooe! It's so good to find your presence here again. Missed you.
And you better make sure you don't miss my birthday again, you hear? :-)
Belated happy birthday!! Sorry, I'm late, but I hope you get what you wished for. :)
Hi, Christine! Thank you for the greeting, the wish, and for coming over here. :-) Hope your weekend is good.
Lizza, Happy Belated Birthday! I'm so sorry I missed it. I was in the height of flu-ville. Hope it was a very, very happy birthday!
Thank you very much, Gale! I'm glad you're feeling better.
Post a Comment