While technically not one of the acts at this year's BSO cultural show, the performance of Lupang Hinirang, the Filipino national anthem, was nonetheless one of the highlights of the night. The singer was Regine Torres, a freshman from New Berlin, WI majoring in biomedical sciences and a pre-dental scholar. A member of Marquette's only all-female a capella group, the Meladies, Regine's voice helps to make her stand out from the millions of other Filipinos gathering around the Magic Mic. (It also helps that she's really tall.)

 

While Regine had previously been involved in her middle school choir, she did not discover her knack for singing until relatively recently, just four years ago.

 

“I didn't know I was good at singing until my freshman year of high school,” Regine said. “Basically, the first time I ever performed singing was freshman year at the talent show. I sang 'Crazier' from the Hannah Montana movie by Taylor Swift with my friends Carla and Maria.”

 

Those who hear her voice may assume Regine must have been classically trained, but she says most of what she does was learned “singing along with the radio.”

 

“I did take singing lessons from this Filipino lady who was part of our Filipino community and used to teach us,” Regine said. “She taught us the Filipino national anthem and stuff. So I took voice lessons but I didn't really like it that much because I like doing self-taught things. I'm a do it your-own-type person. I took lessons for maybe a month tops.”

 

In high school, Regine was part of an a capella group, but said that it suffered from a lack of guidance, calling it an instance of “the blind leading the blind.” Upon coming to Marquette, Regine knew she wanted to join another a capella group and initially wanted to join the Gold n' Blues but was won over by the sisterhood expressed by the Meladies.

 

“We're all like sisters,” Regine said. “We're all really close. We love hanging outside with the group. I think even if it were co-ed we'd be just as close but there's something about it. It's like a sorority, and I'm glad it has that same feel because I don't think I'm going to be in a sorority.”

 

As part of the Meladies, Regine sings as an alto, and stays mostly at mid-range. She has been a featured soloist on songs such as Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' and Kesha's 'C'mon.' On the latter song, which she arranged herself, Regine also showed off her rapping skills.

 

Meladies practices are three times a week and last two hours each, but often go into overtime due to the group's shared desire for perfection.

 

“It can get pretty intense, especially if we have event coming up,” Regine said. “We sometimes will run overtime just to work really hard making things perfect. We're all such perfectionists, we're all really hard on ourselves, so we constantly strive to make our songs better and better.”

 

Although Regine enjoys singing pop and does so almost exclusively, she says her favorite song of all time is the 70's classic 'Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac.

 

“It's such a relaxing song,” she said. “It takes you to a different place. It makes you feel like you're flying.”

 

Regine's interest in music extends beyond just singing. She can play piano and guitar and has tried her hand at writing her own songs, though she says she the most she can come up are some melodies and chord progressions. Outside of music, she is also interested in sports, having played basketball in middle school, and enjoys watching MMA with her dad. 

 

Regine's advice for those interested in singing? Let the words fall out and be brave.

 

“Don't be afraid to go for it,” Regine said. “The more that you just go for it when you sing, the better you will get. A lot of singing is just like exercise because you need to have the right breathing and stuff like that, and that definitely contributes to your sound."