Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid believes there is something about a live performance that even the clearest fan-recorded video cannot fully capture.

During the press conference for her FINALE concert, Regine shared her thoughts about concertgoers recording entire performances and uploading them online. While acknowledging that the practice has become almost impossible to prevent, the OPM icon admitted she is personally not in favor of it.

“I don’t think we can avoid it,” Regine said.

One of her concerns is that videos recorded on mobile phones may not accurately represent what audiences actually hear and experience inside a concert venue.

“Personally, I don’t like it because one, the sound is awful,” she explained.

Regine also observed that performances posted online sometimes invite viewers to scrutinize every note rather than appreciate the show as a whole.

“I really believe na ’yung internet audience doesn’t want to be entertained because they’re actually judges. They just want to judge, they don’t really want to watch,” she said. “They want to nitpick the performance.”

For the veteran singer, the imperfections of a live show are precisely what make the experience authentic. Unlike a studio recording, performing before an audience involves adrenaline, breathing, emotion and occasional vocal imperfections.

“A performance shouldn’t be judged, especially a live performance. You cannot compare a live performance to a recorded one,” Regine stressed.

She explained that singers are human and mistakes can happen onstage. But those unscripted moments can also carry the emotion and heart that make a live performance memorable.

“A live performance has adrenaline. You breathe, you have flats and sharps, but at the same time, with all those imperfections, doon nanggagaling ’yung feelings. Doon nanggagaling ’yung puso,” she said.

Regine also encouraged audiences to consider putting their phones down instead of spending an entire performance watching through a small screen.

“How do you actually feel the live impact of the song if you’re holding a phone?” she asked, adding that concertgoers can better absorb the music when they allow themselves to be fully present.

For Regine, watching a recording afterward simply cannot recreate the atmosphere and emotion shared between a performer and a live audience.

“You’re not going to be able to feel that same feeling,” she maintained. “That’s just my personal opinion.”

Regine is preparing to bring that live experience to the SM Mall of Asia Arena for her sold-out three-night FINALE concert on October 17, 18 and 19.