Video: Lea Salonga Is Repeating 'Sounding Joy' This Holiday Season

Are you ready

It's the Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon. You know, Broadway World, I was going to say she's like a national treasure here

but she's like a world treasure. And when I hear her sing, I just boo-hoo cry because I have so many memories

If it's the helicopter coming down over at the Broadway of Miss Saigon, if it's Jasmine, if it's Moulon, if it's, he realized

love. It's everything. She's a voice that has raised us theater kids out here. And her Christmas

album, everybody, is so absolutely stunning. Clay Aiken was here the other day. And I told Clay

you all better sing Leah Salonga and Clay Akin are singing on the holiday album, sounding joy

Leah Salonga's here. And we are so honored to have her. Welcome to the roundtable

Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here on this very gray day in New York City

It is a great. And you are going to be everywhere from the Thanksgiving Day parade on down

singing holiday music. How's it feel to release this album? Oh, my gosh

It feels, well, since we started recording this in 2020, and now it's 2024

and we've all been through the COVID pandemic, the global COVID-19 pandemic

and have emerged on the other side, hopefully not taking anything for granted

it feels actually much more joyful to be releasing it now versus if we were going to release it in 2020

I think it would have felt like a more normal holiday album that a lot of artists release at the end of the year

But because of what everybody went through, what everyone involved in the making of this album have been through in their own individual lives

it feels much more joyful to be releasing it after what we've all been through together and individually

It's, yeah, the joy is joying in this album. And I think that all of us feel a greater sense of holiday spirit

and also remembering who we have lost along the way in the pandemic

and just in the last however many years since we started recording this

So it's, it's, yeah. So it feels incredible to be releasing this now, finally

after so many years of, you know, starting and then having to shelve it

and then now getting to release it, getting to finish it, and finally release it

It feels really good. Well, it's been on repeat in my house. Nobody has the pitch and control that was on

It's also recorded. But yeah, we didn't use any, we actually did not use any pitch correcting anything

As Gerard Salonga, who's my younger brother and one of our producers, he's like, yeah, you don't need it

So why are we going to use it? Well, that is words that have never been said to me

So no one has ever said you don't need pitch corrector in the studio

If you want to see why she doesn't need pitch corrector, you can see her on tour. She's going to be doing a holiday tour

I'm sorry San Francisco and New York, but the shows are sold out. But if you're in Arizona, San Diego, or Northridge, California

you can get a ticket. What is a live show going to be for the holiday? How do you pick what you're going to sing for the holiday shows

How do we pick what we're going to sing? And my hair is doing something janky at the moment

You look fantastic. Thank you. Thank you. I think it's also the light coming in through the window of my apartment

I think we're doing most, if not all of the songs on the album, and then some

And then some other holiday favorites things that I performed in holiday shows past that just felt right to include I mean there this one Jonas Brothers song and I sang it at a holiday show

in Dubai in 2021. And I, and I sang it at a holiday show in Dubai

I enjoyed it so much, so I've asked to include it for this tour

And it's jaunty, it's fun. It's very lively and it's light. And I just like the song so much

So stuff like that. A few other classic holiday favorites. I think a Jonas Brothers number is on brand because if we've been following your career

and we remember this album, there's a big old boy band medley on there

So we know her boy band. I am. So what does it mean now

How did you pick these songs that are on the album? Well, I didn't get to pick them all

There were quite a few of us that, you know, decided on what the song list for the album was going to be

For example, Josh Pultz, who's one of the other producers, brought River

And I had never heard it. I had never heard Joni Mitchell or Edina Mansell or any other artists

that had recorded it in the, past. So when I heard it, I was like, oh my God, we definitely absolutely need to have that

on this album because, you know, the holidays aren't always just, you know, tensile and lights

and get-togethers and food, so much food. Sometimes it's melancholy and loneliness and feelings

of loss and isolation. So, you know, to lean into a melancholy holiday song makes a lot of sense because there are a lot of folks

who understand only too well that sometimes the holidays bring emotions that aren't always so happy

or so joyful. So it makes absolute sense to include stuff that isn't always, you know

what we think of as holiday material. So I love River and even all I want for Christmas is you

We lean into how sad the song actually is. When we listen to, you know, other versions of the song

that kind of have it, you know, beautifully produced and when we hear the jingle bells in the background

but if you listen to those lyrics, not a happy song. So we really ask

So when we were in the studio and my brother was supervising that, recordings like, no, really, really lean into, you know, read those lyrics

And, and, you know, this is not Mariah. This is you, this is you interpreting this song

And so, you know, I guess his directive was, you make people cry for a living

So bring that into this. And so I. Yeah, leaned into the sadder emotions that that song can contain

So, yeah. That's how I feel. You make me cry for a live. Like, your living makes me cry

I hear you cry. Buhu cry. Dying on stage. Dying on stage eight times a week

It's how I became known on Broadway in the first two Broadway shows I've ever done

namely Miss Saigon and Leemez. Yeah, gunshot dead. So, you know, I make light of it

But yeah, I die on stage for everything. Well, what I loved about something like

all I want for Christmas is you is A, your emotions and your voice. But then there are songs that I've never heard before

that are on the album that are not necessarily classics to what I think of when I think of a Christmas number And you have a song that I been listening to all and all and over again Love is our Christmas star is one of the most

Oh my goodness. The song is so beautiful. Isn't it so beautiful? Yeah. It's actually, given where I'm from, I'm from the Philippines, I definitely wanted to include something from a songwriter from home

Her name is Trina Belamide. and she has written quite a few hits, pop hits over at home

And this song came and she, you know, she and I have been wanting to work together on something

but it just never happened. And now here it is. And so we have been sitting on that song for the last four years because that was one of the songs

that was recorded before the lockdowns happened. So we've been sitting on that for four years

and, you know, with each stage of recording and production, I would sort of let her listen to things, even if it wasn't mixed

and if we bump into each other, like, oh, listen to this, this is what we just got. And so, yeah, but now it's obviously very public

and everybody is getting to hear it and appreciate it. So I'm so glad that now she gets to be a part of something that I have released

that we have actually gotten to work together. on an original song

and that it's being loved and appreciated wherever, you know, folks are streaming and listening to it

Well, it's out. You know, the album is out what we're talking about. Spotify and Apple Music and wherever else

And you can also buy the physical album on Amazon and order it from center stage

And yes, layaselanga.com. And we will lead you to sounding joy. And there's, I think, also, like a limited copy of autographed

CDs. So yeah. So they did such a beautiful job. Everybody over at

Center Stage from Robbie to everybody that builds these albums and makes the designs them, they do

such a beautiful job. And you talk about a song that's perfect

for you theater fans out there like me who have been abhorring Leia Salamber

Christmas on Broadway is another song. Yes. Where did you find it? What made you record

I know why you recorded. It's perfect. Yeah. It makes absolute sense, given

what I do for a living with dying on stage eight times a week. But seriously, actually, the song was written by Daniel Edmonds, who is currently the music director over at the Great Gatsby at the Broadway theater

So a little shout out to him. And he and I had worked together quite a bit in Australia, which is where we met

So he was playing piano for my concerts whenever I would concertize in Australia

So he is a friend of all three of us who produced the album

He's a friend of Gerard. He's a friend of Josh's. And so we solicited, I believe

I'm sure that we asked if he was going to write us

if he would write a song. And here came Christmas on Broadway

And he, I think by the time, he was already music directing

for a lot of the Broadway musicals that had arrived in Australia

I know that when there was one year when we worked together, he was the musical director of Beautiful, the Australian production of it

So this guy has chops and talent and really knows his stuff and is, you know, a musical

it's definitely a musical theater guy. So he wrote this song and it was like, okay, yeah, we have to include it

It's gorgeous. And it kind of makes sense now that he's actually a

Broadway musical director and he was also, I think, Jason Howland's associate on Shucked

So this is not his first Broadway rodeo. So it actually it so fitting that this guy who now actually a musical director and a force to reckon with on Broadway has contributed a tune And after we recorded Christmas on Broadway we worked together on a single that was recorded

with the pandemic in mind called Dream Again. The lyrics were by Blair Bodine

And we sang it with the hope that we would come out of this on the other side and be able

to do the things that we love to do, as in for real

You know, it's amazing to me because we had the chance. You were in the Philippines and we had the chance to speak when you released that live album during

Right. We were on a show called Quarantine Cabaret and Cocktails, and we got to speak about it

And we were talking about praying to get out and praying about getting together and praying to be able to be together once again

And now these holidays and family takes on such a different meaning in this time

Yes, actually. You travel a lot from your home. You're in the U.S

You were just in the U.K. You tore around this world. I'm sure that when you think of the holidays and putting out an album like this

has to bring back a lot of memories, a lot of time to be home. What do you think of now when you

put this out? How are you going to be celebrating your holidays this year? Oh, it's kind of like

back to normal. Actually, our holidays pretty much return to what they've always been

since, I guess, 2021, 2022, where we would get together at my mother's house and just eat ourselves

into a stupor. Same. You know, and that would be it where, you know, Nick and the cousins

it would all get together and just hang out. And now they're all teenagers

So I guess it's a little different, but the three of them have thankfully remained

really, really close. And the three of them were all together in the UK while I was touring

The three of them were gallivanting and adventuring and, you know, taking trains with my sister

and law and just being able to do their own little thing around the UK

So, yeah, so that is what the plan is. Yes, I have the now very much sold out concert at Town Hall in the 20th

Yeah, and then off we go to the Philippines for a holiday with my mom and my brother

and I think there's supposed to be some sort of culinary class war happening in my kitchen

in my house. So there's supposed to be some sort of showdown between a couple of my friends

and then the rest of us get to enjoy the fruits of their labor and eat again ourselves into a stupor

with alcohol. So I think we're just, yeah. So I mean, I've got my holiday pretty much planned. My kitchen was just

renovated and I've had pictures coming out on Instagram and I'm just so happy with it all

So yeah, I'm just having friends over and they're going to cook and, you know, break in the

appliances and yeah, we're just all going to have a good time

That's, that's, yeah, and this is the same group of friends that we would get together on Zoom

over the pandemic and just shoot the breeze and drink together and laugh

and play games, and we kept ourselves from going insane during the pandemic

So I value this group of people so much. So yeah, we're all going to get together in person

I mean, we've gotten together in person quite a few times already. So this won't be the first time, but whenever we do get together, it's pretty amazing

Well, you'll be a part of our holiday, and we're so grateful to spend time with you. We adore you

The album is out, everybody. You can get it. It's sound, enjoy the holiday album

Go to layasolanga. stream it wherever you hear music. Leis Salanga, you're welcome here anytime

You give us so much. Thank you. We can't wait to see you back on Broadway in the new year

Yes, and old friends in March, it starts. Oh my gosh. We'll see you on the right carpet at MTCC

Awesome. Thank you. Merry Christmas. Thank you for being here. You're the best

Thank you so much for having me