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Lea Salonga performs at White House state dinner for South Korean president

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E. Kristhoff Cagape

<p>Filipino Broadway star Lea Salonga performed at the White House state dinner for South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol.</p><p>Lea took to social media to express her gratitude to be part of the event.</p><p>&quot;Oh what a night!!! This was my first time to perform for a state dinner at the White House! Thank you, @michaelarden for asking me to be part of it!&quot; she posted on her Instagram page.</p><p>Fans of the singer were quick to congratulate her online.</p><p>&quot;Proud! ❤️ Such a Philippines pride always bringing honor to our country @msleasalonga 👏👏 World class talent!❤️&quot; one fan said.</p><p>&quot;So proud of you, Lea! Beyond amazing!&quot; another fan said.</p><p>&quot;Congrats Lea! You&#x27;re definitely a world class Filipina talent, for decades more to come 🎉 keep inspiring,&quot; another fan wrote.</p><iframe class="instagram-media" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cri6oRYubf2/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=506&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A899979.0999999046%2C%22ls%22%3A35760.89999961853%2C%22le%22%3A35781.59999990463%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="0" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px;min-width:326px;padding:0px;position:absolute"></iframe><blockquote class=" instagram-media-registered" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cri6oRYubf2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" id="instagram-media-payload-2" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cri6oRYubf2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><br/></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cri6oRYubf2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Lea Salonga (@msleasalonga)</a></div></div></blockquote><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Lea performed with Norm Lewis and Jessica Vosk at the state dinner.</p><p>In an interview with NBC News, Lea remarked that she was proud to represent Asian talent at the event.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m beyond honored to have been invited by President and Doctor Biden to perform at the White House,&quot; she said.</p><p>The Pinoy singer added: &quot;As we head into AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage month, Asian Americans continuing to be represented on a global scale is so important, and I&#x27;m grateful for the opportunity to help in that representation at such an important event.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2022/10/4/fresh-scoops/lea-on-receiving-the-time100-impact-award-202871"><strong>READ: Lea Salonga on receiving the Time100 Impact Award: ‘I want to share this with my fellow entertainers’</strong></a></div><p>President Suk-Yeol alongside Lady Kim Keon-hee were on a state visit in the US to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the US and South Korea.</p><p>Lea&#x27;s performance at the US state dinner was just one among the many amazing feats that the singer achieved in recent months.</p><p>Back in October of last year, Lea received the Time100 Impact Award.</p><p>In an interview with ABS-CBN after receiving the award, Lea dedicated the award for all entertainers who brought joy to many people online during the pandemic lockdown.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfYwsgusXOg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfYwsgusXOg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><br/></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfYwsgusXOg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Lea Salonga (@msleasalonga)</a></div></div></blockquote><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>“In some places in the world, yeah artista ka lang. But in the last two and a half years, I think a lot of artists need to be told, ‘You have no idea what you’ve been able to do for people who were stuck at home looking for joy.’ There are people that did it, in a huge scale like BTS who did an online concert that people all over the world got to see. Or even people creating content who end up getting uploaded on TikTok, or YouTube, or via Zoom doing live events, or Facebook Live or whatever platform,&quot; she stated.</p><p>“Even though the Impact award has my name at the bottom, it’s like a glass frame. Even though it’s got my name at the bottom, I might as well etch every single entertainers’ name on that frame for anybody and everybody,&quot; she added. </p><p>Lea rose to international prominence at the age of 18 when she bagged the lead role in West End&#x27;s <em>Miss Saigon.</em> She won various awards for her performance at the said musical including a Tony Award.</p><p>The Filipino singer also became the singing voices of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan. She performed &quot;A Whole New World&quot; in <em>Aladdin </em>and &quot;Reflection&quot; in <em>Mulan. </em></p>

<p>Lea Salonga performed with Norm Lewis and Jessica Vosk at the White House state dinner for the South Korea president.</p>

Lea Salonga performed with Norm Lewis and Jessica Vosk at the White House state dinner for the South Korea president.

Lea Salonga performs at White House state dinner for South Korean president

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Lea Salonga performs at White House state dinner for South Korean president

Toff C.

Published Apr 29, 2023 09:41 AM PHT

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