Anna Fegi (born April 18, 1977) is a Filipina singer and actress from Cebu, Philippines. She has performed internationally in over forty countries and is well known for her work on the popular show ASAP on the ABS-CBN television network and The Filipino Channel (TFC) as well as her two solo albums released under the Sony BMG label. Fegi is recognized by her powerful voice, high vocal range, and trademark curly hair.
Early life
Anna Fegi was born in Toledo City, Philippines and is the fourth of seven children born to Gaudencio and Soccoro Fegi. The family is a very musical family and they spent time together singing and performing while living in Barangay Lutopan. Her mother was a religion teacher at De LaSalle Andres Soriano Memorial School (ASMS) and her father was the school audio/visual technician. The family lived together in a small house in the teachers’ compound on the school campus. Her father built his own sound systems from scratch and it was on those systems that he played records and cassette tapes while Anna learned to sing along. Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston were two of the early influences of Fegi as she learned to sing along to their records. At the encouragement of her parents, Anna entered local singing contests and performed for school and church events.
Career
Discovery
Fegi was first discovered by Ryan Cayabyab during a talent search in Cebu when he was looking for a new member of the award-winning group, Smokey Mountain. She was just sixteen years old when she had to move to Manila for rehearsals. She performed a year later as a part of the group’s third batch as a replacement for Shar Santos while touring in Japan in 1994.
Early career
After performing in Smokey Mountain, she turned to the world of musical theater and joined the Japan tour of the musical Hair with Tetsuya Bessho. This tour lasted for three months and afterwards she returned to Cebu to return to her studies at University of San Jose–Recoletos where she was a Mass Communication student and an Amparito Llames Lhuiller Educational Foundation (ALLEF) scholar. She continued performing for school events and was able to tour the United States for the first time as a part of the school’s Dramatics group, directed by Dr. Milagros Espina.
Move to Manila
In 1998, Fegi decided to leave school and move to Manila to become closer to the music scene. One of the first people she was introduced to was her future manager, Bibsy Carballo. Carballo became Fegi’s manager for five years in Manila.
Television network ABS-CBN produces a televised song writing competition each year called Himig Handog. Fegi entered the competition in 2000 performing the song “Larawan,” composed by Doji Simon, which won the People’s Choice Award. Upon her success from “Himig Handog,” she signed a record deal later that year with the Sony BMG. This led to her release of two successful solo albums. Fegi’s debut album titled Every Step of the Way was recorded in 2000 and released in 2001. It featured the original recording of the popular song “I Need You,” although Rimes released it sooner. It was also in 2000 that Fegi joined the popular ABS-CBN television program ASAP. She went on to perform as a regular member of the show for five years. The show is broadcast worldwide as a part of the The Filipino Channel. Her segments, titled Versus, with fellow singer Bituin Escalante became a popular feature on the show.
It was also in 2000 that Fegi appeared in the role of “Pilate” in the Atlantis Productions staging of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar in Manila. This led to an ongoing working relationship with well-known Manila theater directors Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga. Fegi continued her work with Atlantis Productions in 2001, performing in role of “Maureen” in the musical Rent at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore. The next year, in 2002, she performed the role of “Magenta” in the musical Rocky Horror Show at the RCBC Theater in Manila, and again in 2003 in the role of “Deanna Jones” in the musical Dreamgirls, also in Manila.
Fegi performed in 2001 in the GMA Network’s televised song writing competition called “Metropop Song Festival.” She performed the song “Destiny” on the show. Although she did not win, her performance was later released on compilation albums. In 2002, Fegi appeared in a national television commercial for Coca Cola. She also appeared as a guest on television shows and specials on the ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5, and STUDIO 23 networks. She is often hired for corporate events for large companies such as Coca Cola, Bayer Philippines, Levi’s, San Miguel, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Toyota, and PLDT.
She released her second solo album, Straight Ahead, in 2003. This album contained the popular song “Saan Ka Na Kaya Ngayon?” This would be her final release under her recording contract with Sony BMG and was noted as having more Tagalog language songs under the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) genre.
In the next few years, Fegi continued performing in the Philippines as well as tours to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Guam, and back again to the United States. Her U.S. tour included stops in Los Angeles, California and the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2003, Fegi won the Grand Prize of that year’s Himig Handog competition on the ABS-CBN network. That year she performed the song “Kailan Kita Mamahalin” by composer Arnel de Pano. In 2004, Fegi was a judge on the ABS-CBN television competition Star in a Million. The following year in 2005, she producer her own award-winning tour of lounges throughout the Philippines. In that year, 2005, Fegi was awarded both the AWIT and the ALIW awards for “Best Female Singer in Bars and Lounges.”
Move to Hong Kong
Although Fegi experienced both critical and commercial success in Manila, she continued searching for more growth in her performing career. She decided to pursue an opportunity to return to the stage in performing the role of Nala in the Festival of the Lion King at Hong Kong Disneyland in Hong Kong. Fegi went on to complete three contracts with the company during 2006 and 2007. In September 2007, she decided not to sign another contract with Disney in order to finish her college degree. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from University of San Jose–Recoletos in April 2008, while receiving awards for “Outstanding ETEEAP Graduate” and “Outstanding Project Study.”
Cruise Ships
Also in the spring of 2008, Fegi received an offer from Royal Caribbean International to travel as a featured singer with their cruise line. Her first contract was on board the Radiance of the Seas where she toured Alaska, California, and South America. She renewed her contract and performed on board the Brilliance of the Seas in Europe and the Middle East. Her next contract was on board the Mariner of the Seas, which took her back to Europe for 6 months. Her last contract was to be a part of the take-out cast of the luxury ship Azamara Quest. During this contract she traveled throughout the countries of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
During her time on board cruise ships, Fegi experienced two life threatening incidents. In December 2010 while she was on board the Brilliance of the Seas, the ship was caught in a storm off the coast of Egypt and experienced severe damage after experiencing strong wind and waves. Then again in March 2012, the Azamara Quest experienced a fire in the engine room. The fire was put out, but the ship suffered extensive damages while sailing between the Philippines and Malaysia. Many guests praised the efforts of the crew and the entertainment department, of which Fegi was a member, for keeping spirits high immediately following the near death experience.
For her work on board cruise ships, Fegi was awarded a special citation for “Filipino Recording Artists Championing the World of Cruise Entertainment” at the 2011 AWIT Awards ceremony.
After Cruise Ships
Fegi finished her last contract in May 2012 and has returned to the Philippines where has done a series of concerts and corporate events in both Manila and Cebu. She appeared in the role of “Christmas Eve” in the musical Avenue Q at the Grand Theater at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in September and October 2012. This show was produced by Atlantis Productions. In November, Fegi went back into the studio to record several new, original songs she co-wrote entitled, “Don’t Say You Love Me,” “I Thought I Knew Him So Well,” and “(I Love You)More than Anything.” In 2013, Fegi was chosen by the ABS-CBN television network to appear in a series of nationwide commercials promoting tourism in Cebu. In 2013, Fegi performed with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, appeared on the 18th Anniversary episode of ASAP, the latest version of ABS-CBN’s Himig Handog televised competition held at the Mall of Asia Arena, P-Pop Himig Handog Love Songs, Gary Valenciano’s 30th Anniversary episode of ASAP, as well as several episodes of Wowowillie on the TV5 network.
In July 2013, Fegi began rehearsals with Gantimpala Theater Foundation for an original musical titled “Katipunan,Mga Anak ng Bayan” based on the story of Philippine hero, Andres Bonifacio. The production is directed by famed director Joel Lamangan. The show toured for August and September and is scheduled for a Manila run in November.
Following the devastation of both the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Bohol and Cebu in October 2013 and also the super typhoon Haiyan (locally named Yolanda) in November, Fegi participated in numerous fundraising and benefit shows to help raise money for those affected by the natural disasters. Both events hit close to home for Fegi as she is from Cebu and her parents, a sister, and extended family live in the town of Palompon, Leyte which was directly hit by the super typhoon.
Personal life
Anna Fegi married Adam Brown (from Cincinnati, Ohio) on August 21, 2012 at Sacred Heart Church in Cebu, Philippines. A reception followed at the Radisson Blu hotel. Fegi and Brown met while performing onboard cruise ships where she was a featured singer and he was a drummer and musical director. In September 2012, Fegi’s wedding gown, designed by Philip Rodriguez, was featured as a part of Face-Off’s “Filipino Bridal Heritage Exhibit” held in Manila at both the Dusit Thani Hotel and the Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center.
