She isn’t Asia’s Songbird for nothing.

Original Pilipino Music royalty Regine Velasquez is either getting a thumbs up (or a raised eyebrow) these days for mounting her 25th anniversary extravaganza on November 16 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, right smack in the middle of a concert season headlining likes of Jennifer Lopez, Sting and Elton John.

Her supporters laud her for being brave enough to compete with such hot (and very expensive) tickets, while her detractors find her overconfident for going head to head with the slew of big name foreign artists.

To all of them, Regine only has this to say: “Nagkataon lang po talaga yung date kasi last year pa ako nag-25th anniversary sa showbiz.

“Kaya lang, as everyone knows, nabuntis po ako at nanganak kaya hindi natuloy,” she continued laughing. Regine gave birth to her firstborn, Baby Nate, with husband Ogie Alcasid in November 2011. “Nung October naman, hindi pa ako pumapayat kaya sabi ng direktor ko [Rowell Santiago], hindi ka na aabot!” she laughed even louder.

Composing herself, Regine, whose show is simply titled Silver, related that it was very difficult for her producer, her sister Cacai Velasquez-Mitra, to find an open date for a big venue when they finally began planning the concert.

“Whether sa [Smart] Araneta [Coliseum] or sa MOA booked na talaga a year before,” she shared. “Buti nga nakakuha pa kami ng date sa MOA, and naging one night concert nalang kasi the following day, may show na agad doon.”

Regine pointed out that it isn’t easy to produce a concert like most people think. In fact, she even said the same thing in reply to a Twitter basher who implied her sister was not spending enough money to produce her show.

“Milyon-milyon ang gastos sa pag-pro-produce ng isang concert—hindi po biro,” the Songbird reiterated. “Kaya sana, wag na silang mag-salita ng ganoon.”

Despite the little controversies here and there, Regine is nonetheless very excited for her upcoming big venue concert—her first major and solo show after five long years.

Apart from looking forward to wearing more glamorous gowns after shedding off what looks like some 20 pounds of post baby weight, she is very much in a festive mood.

“Masaya ako kasi 25 years na ako sa industriya,” she expressed. “May nawala na, may bago na, pero nandito pa rin ako at kumakanta.”

The show will celebrate this feat with a repertoire of songs that Regine recorded through the years—her biggest hits, as well as song she recorded but were never released.

“There will be cover songs but they will also be cover songs that I recorded myself,” she shared. “And the rest, all original na.”

As for guests, Regine will have Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs and Lani Misalucha as her guests, with the Manila Symphony Orchestra.

“Si Ogie apart from being my husband is batch mate ko talaga sa industriya as well as Janno kaya sila guests sa concert,” she explained. Fellow diva Lani, meanwhile, has joined her on many successful concerts abroad.

It will be remembered that as a child, Regine, a native of Bulacan, was a regular in singing contests, until she took the national spotlight by being the first grand champion of Ang Bagong Kampeon in 1984 hosted by Pilita Corrales and the late Bert “Tawa” Marcelo.

She rose to stardom after winning the 1989 Asia Pacific Singing Contest in Hong Kong.

“Yon siguro talaga yung masasabi kong highlight ng career ko kasi after noon, doon talaga nag-flourish yung career ko sa recording, sa concerts, tapos nasundan na din ng TV and movies.”

What’s her secret to staying on top?

“Ang hirap sagutin ng tanong na yan,” she mused. “I guess it’s because I’m just happy that I still love to work. But in saying that, there’s also a conscious effort to learn new things.”

Silver is a co-production of iMusic Entertainment and GMA Kapuso. It will go on stage on November 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena, with Rowell Santiago as overall director, and Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and Raul Mitra as musical directors. For ticket inquiries log on to smtickets.com.