‘Yet every time I returned to my first love — singing. Audiences would welcome me back and embrace me without judgment. — Raymond Lauchengco’
RAYMOND Lauchengco, in our “Odette Quesada All Hits, 40th Anniversary Concert Tour,” leads the most meaningful prayers. In the recent one held at the Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he said, “Thank you, Father, for show number 7. The first ever Filipino concert at this venue.
“And just yesterday as we were walking around the lobby, we saw all the digital posters and billboards and we couldn’t help thinking that the world already has so much entertainment to choose from, where does our show fit in, and is there a need for ours? Then our mind went back to sights and sounds of people who’ve watched this show. How they’d scream and sing along. How they would laugh and cry and not want it to end. And that for us is the answer.
“What sets this concert apart is its ability to connect and touch people’s hearts. How it takes people back to their happy place. This concert is so much more than entertainment. It’s like chancing upon an old love letter and reading it again after many years making you remember what it felt like to fall in love, or get your heartbroken for the very first time. It’s about remembering how you made the friends you’ve kept forever. It’s about connecting with the past, and realizing how far you’ve come in becoming the person you are today. It’s about all the wonderful music you have blessed Odette to write.
“And so we thank you Lord, for entrusting us with these wonderful songs that mean so much to so many. As we continue to thank you for the dreamers – Sari, Dodie, Noel and Rowell. Our gifted musicians and our MD Lorrie, our production team, Endo, Tonet and Monching, and our producer Rio, who has boldly chosen to go where so few have gone before, together with Crossover Events and AIP Media Production as well as Joji and everyone else helping them out to mount tonight’s show. Continue to grant Rio wisdom and increase her influence with every endeavor. And bless all her dreams and efforts, dear God.
“We also thank you for tonight’s audience. Every single one of them. May they laugh and cry, scream and sing along in celebration of life, and may they go back to their homes feeling enriched from hearing the music of their times, sung from the heart.
“And lastly, we give you thanks for Odette. We ask you to be everything for her tonight as she steps on that stage. I’ve known Odette for more than 40 years as a composer and a colleague, but now I’m proud to say I know her as a friend. And we are so grateful that You have brought us all together once again to celebrate her, and support her as she continues to write the soundtrack of people’s lives, beyond 40 years.
“In Jesus name we pray. Amen.”
As the second leg of the tour is nearing its end (after the successful shows in Hawaii, Atlantic City and Chicago), Odette’s forever 40th career-defining anniversary ends at Houston, Texas this coming Friday, October 25 where she is about to announce her next important shows next year.
After this, it’s Raymond’s turn to celebrate his 40 years in the entertainment industry.
He said, “Looking back, these last 40 years have been quite a ride – all the beautiful songs entrusted to me to record, movies like ‘Bagets,’ ‘Saan Darating ang Umaga’ and ‘Bukas Luluhod ang mga Tala,’ to name a few. Great roles in theater like Rama in ‘Rama at Sita,’ Romeo in ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ Daniel in ‘Once on this Island,’ plus getting to perform concerts around the country and abroad… the last 40 years have been the gift that keeps on giving!
“And yet I’ve always had a creative restlessness about me. There were always other things I dreamed about doing well in like: professional photography, writing, directing, visual art and sculpting.
“So within my singing career, I took breaks to allow myself the time to explore all these other creative pursuits.
“I guess you could say my career has been one of starts and stops. While others (admirably) saw a very clear destination and raced towards it on a straight path, I saw a journey that I felt was just as important. So I took my time to relish it and take occasional detours along the way.
“Yet every time I returned to my first love – singing. Audiences would welcome me back and embrace me without judgment.
“That’s why I like to say ‘I Just Got Lucky!’ And my 40th year celebration is all about saying thank you to the audiences who have been there for me all these years.”
What for Raymond are the next four major dreams you still want to achieve in his career?
He said: “Number one is to record again and sing new Odette Quesada (OQ) originals. Next is to be able to tour ‘Just Got Lucky’ abroad. Have OQ as guest artist or ka back-to-back and take my family with me. Number three is to spend more time getting to know the fans who continue to listen to me after 40 years, and the last, to be able to sing till a ripe old age like Tony Bennett.”
While the title of his 40th anniversary concert on November 23 at The Theater @ Solaire is “Just Got Lucky,” the more appropriate term is: Raymond has been immensely blessed!
“God has gifted me with a wonderful family and supportive friends. I have seen so many of my dreams come true. And I still have audiences who continue to listen to me even after 40 years,” said Raymond. ”So it’s high time I spend the rest of my life saying thank you for every single person who has been a part of my life, and the reason why I sing. I think that doing that will put a smile on God’s face.
“I’ve reached the point in my life where the need to explore other creative pursuits has more or less settled. All I want now is to be grateful. All I want to say is thank you. And all I want to do is sing for audiences for as long as I can. Thank you for last 40 years!”
Here’s to the old times and the best of new ones. And, may the child in us always remain and never grow up like Raymond “eternal bagets” Lauchengco.
