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.
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.
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.
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.
 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.
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.
 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.
 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.
 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."
 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.
 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.
 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."