4 days ago
Lea Salonga has spent decades giving some of Disney's best-known heroines their singing voices. On Friday, Hollywood finally put her own name in the pavement, with several performers who understood exactly how far that voice had traveled standing beside her.
Salonga received the 2,855th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 4, becoming the first Filipina to receive the honor. Her star was dedicated in the Live Performance category outside the Pantages Theatre, where Brandy, Ming-Na Wen and Darren Criss joined her for the ceremony, according to BroadwayWorld. H.E.R. was also among those in attendance.
Brandy connected Salonga's Broadway career to the millions who first knew her as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan in Mulan. "There are singers who reach notes. Lea reaches hearts and souls," she told the crowd, later describing Salonga as someone who had "left the doorway open" for the artists who followed.
Salonga looked toward the next person instead. Recalling the little girl in the Philippines who simply loved to perform, she said she hopes a young Filipino child eventually finds her star in Hollywood and thinks, "Oh, maybe I can get here too."
Brandy's tribute centered on what Salonga's voice represented before many young viewers even knew the name of the performer behind it. Through Jasmine and Mulan, she said, Salonga gave children who had felt outside the fairy tale a way into it.
#salonga #voice #brandy
Salonga received the 2,855th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 4, becoming the first Filipina to receive the honor. Her star was dedicated in the Live Performance category outside the Pantages Theatre, where Brandy, Ming-Na Wen and Darren Criss joined her for the ceremony, according to BroadwayWorld. H.E.R. was also among those in attendance.
Brandy connected Salonga's Broadway career to the millions who first knew her as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan in Mulan. "There are singers who reach notes. Lea reaches hearts and souls," she told the crowd, later describing Salonga as someone who had "left the doorway open" for the artists who followed.
Salonga looked toward the next person instead. Recalling the little girl in the Philippines who simply loved to perform, she said she hopes a young Filipino child eventually finds her star in Hollywood and thinks, "Oh, maybe I can get here too."
Brandy's tribute centered on what Salonga's voice represented before many young viewers even knew the name of the performer behind it. Through Jasmine and Mulan, she said, Salonga gave children who had felt outside the fairy tale a way into it.
#salonga #voice #brandy
3 months ago
Billy Crystal poked fun at President Donald Trump and the recent Los Angeles mayoral race while hosting the opening night festivities for the 2026 Hollywood Bowl season.
Halle Bailey joined Tony Award winners Darren Criss, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Lea Salonga as the performers of "The Best of Broadway," which kicked off the storied L.A. venue's summer lineup on Saturday. Conductor Thomas Wilkins led the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in accompanying the stars, alongside members from the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the California State University, Fullerton University Singers.
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Halle Bailey joined Tony Award winners Darren Criss, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Lea Salonga as the performers of "The Best of Broadway," which kicked off the storied L.A. venue's summer lineup on Saturday. Conductor Thomas Wilkins led the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in accompanying the stars, alongside members from the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the California State University, Fullerton University Singers.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Denée Benton, Jasmine Amy Rogers, Patina Miller to Star in 'School Girls' on Broadway
Madonna Reveals Why Her Biopic Fell Apart at Universal and Then Netflix: "I Needed a Big Budget"
