Fliptunes.net
Featured Artist
LANI MISALUCHA
is a singer from the Philippines currently performing in the United States where she also resides. She holds shows at the Flamingo Las Vegas. Dubbed Asia’s Nightingale, she performs pop, rock, jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, and operatic arias.
Lani Misalucha was born into a musical family. Her father Benjamin Bayot had been an operatic tenor, her mother Esperanza Dimalanta was a coloratura soprano, sister May is a band vocalist, sister Karlyn is an actress (Munting Paraiso) who also plays violin and flute, while brothers Novi and Osi play guitar and piano. Tutored in classical vocals by her own parents, Misalucha and her sisters expanded their musical horizons to various genres and styles, and developed dynamic versatility.
Misalucha reckoned in her 2000 album notes that she started singing professionally as early as 1983 but it was only in 1996 that she made a breakthrough with the song “Ang Iibigin ay Ikaw” (written by Jimmy Borja) which was a finalist at the MetroPop Song Festival and later conferred the Awit Awards or Record of the Year. In the same year, Misalucha recorded an album “More than I Should” (Alpha Records) with carrier single of the same title written by Bodjie Dasig in 1993. The album included Misalucha’s cover of Fifth Dimension’s “Somebody Warm Like Me” which became a hit. The entire album earned 12 Katha Award nominations in 1997.
In 1998, Misalucha won acclaim outside the country when she copped the Minuro Endo Best Interpreter/Singer Award at the 3rd Asian Song Festival. Her piece entitled “Handle with Care” (written by Gideon Jungee Marcelo) won silver in the Best Original Song category.
In 1999, Misalucha moved to Viva Records and her album, with carrier single “Tunay na Mahal” (written by Freddie Saturno), made the charts and turned gold, later receiving the Awit Award for Best Ballad Recording, Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist, and Katha Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her cover of the 1952 hit, “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” topped the Philippine charts in the same year.
Misalucha’s interpretation of “Can’t Stop Loving You” (written by Dodjie Simon) finally won for her the Grand Prize at the 1999 Metropop Song Festival. She was tapped to play the lead role of Sita in the S.K. Productions musical play entitled Rama at Sita, where she was praised for her singing and acting. In 1999, Misalucha also received Artist of the Year Award, Aliw Award for Best Lounge Act, Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist, and Awit Award Nomination for Best Stage Actress.
In 2000, Misalucha released the album All Heart, a collection of love songs with the carrier single “One More Time” (written by Dodjie Simon). The album also included songs written by some of the Philippines’ contemporary composers such as Vehnee Saturno (”Ang Lahat Ng Ito Ay Para Sa Iyo”), Jimmy Borja (”Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin”) and Trina Belamide (”Save This Heart”).
She became a semi-regular host in the Sunday noontime show SOP in 2001, along with other top artists. Her first major solo concert in September 2001 at the Araneta Coliseum entitled, “Lani Misalucha, The Crossover Live Tour” was packed to the rafters by over 18,000 fans. A two-night repeat of the same concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines was deemed a huge success by media, critics, and Manila’s cultural elite. For this achievement, Misalucha received the Aliw Award for Best Major Concert by a Female Artist and the Tinig Award for Best Solo Performer. Her Crossover Live Concert album received the Platinum Award.
In 2002, Misalucha continued to hold concerts in all over the Philippines. Misalucha then held a US Concert Tour, performing in Reno, San Diego, Washington Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, Atlantic City, Pasadena, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. of San Francisco declared August 17 “Lani Misalucha Day” to give due recognition to her talent as an artist.
Misalucha was hailed as Aliw Awardee for Best Female Performance in Music Lounges, Bars, Clubs & Restaurants for consecutive years, 1999-2002. In 2002, she finally received Aliw “Entertainer of the Year.” In addition, she won two Katha awards — Best Folk Song Vocal Performance and Best Traditional Song Vocal Performance for “Kasal Sa Kaluluwa” (2002).
Misalucha released her fourth studio album entitled, Loving You, in June 2003 with the singles “Tila” (written by Liza Diy) and “Malaya Ka Na” (written by Jimmy Antiporda). In November of the same year, she began a TV show entitled Celebrity Turns with actor-comedian Michael V. also known by his character Junie Lee.
In 2004, after being granted a US visa as an “Alien of Extraordinary Ability,” Misalucha subordinated her peaking career in the Philippines to the wishes of her husband to relocate their whole family to the United States. Said her husband Noli, an IT specialist: “I just got fed up doing business here. We had lost millions of pesos many times in business deals gone awry. We had wanted to migrate to give our family a better future, this was long before Lani hit it big in the Philippines. At first, we planned to go to Canada. Lani did not even want to sing. But a friend called and asked us to come to Las Vegas and look around. We went there as tourists. It was difficult to get working visas. Our immigration lawyer told us it would be easier for the family to obtain legal status if Lani were to work as a professional entertainer.” Lani said, “The move to Las Vegas came about quite unexpectedly. My husband and I had always talked about making the move, but never really planned it. Then in 2003, it suddenly happened in an unexpected time and place. We had met the guys from Society of Seven at an Asian Awards dinner and all of a sudden I find myself packing our things and not really giving much thought as to what was going to happen or what was ahead of me.”
Gary Bautista, lead singer of Hawaii’s Society of Seven, narrated how his group caught Misalucha in 2003. “I was listening to Misalucha’s CD in my car. I had goose bumps all over from her rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’. I played it over and over.” Added SOS founder Tony Ruivivar: “There’s a streak of craziness in her like there is in all of us. None of us in the group take anything seriously, in a sense.”
In no time Misalucha became the first Asian to headline in a Main Showroom of the Las Vegas Strip , performing with Hawaii’s Society of Seven at the 1,160-seat Jubilee Theater of Bally’s. Her stint at Bally’s ran for 15 months from August 7, 2004 to February 5, 2006, after which she and the Society of Seven moved to the 2,200-seat Main Showroom of the Flamingo from August 2006 to April 13, 2008.
Misalucha performed across the world, in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and the Middle East, and singing for dignitaries such as the King of Malaysia, the Sultan of Brunei, President S.R Nathan of Singapore and Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines.
In late October 2006, Misalucha released a new self-titled album under Universal Records. This was her first cover album which includes her own version of Whitney Houston’s “Hold Me,” Michael Jackson’s “Someone in the Dark,” Luther Vandross’ “Always and Forever,” Stevie Wonder’s “All Is Fair In Love,” among many tracks. The album reached gold record and platinum status in the Philippines within months.
In the latter part of May 2007, record label Viva re-released “Lani Misalucha Live Vol. 1 and 2″. The two-volume recording contains previously released material mostly from her Crossover Live Tour albums with various live performances from different albums within the Viva catalogue where she had appeared.
Misalucha is the voice behind the new version of Gary Valenciano’s “Natutulog Ba Ang Diyos?,” theme song of the ABS-CBN television soap opera that goes by the same title.
In the recently concluded 20th Awit Awards, her rendition of “I Live For Your Love” from her newest album was acclaimed Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist.
In Josh Groban’s Awake Tour 2007, Lani was handpicked by Groban himself to be his front act in Manila on October 15-16, 2007 and also his partner in singing David Foster’s The Prayer”
Lani Misalucha was voted Best Singer in the recently concluded 27th Annual Best of Las Vegas poll. There were two picks for best singer, the Readers’ Pick was Celine Dion and the Staff Pick was Lani Misalucha. The 27th Best of Las Vegas is conducted yearly by The Las Vegas Review-Journal. This year, almost 8,000 total votes were cast and tallied.
Lani Misalucha will be in the Philippines during the month of August to promote her newest album “Reminisce”. Most of her promotions will be ABS-CBN where for three weeks, she will appear non-stop in ABS-CBN programs. This Sunday on ASAP ‘08 for her birthday celebration party then on “The Buzz” where she will share her experiences during her stay in the US and her new comeback record album.
