Rachel Alejandro first entered the world of
showbiz at the age of 12, when she was a host on the popular TV show "That's
Entertainment." At 15, following her successful TV stint, Rachel recorded
her first album, Just A Minute, for Alpha Records. The album spawned several
hit songs including the #1 single "Mr. Kupido," as well as "K.S.P.
(Kulang Sa Pansin)" and "Kay Tagal." The album went gold and Rachel's recording
career was off and running.
Her second album, "Watch Me Now," featured
a revival of
"Nakapagtataka," the signature song of her father,
pop icon Hajji Alejandro. Rachel's powerful rendition of the song earned
her the Awit Award for Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist and
the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Foundation Award for Best Female
Singer/Entertainer.
May Minamahal, which contained the award-winning
single "Babalik-balikan", became Rachel's first platinum album in 1992. That
same year, Rachel's career got another boost when she competed at the Golden
Stag International Song Festival in Brasov, Romania, winning the award for
Best Interpretation of a Romanian Song.
Her 1994 album, Sentimental, featured the
multi-awarded song "Paalam Na," which Rachel co-wrote with then-boyfriend
Dingdong Avanzado. By 1996, 22-year-old Rachel had already been in showbiz
10 years. She celebrated by releasing an anniversary album and appearing
in her first major concert, with guests Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid and the
Street Boys. As Rachel said in an interview with Maryo B Labad, "In the past
years, siguro halos lahat nasubukan ko na as far as the entertainment scene
is concerned. And my efforts have paid off."
Rachel's "Tanging Pangarap" album, her first
for Viva Records, was released in 2001. The carrier single was written
by her longtime boyfriend Lee Robin Salazar (whom Rachel has just split up
with). It also contains the 2000 Metropop Song Festival winner "Forever And
A Day."
Rachel has also enjoyed success as an actress,
appearing in many movies and theater productions. But she considers herself
more of a singer than an actress.
 Asked in an interview
if it was difficult to establish herself as a singer because of her dad's
fame, Rachel replied: "I was offered a regular hosting job on "That's
Entertainment," the hottest TV show at that time, because I was Hajji's daughter.
I also believe Alpha Records took an interest in me because of that. These
opportunities presented a challenge to me. I just did the best I could and
I never felt that there was any real comparison between him and me. It actually
helped that I'm his daughter, but the rest was still up to me."
 Rachel's mother and
father split up when she was very young. Her mother remarried and moved to
the US. Together with dad Hajji and his new partner Rio Diaz, Rachel and
her sister Barni spent time in Manila and the U.S. But when Hajji and Rio
separated and moved to the U.S. permanently, Rachel felt she could concentrate
on her career more by staying with her grandmother in Blue Ridge. She moved
out and began living on her own at 17, but despite her independence, Rachel
values her family above all else. She commented in an interview with Women's
Home Companion, "I never begged for anything from them, all the things na
nakikita nila sa akin ngayon are the things I acquired from working hard.
I was raised by my grandmother and yet, she never spoiled me. I wasn't lola's
girl. She would take care of me dahil apo niya ako but yung maging very malambing
to me, she wasn't the type. But she was the one who encouraged me to sing.
She also taught me how to dance. My lola was a good dancer!"
Rachel's high-energy dancing adds an exciting
dimension to her many live concert performances. In late 2002 she teamed
up with Geneva Cruz
for a "Showdown" concert at the Music Museum. The combination of these two
sexy singer-dancers proved to be a big hit, and they are bringing the show
to several US cities in February and March 2004.
For much more about Rachel Alejandro, visit
her official website at
www.rachelalejandro.com. |
