PASAY CITY, Philippines — OPM icon and TV host Regine Velasquez-Alcasid has expressed her desire for audience members to put away their mobile phones and fully engage in live musical performances.
Speaking ahead of her upcoming “Finale” concert series scheduled for October 17, 18, and 19 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, the veteran singer shared her frustration over attendees who spend the majority of a concert recording or livestreaming on their devices.
Velasquez-Alcasid stressed that viewing a performance through a screen strips away the emotional impact of a live show and interferes with the bond between an artist and the crowd.
”Also, don’t you find it kind of distracting? While watching you’re holding a phone?” she said.
”How do you actually feel the song, the live impact of the song if you’re holding a phone?”
The songstress added that she prioritizes eye contact and direct emotional expression during her sets, which gets disrupted when fans are focused on filming.
”While I’m singing, I can look at you. So you can feel what I’m feeling while I’m singing to you directly,” she explained.
While acknowledging that fans record footage to preserve memories or post on social media, Velasquez-Alcasid noted that it ultimately ruins the experience for both the performer and the attendees, while also resulting in poor audio capture.
”I understand why you do that, so that you have something to share later on. But really, it’s very distracting, not just a performer, but to you as an audience,” she noted.
”But ako, nadi-disappoint ako, yung buong concert… kasi ang pangit ng sound.”
However, her sister and concert producer, Cacai Mitra, shared a contrasting viewpoint on audience recording, pointing out that capturing footage has become a modern way for fans to experience and participate in events.
”Kasi ginagawa nilang content,” Mitra stated, noting that clips frequently flood platforms like TikTok right after a show concludes.
Mitra added that while organizers hold intellectual property rights regarding concert footage, she sympathizes with fans who monetize online concert content to support themselves.
”Kung pangkain nila yun, pan-dinner nila, then okay lang. Huwag maging madamot,” Mitra said.
Mitra noted that the production team has not yet finalized specific guidelines regarding recording or livestreaming for the upcoming SM Mall of Asia Arena shows.