Julie Anne most likely successor of Regine

Julie Anne San Jose

Should the rumors prove to be true and Regine Velasquez does end up jumping ship to ABS-CBN, GMA 7 will be left with no veteran female singer on its roster.

Among the younger ones, Julie Anne San Jose is arguably the most popular the Kapuso network has at the moment. Is she ready to step up if the need arises?

“I don’t think about these things—all I want to do is to sing and make the listeners happy. But if I’m given that responsibility, then there would be a bit of weight on my shoulders,” she told the Inquirer at a recent press conference for “Kapusong Pinoy: Paskuhan at Kantawanan sa Anaheim,” a show set on Oct. 7 in the United States.

The 24-year-old singer-actress said she didn’t have an idea if there’s any truth to Regine’s alleged transfer plan. But the idea of not being able to sing with her idol … [in the same show] is saddening.

“Only Ate Reg knows the answer,” she pointed out. “But I will always be here for her, no matter what her decision is. She’s one of my childhood idols. She’s our ate.”

Julie Anne recently released her new album, “Breakthrough” (Universal Records), which features “Ways”—a song she  wrote for her boyfriend, Benjamin Alves.

“I wrote it back when we were just getting to know each other better, and I just felt like I needed to write a song about him. I didn’t think things would turn out the way they did,” she said. “He said he likes the song. I appreciate that very much.”

She revealed that she had never penned a song for any specific person aside from Ben. “He’s the first one. It helps to be inspired, too, because when you write songs, it should always come from the heart,” said Julie Anne, who also stressed that she and Ben were in no rush to take their relationship to the next level.

“What’s important is that we’re enjoying what we have now,” she added. “We’re happy.”

That despite their heavy work loads preventing them from seeing each other as much they would like. “We’re both busy: He’s always up late for his soap. He goes out of town, then heads straight to taping again; I, on the other hand, do shows, promote my album and go on tour. But the important thing is that we have communication,” she said.

Just like any other couple, Julie Ann and Ben have their share of misunderstandings. “I believe those things are normal. Luckily, we haven’t had any big arguments that went on for too long,” she said. “But I know problems can be resolved with a proper conversation.”