Sarah Geronimo Talks Almost Wanting To Quit Music And Her Admiration For Regine Velasquez-Alcasid
Look back at Billboard Philippines’ special Women In Music issue with some moments that didn’t make it into Sarah Geronimo’s cover story.
Sarah Geronimo photographed by Mark Nicado, February 2024 at the Billboard Philippines Studio in Pasig.
Sarah Geronimo photographed by Mark Nicado, February 2024 at the Billboard Philippines Studio in Pasig.
It’s been a little over a month since Sarah Geronimo graced the cover of Billboard Philippines’ special Women In Music issue. From shooting her magazine cover to taking her to Los Angeles to make history as the first Filipina Billboard Women In Music awardee, we got to spend a lot of time with the Pop Star Royalty.
Naturally, there were a lot of mini conversations in between talking about self discovery and her new musical era while working on her cover story. Geronimo opened up about her early days in music, sharing a stage with Erik Santos, Mark Bautista, Christian Bautista, and Rachelle Ann Go, her admiration for Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, and how she wished she took her time when she first started out.
With so many moments that were too good not to share, here’s what didn’t make it into Sarah Geronimo’s Billboard Philippines cover story.
She almost wanted to quit music when she first started
Geronimo started her ascent to stardom at the age of 13, and as any teenager — especially one that almost immediately plunged into the deep end of being a performer, she struggled to find her place.
“Actually, nung nag umpisa lang pala ako, parang ‘ang hirap pala nito’ [Actually, when I first started, I already thought, ‘this is hard’],” she recalls. “Tapos diba I was working nonstop — commercials, movies, so parang nawala na yung boses, kasi parang super pagod na, na damage siya. Yun yun, yung unang beses na parang I wanted to quit. [And then I was working nonstop — commercials, movies, so it was like I was losing my voice because I was so tired. It got damaged. That was probably the first time I wanted to quit.]”
Safe to say, we’re glad she powered through — imagine what Filipino music be like without Sarah Geronimo?
Photographed by Mark Nicado
She shared a memorable moment from ASAP
Geronimo had a lot of fond memories of her performances on the Philippine musical variety show ASAP. When we were on the topic of her early days in music, she shared what it was like being on the show’s segment, Champions. Joining fellow singing competition winners like Erik Santos, Mark Bautista, Christian Bautista, and Rachelle Ann Go, she fondly recalled how it often felt like they were trying to out-birit each other back then.
“It was the diva era, [they were] belting out super, super high notes lagpas nang ceiling [surpassing the ceiling],” she says.
“So para lagi siyang competition [It was always like a competition], it felt like we were always pitted against each other. We [were] expected to end the song with very high notes,” she said, even jokingly attempting a high note. “So, parang sabi ko ‘oh my goodness, ayoko na [So I said, ‘oh my goodness, I don’t want to do this anymore],” she laughs.
She fawned over Regine Velasquez-Alcasid
Geronimo’s admiration over Regine Velasquez-Alcasid is no secret, that even in an interview about her own success, she couldn’t help but gush over Asia’s Songbird and Billboard Philippines Powerhouse Awardee.
“Si Miss Reg ang aming patron saint ng mga contesera [Miss Reg is the Patron Saint of singing contestants],” she says with a smile. “Miss Reg is very, very generous sa lahat sa amin na nag uumpisa sa industriya— uy, feeling na nag uumpisa palang ah [“Miss Reg is very, very generous to us who are starting in the industry– wow, as if I just started],” she continues, laughing.
“Makikita mo siyang very supportive sa aming lahat, to upcoming artists. She’ll be there, she’ll be a guest sa lahat. At yun yung pinaka nagugustuhan ko — besides pagiging excellent vocalist niya and maganda babae and all, she’s a superstar but her heart to help people and give inspiration sa mga aspiring singers is talagang… heart of gold talaga yung meron si Miss Reg.”
[“You’ll see that she’s very supportive to all of us, to upcoming artists. She’ll be there, she’ll be a guest to everything. And that’s what I like most about her — besides being an excellent vocalist and a beautiful woman and all, she’s a superstar but her heart to help people and give inspiration to aspiring singers is… Miss Reg really has a heart of gold.”]
Photographed by Mark Nicado
She envies Filipino music’s new generation of performers
“Naiinggit ako sa new breed of performers and singers ngayon that they underwent talagang formal training [“I envy today’s new breed of performers and singers because they underwent formal training”],” Geronimo reveals.
With a skyrocketing ascent into ultimate pop stardom, Geronimo never really got a chance to slow down and really hone her craft, instead learning on-the-go. When looking back at her career, she wished she took the time to really improve. “You can really see yung excellence nila when they move, talagang confident– ang ganda. Sabi ko nga, sana ako din. Yun siguro yung wish ko para sa sarili ko, makita ko pa if I can still improve as an artist,” she says.
[“You can really see their excellence when they move, it’s so confident– it’s so nice. I always say that I want that for myself. That’s probably my wish for myself, so I can see if I can still improve as an artist.”]
Billboard Philippines’ special Women In Music issue is available for purchase via Sarisari Shopping.
Photographed by Mark Nicado. Styling by Daryl Chang, assisted by Kurt Abonal and Maria Paz Gamus. Creative and Fashion Direction by Daryl Chang. Art Direction by Nicole Almero. Hair by Raymond Santiago. Makeup by Gela Laurel. Photography assisted by James Bautista, Arsan Hofileña, Crisaldo Soco, Alex Capongcol, & Phil Nicdao. Shoot Coordination by Mikaela Cruz.