Raymond Lauchengco’s concert, Just Got Lucky, is Nov. 23, 2024, at The Theater at Solaire Resort and Casino.
“My career has been one of starts and stops.”
That was how multi-hyphenate singer-actor Raymond Lauchengco described his showbiz career that started four decades ago.
“Other artists saw the goal and they just went for it,” explained Lauchengco. “I saw the destination. For me, it was also about the journey. In the highway, I took many right turns and detours.”
He had wanted to become a professional photographer. “I know that takes years,” Lauchengco said. “So I put up my own studio. I wanted to be a director, so I became one for 20 years. I covered over 500 events, did one short film, one play.
“I’ve taken many creative detours, but now I feel that I have settled down, and the restlessness is more or less gone. I pretty much explored the major things that I wanted to try.
“You cannot possibly do everything in one lifetime. But I’m satisfied that I tried the major things. It’s safe to say that I’m now satisfied. While I still can sing, I’d like to spend it singing onstage.”
Thankfully, despite the many detours Lauchengco has taken, audiences would embrace him every time he returned to singing.
“How lucky can you get?” he smilingly asked. “The people didn’t forget me. If you think of all the times I stepped aside from singing to learn something else, every time I would come back, audiences would embrace me without judgement, without question.
“Because 40 years of me also means four decades of Bagets. So the song, Just Got Lucky, I also want to celebrate Bagets. If I can bring all the guys together, I would. But I know that will take a small miracle.”
Lauchengco the sculptor
The original Bagets film (1984), megged by the late Maryo J. de lo Reyes, starred Lauchengco with Aga Muhlach, William Martinez, Herbert Bautista and JC Bonnin.
The sequel shown the same year, directed anew by de los Reyes, starred Lauchengco anew with Bautista, Bonnin, Martinez, and this time, Francis Magalona and Ramon Christopher Gutierrez.
When the Bagets stars went to Baguio to shoot scenes there, Lauchengco found unforgettable one dinner on their free night.
“Our table was in the middle of two others and the guys started to fight,” Lauchengco recalled. “They pulled out guns. There was a commotion in the restaurant. We jumped under the table and scrambled to run away. We were terrified.
“The nice thing about Bagets, one of the reasons the film clicked so much, it was very clear that we were all friends when we did that. We really like each other. We really got along with each other. None of that was fake. Everything was real.”
Lauchengco did four films with de los Reyes: Bagets 1 and 2, Saan Darating ang Umaga, and Batang Ama, where he played supporting role to Muhlach.
Doing a major solo concert has been at the back of Lauchengco’s head for a long time, although he wasn’t sure how he would do it.
“I had been dreaming about a major solo concert for a long time,” Lauchengco said. “Not necessarily as the 40th. Just doing a major show in Manila because I haven’t done that in a long time. Ever since I started to sing again, the concert had been in my head. That’s not easy.
“One day, I was in the department store looking for pots and pans that we needed because I like to cook. My wife (Mia) turned to me and she went, ‘You know, I think it’s time you did your own show.’
“It was at that moment about year ago that suddenly, I had permission to dream about a concert. And it coincided with my 40th. We broached the idea to GR (talent manager and concert producer Girlie Rodis), and she loved it.
Lauchengco with producer Angela Lauchengco and music director Marvin Querido
“So Girlie decided that her, with my wife Mia and my cousin, Angela (Lauchengco), one of the firsts who showed her full support, will produce the concert,” Lauchengco disclosed.
“That was sealed early this year. The show is on November 23rd, just one night at The Theater at Solaire Hotel. My birthday is on November 29.”
Lauchengco himself made his set list for Just Got Lucky, derived from his popular dance hit of the same title. “I’ve been thinking about this line-up for about a year now. The set list is pretty easy to come up with. I’ve been doing that for about a year now. That is probably my way of saying thank you to the audience, the people who have stayed with me for 40 years.
“By doing that, it’s taking everybody back to where it started in the ‘80s. So it’s an ‘80s show where I will be singing the most beloved hits from that era, not just my songs, Top 40’s plus the best dance tunes today. So I want it to be super fun and super nostalgic.”
Marvin Querido will be Lauchengco’s musical director. Waya Gallardo is stage director who’s also writing the script. Bituin Escalante is special guest.
His two teenage children—Nathalie, 17 and Davey, 14 —will definitely watch him perform those special songs. “We wanted songs that have the ability to unlock memories,” said Lauchengco. “You hear the introduction and the song immediately takes you back to special places and brings special memories. The whole concert is about those songs.”
The singing is comparatively easy for Lauchengco, performing, too. “But it really takes a village to mount a concert,” he said. “That part is challenging. I’m very thankful that I have the best team possible. Top-notch.”
Rodis is one of the producers, Chevy Salvador is managing the production. “We wanted to find people,” Lauchengco said. “There are lots of skilled and very, very competent people. We wanted to work with people who will make this (concert) a passion project.”
The last concert tour Lauchengco did was in Australia in June 2024. He did shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Newcastle.
Last October, Raymond was in the US to join Odette Quesada on her concert tour of Hawaii, Chicago, Atlantic City, Houston. Last year, Raymond was a guest in Odette’s concert at Samsung Performing Arts Theater.
“During the pandemic, everything came to a screeching halt,” Lauchengco lamented. “I turned to sculpting and making art. Pandemic was a terrible time for all of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost opportunities. We lost dreams.
“But it would always be very special to me. If you look at the silver lining, it brought out the side in us that we possibly never realized had pandemic not happened. As terrible as those times were, pandemic will still hold a special place in my heart.
“People turned people into writers, poets, bakers. I turned to art. I was giving online classes. I had more than 500 students. That was something I never thought I would do. You never really know what you’re made of until your back is pushed against the wall.”
Yet, Lauchengco is happy and grateful to be singing again. When restrictions were eased, he started performing live at Pagcor casinos all over the country.
“They put stanchions and we were not allowed to touch the audience,” Lauchengco shared. “I was a bad boy. The Pagcor executives were glaring at me because I am a hugger.
“Automatically, if I see somebody smiling back at me, I wanted to, at least, do a high five or give a personal hug. That’s what singing is for me. It’s not just singing. It’s the connecting.”
In 2025, Lauchengco will be pretty busy, too. He will return to Australia and will also do New Zealand for Valentine’s season in February. In June, he will do more shows in Canada with Quesada.
A producer is also exploring to bring Quesada to Australia. “She will include me in her technical rider,” Lauchengco smiled. “She doesn’t like it if I’m not included. Odette’s show is always good. Her audience is my generation.
“We were classmates at the UP College of Music, taking up Theory. That was before I transferred to IMC (Institute of Mass Communication), now CMC (College of Mass Communication).”
Concert producers (from left) Angela Lauchengco, Mia Lauchengco, Girlie Rodis, scripwriter and director Waya Gallardo with Raymond Lauchengco and musical director Marvin Querido.
Asked about the favorite song he recorded, Lauchengco found it hard to choose. “I cannot,” he said. “I like I Need You Back.’ It was special because it was my first single. But how can I not like Saan Darating ang Umaga?”
His first film was Cross My Heart, where megastar Sharon Cuneta became his “first showbiz crush” then the highly successful Bagets of director Maryo J. de los Reyes, and Saan Darating ang Umaga, with Maricel Soriano.
Lauchengco has been married to Mia for two decades now. In March, the couple will mark their 21st anniversary.
