Photo from Instgram/@reginevalcasid
MANILA — Regine Velasquez-Alcasid has opened up about how menopause has affected her singing voice, describing a period when an instrument she had relied on for decades became increasingly unpredictable.
Speaking at a Sept. 25 media conference ahead of her “FINALE” concerts, Velasquez said her voice would sometimes crack, become difficult to control or fail to respond as she expected.
She described what she experienced as “menopause voice.”
Velasquez said examinations found no polyp and that doctors told her they could find nothing wrong with her vocal cords. The changes nevertheless required her to reconsider how she approached singing.
She said she has learned to work with the voice she has now rather than expect it to sound or behave as it did 10 or 20 years ago.
Her experience reflects changes documented in medical research, although their severity varies widely among women. A 2026 review published in the journal Menopause found that hormonal changes associated with menopause can affect vocal pitch, stability and phonation. Such changes can be particularly noticeable to professional singers and others who depend heavily on their voices.
Velasquez, who is marking four decades in the music industry, has also spoken about the physical and emotional demands of large-scale performances. She has said “FINALE” will be her last major solo concert of comparable scale, but has emphasized that she is not retiring from singing.
She recently completed recording a new album, while a documentary about her career and preparations for “FINALE,” titled “Songbird,” is planned for theatrical release in 2027.
