Ladine Roxas’ love affair with music

Life for Ladine Roxas is perhaps never complete without melodies and harmonies. You see, even after she lay low in performing in music lounges in hotels, Ladine has been constantly involved in making music and discovering singing gems.

Ladine didn’t shy away from her great love for music even at the height of the coronavirus pandemic which caused the shutdown of her and husband Vehnee Saturno’s recording studio and training center.

“Music was a big part of my life when I was growing up. That’s why, I never stop singing basta kanta lang ako ng kanta kahit noong pandemic, and I teach also. We had that training center for almost eight years but since we have a built-in studio in the house, we still get to do things even during lockdown,” shared Ladine. “Si Vehnee kasi hindi mo ‘yan mapapahinto sa pagsulat ng kanta while me, I teach online. I hold tutorial lessons on voice online which I started since we closed our training center.”

The online voice lessons turned out to be the best option for aspiring singers who wanted to be coached by Ladine who has been around the music industry for over two decades now.

“I have students from the US, Italy, Australia, London, Qatar, and Japan aside from my Filipino students,” narrated Ladine who was equally proud of her former students who carved out a niche in the local music scene, among them are Esang de Torres, Zephanie Dimaranan, Darren Espanto, Marielle Montellano, Janine Berdin, Sheena Belarmino, and Daryl Ong.

These days, Ladine is not solely focused on teaching but also several other music-related concerns. She brings DJs to Edsa Shangri-La Hotel for its poolside show on weekends as well as providing performers for the hotel’s special events.

“This is my third year with them and just this month, there was an offer for me. I might be doing a show again with them but nothing is final yet since we did our presentation last June. The last time I performed at Shangri-La was in 2022 for the New Year countdown. This time, I might take centerstage for the countdown but we are still working out things like the band that will be performing for the dinner music before the countdown.”

Ladine recalled that after her gig in the hotel New Year countdown, her longing to return to mainstream music grew stronger. “Hindi naman ako tumigil kumanta. It just so happened that I refrained from doing shows because I was tied up to teaching na masyado kong na-enjoy.”

She knew that collaborating with other artists was a fitting idea for her music “comeback.” Thus, she initially did a collab song with Vehnee, followed by a joint music venture with Marielle Mantellano that both took place during the pandemic.

“The idea was to come up with 10 collabs,” declared Ladine. “Now that we are back to normal, it’s a good time to come up with a new song called Within, a collaboration with Kris Lawrence,” said Ladine.

Composed by Vehnee’s daughter Popsie, Within is about choosing to remain silent despite the pain that one is feeling inside to avoid conflict.

“It’s not like suffering in silence but you just prefer not to let the person know that you are hurting inside because you are avoiding conflict or confrontation. So instead of being vocal, you’re just trying to make that person notice what you are going through,” said Ladine of Within, which is now available on such music streaming platforms as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. It is released under Vehnee Saturno Music.

Discover more of Ladine through the Q&A below. Read on.

What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up each morning?

“I thank the Lord for waking me up. I always say thank you to God, especially since after what happened to us during the pandemic. I also pray that my day will be full of positivity.”

What makes you happy?

“My family and that is Vehnee and my puppy (laughs) because we don’t have a child, so I’m a fur mom to Baby Jacob. Of course, my mom and siblings also make me happy, plus my songs and my passion for teaching.”

What is your family like?

“Konti lang kami, apat lang kaming magkakapatid. That’s why our mom always asks us to come home to Bataan on special occasions to be together kasi close kami at importante kasi sa akin ‘yung nakita ko sa nanay ko na nag-set ng example na dapat mabait ka and if you can help others, just do so.”

What do you think about life?

“Life is very precious and the best gift that we can give is to take care of our life. You know God gave us this life and it’s our responsibility to take care of it, kung paano natin gagamitin sa mabuti, so we can be a blessing to others.”

What are you doing when you are alone?

“I love to cook, organize my house, practice my songs, and take care of my puppy. Si Vehnee pinagluluto ko siya ng Hainanese chicken rice, it’s his favorite, plus my menudo and kare-kareng pata.”

What is your greatest fear?

“To leave this world without showing or telling my loved ones how much they mean to me.”

What has been the most important lesson you learned in life?

“That we have to cherish every moment that is spent with the people we love. We have to be grateful for all the blessings that we receive from the Lord.”

What is your love language?

“I’m such a hugger. I love hugging people who are dear to me.”

What has been your greatest learning in terms of your music career?

“It is important that you should always remember that the gift of music comes from God and I treasure it not just for my own but I share my talent with others.”

Who are the Top 3 artists on your music playlist?

“I love listening to Pink, Ariana Grande, and Olivia Rodrigo because I love the way they sing and also, I get to pick up ideas on the style of their songwriting.”