MANILA — “It takes one to know one,” goes the adage that no doubt applies for Lea Salonga and Regine Velasquez, both music veterans who are widely respected for their timeless talent.

Salonga, in fact, went with the colorful “a freak of nature” in describing Velasquez, on the topic of reaching the notoriously difficult F# note in singing.

Velasquez’s vocal range came up during the Sunday episode of “The Voice Kids,” where Salonga is one of the coaches.

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Salonga was commenting on a 12-year-old boy’s performance of “My Love Will See You Through.” The young artist, Vanjoss Bayaban, hit an F# — a fact Salonga welcomed with disbelief.

“Diyos ko, Lord! He’s hitting an F#? I don’t know anybody that can hit an F#!” Salonga said, after confirming the note with the pianist who accompanied the audition.

When Salonga’s fellow coach Sarah Geronimo mentioned her mentor, Velasquez, as a performer who can manage that note, the Broadway star agreed, saying, in jest, that she’s “not human.”

Long-time fans of Velasquez apparently picked up the exchange, resulting in a compilation that made the rounds online Monday. The video shows Velasquez belting an F#5 in various, recent performances.

“Kayang-kaya pa rin, hit and sustain, at the age of 49,” the video’s description read, referring to the snippets taken from Velasquez’s “ASAP Natin ‘To” performances only this year.

‘NO EXCUSES’

With a career spanning three decades, Velasquez has admittedly grappled with highs and lows as a performer. Early this year, Velasquez shared that she continues to take voice lessons, specifically to “re-learn” her vocal techniques in light of changes in her body through the years, and after giving birth.

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“It doesn’t fit me anymore,” she said of her former style of singing, “because I’m older, and my voice is different, my throat is different… I have to do different techniques so it doesn’t burden my throat so much.”

Velasquez, on Monday, vowed to continue improving herself as a singer, in response to a criticism of her latest performance of “On the Wings of Love,” her signature ballad, during the “ASAP Natin ‘To: Bay Area” show.

On Instagram, she shared a screenshot of the comment that read, in part: “You did not hit the right note. For thousands of Filipinos who paid their tickets coming from their hard-earned money yet you gave them that performance! Nakakahiya ka!”

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A post shared by reginevalcasid (@reginevalcasid) on Aug 4, 2019 at 11:40pm PDT

Explaining why she did away with the climactic “birit” of the song, Velasquez wrote: “Alam mo iba-iba ang bawat pagkanta. Minsan depende sa kundisyon ng katawan at boses ng isang mang-aawit ang kalalabasan ng kanyang performance.”

She cited factors like the health condition and “emotional battle” of performers which may affect their performance.

“But again no excuses,” Velasquez added. “We all do what we do because we all love to entertain all of you… But thank you for letting me know that I was so bad. I will do my best next time. Kasi lagi namang may next time, laging may next time to redeem myself. ‘Yan naman ang maganda sa life — laging may next time.”