page_title: Regine Velasquez
section_title: 1994–1998: Listen Without Prejudice and My Love Emotion
hierarchical_section_title: Regine Velasquez / Music career / 1994–1998: Listen Without Prejudice and My Love Emotion
caption_attribution_description: English: Regine Velasquez in Korea for the launch of her album Retro in 1996
context_page_description: Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez is a Filipina singer, actor, and record producer who came to prominence after winning the 1984 Ang Bagong Kampeon and the 1989 Asia Pacific Singing Contest. Velasquez signed with OctoArts International under the name Chona in 1986 and released the single "Love Me Again", which was commercially unsuccessful. After adopting the stage name Regine Velasquez, she signed a recording contract with VIVA Records in 1987 and released her eponymous debut album containing the singles "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang" and "Urong Sulong".
  After being signed to Polygram Records, Velasquez gained recognition in Southeast and East Asia with her albums Listen Without Prejudice and My Love Emotion, the first of which became her best-selling record, and produced "In Love With You", her most successful single of the 1990s. She followed this with 1996's Retro, a cover album incorporating elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, and disco music. After leaving Polygram Records, Velasquez signed a joint deal with Los Angeles-based producer Mark J. Feist and VIVA Records, and released an album titled Drawn.
context_section_description: In 1994, Velasquez released her fifth studio album Listen Without Prejudice. She worked with songwriters including Glenn Medeiros, Trina Belamide, and John Laudon. The album was released in several countries in Southeast and East Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The album's lead single "In Love With You" features Cantonese singer Jacky Cheung. AllMusic's David Gonzales called the record "adventurous" and said, "Cheung's presence on the duet had much to do with the overseas success". The album had sold more than 700,000 copies regionally, including 100,000 in the Philippines, making it the best-selling album of Velasquez's career to date.
  Velasquez's sixth studio album My Love Emotion was released in 1995. During production, she engaged  Japanese songwriters including Mariya Takeuchi and Kazufumi Miyazawa. The title track, which was written by Southern Sons vocalist Phil Buckle, was called "a triumph" by AllMusic editor David Gonzales, who described it as "an outstanding vehicle, containing a strong melody and hook in the chorus". The album made combined regional and domestic sales of 250,000 copies.
  For her seventh studio album Retro (1996), Velasquez recorded cover versions of 1970s and 1980s hit singles by artists including Donna Summer, Foreigner, and the Carpenters. The album's only original track, "Fly", is credited to Earth, Wind & Fire members Maurice White, Al McKay, and Allee Willis because the song interpolates the melody of their single "September". In 1998, Velasquez left PolyCosmic and signed a six-album contract with the MJF Company. That year, her ninth studio album Drawn was released. MJF head Mark J. Feist wrote and produced most of the tracks, including the lead single "How Could You Leave". Drawn sold more than 40,000 copies and was awarded a platinum certification within two weeks of its release.
caption: Velasquez at a press launch 1996
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