Thirty years after three friends formed a singing trio on screen, two of them walked onto the stage at SM Mall of Asia Arena to sing with the third. On Oct. 17, the first night of FINALE, former singer-actress Donna Cruz and former actress and 2002 Asian Games equestrian gold medalist Mikee Cojuangco joined Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez onstage and sang “I Can” together, the signature song of the 1996 film that made them a trio. FINALE is the concert series Velasquez has described as her last major solo show, and on its first night DoReMi was whole again.
DoReMi turns 30 this year, and FINALE marks four decades of Velasquez’s career. Fans have kept the trio alive in the meantime: a fan-made poster for an imagined reunion film made the rounds online on the movie’s 20th anniversary.
Three Friends Named After the Notes
The title is a pun on the musical scale and on the leads’ first names: DOnna, REgine, MIkee. In the film, Velasquez plays a self-described lola’s (grandmother’s) girl, Cojuangco is a tomboy who supports her family, and Cruz is a spoiled rich girl who gets pulled into their musical trio. Viva Records produced the soundtrack, and its theme song, “I Can,” is the one fans still link to the three of them.
A Reunion Every Few Years
Before 2017, the reunions were partial. At a 2016 mall show in Cebu, Velasquez spotted Cruz in the audience and called her up for an impromptu duet of “I Can,” and the two said they missed Cojuangco. The trio’s last full reunion on a stage before FINALE came on Oct. 21 and 22, 2017, at R3.0, Velasquez’s 30th-anniversary concert at this same arena. Cruz and Cojuangco joined her for “I Can,” with Velasquez’s son Nate, then six, singing along. Fans reportedly gave that number the loudest cheers of the night.
Since then, the three have mostly met in pairs or offstage. In February 2023, Cojuangco and Velasquez reunited at Solo, Velasquez’s concert residency at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati. In April 2024, Cruz and Cojuangco watched Regine Rocks: The Repeat at the Mall of Asia Arena and posed for a photo with Velasquez. Cruz’s husband, Yong Larrazabal, posted it with the caption “DoReMi reunited!”, and Cruz used the moment to greet Velasquez on her 54th birthday. Velasquez answered with her nickname for Cruz: “Love you Doingks.”
On Oct. 17, all three were on the same stage again, and they sang “I Can” together, as fans and concert-goers filled social media with clips of the number and the other moments that moved them most.
The Last Big One
FINALE runs Oct. 17, 18 and 19 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. It was planned as two nights, a ticketed show on Oct. 17 and a free one on Oct. 18. The first sold out in 45 minutes and the free night’s tickets were claimed in nine, so iMusic Entertainment, Velasquez’s management, added Oct. 19. All three nights are sold out. Paolo Valenciano directs the show, with Raul Mitra as musical director. Velasquez has said she is not retiring from singing and that FINALE is her last large-scale solo concert. SONGBIRD: A Regine Velasquez Documentary Film, which follows her career and the preparations for the show, is slated for 2027 from iMusic Entertainment and GOAT Creative Studios.
She opened the last big run of her concert career with the two friends she formed a trio with 30 years ago.
FINALE at a Glance
- Dates: Oct. 17 (ticketed), Oct. 18 (free, via SM Tickets pre-registration), Oct. 19 (added date); all three sold out
- Venue: SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City
- Director: Paolo Valenciano; musical director Raul Mitra