The rain could not dampen the spirits of her fans on Friday night as Lani Misalucha successfully held her first solo concert in Dubai, entertaining the crowd with her versatile song repertoire.
Speaking to tabloid! ahead of her show, the Filipino singer, known as Asia's Nightingale, talks about her career in the US and future plans.
Acceding to the wishes of her husband to relocate their whole family, Misalucha left the Philippines in 2004 at the peak of her carreer. The singer, who was soon granted an US visa in the "alien of extraordinary ability" category, says she has no regrets.
"I'm very happy and grateful that we are now settled in Las Vegas," she says.
Now a name to reckon with in the famous Las Vegas Strip, heading to the US was, interestingly, not the original plan, Misalucha says. The family was headed migrating to Canada but an unexpected phone call from a music producer in the US in late 2003 led to an abrupt change of plans. The family headed to Las Vegas where Misalucha soon emerged as a critically acclaimed singer.
She 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 Theatre of Bally's. In 2008, she was voted Best Singer in the 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 Misalucha.
"Everybody thinks that I am known in the United States. I am a performer and I perform every night in Las Vegas, but once I step out after my performance I am nobody," she says.
‘Challenge'
But despite her accomplishments, Misalucha says being an entertainer is not easy. "To be a performer in Las Vegas is really a challenge. There are numerous shows every night on the strip of Vegas. It is really hard to promote yourself there and convince people to watch your show."
Being an Asian performer, she says she's not affected by issues of racism in Las Vegas. Instead, she considers it a challenge to make her international audiences appreciate the abilities of Filipinos and make her country proud of her work.
"I think we are at par with any other. Many times, we can even do it better," she says of her fellow Filipino entertainers, adding that she would love to return to Dubai for another performance, perhaps at a bigger venue.
The singer is headed for a show in the Philippines after Dubai. Then it's back to the US where she will continue shooting her upcoming TV show, Vegas with Lani Misalucha.
"We will be doing 13 episodes and I already did two. It is a talk show with me as host. We will mainly promote Las Vegas in the show," she says.
Currently in negotiations with three producers in the Philippines to release a new album, she is also preparing to release an album internationally by the middle of this year.
"We already had negotiations with a mainstream producer in the US for me to release an international album and I'm hopeful things will work out," she says.
Quick facts about Lani
What's on her iPod: Eva Cassidy songs.
International artists she idolises: Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston.
International artist she wants to perform with: Barbra Streisand.Before she became famous and dubbed as Asia's Nightingale, Lani Misalucha was known as the "Multiplex Queen", mimicking the voices of Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston in multiplex cassette tape recordings.
Her fetish: Shoes
