Raymond Lauchengco and Sharon Cuneta | Image: Facebook/Raymond Lauchengco
Actor-singer Raymond Lauchengco has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Megastar Sharon Cuneta for her instrumental role in shaping his career.
In a lengthy social media post following the success of his 40th anniversary concert recently, Lauchengco credited Cuneta for providing guidance and opening up opportunities that helped him break into the competitive entertainment industry.
“Not too many people know that I have the Megastar herself, Sharon Cuneta, to thank for my start in show business. That happened because back in the day, Sharon was a student of my father (his favorite one), and one day, she saw my picture on his desk while she was in his office. Next thing I knew, she had set up a meeting for me with Boss Vic Del Rosario of Viva Films, and soon after, I was cast in her movies and given all these beautiful songs to record under Vicor Records. All because of Sharon,” he began his caption.
Lauchengco admitted that the Megastar was his first serious “showbiz crush,” but their chemistry is better described as that of a brother and sister.
“But the bigger story is that Sharon was my first serious showbiz crush! I used to go to sleep with my Walkman headphones listening to her songs. So can you imagine what a thrill it was for me to finally meet her, act out scenes with her, and sing duets with her at her concerts! And to be honest, we had great chemistry together. The chemistry of… brother and sister. To this day, with my silver hair and all, she still calls me her baby bro,” he expressed.
Making beautiful music together
Given Cuneta’s contribution to his career, Lauchengco shared that he has invited her to sing at his recent concert “Just Got Lucky,” but the former was unable to go due to a scheduled concert abroad with her ex-husband Gabby Concepcion.
Despite the Megastar’s physical absence on the show, the duo were able to come up with a solution to make Cuneta part of the production through an interactive video duet.
“Come concert night, without anyone in the audience knowing, I thanked Sharon for discovering me and said: So there I was, not knowing what show business had in store for an 18-year-old kid with nothing more than a hope and a dream in a world full of stars. Then I started to sing a song from a Sharon movie that I was a part of— ‘Bukas Luluhod ang mga Tala,’ which Marvin Querido had rearranged masterfully. Stars in a dreamy night sky filled all the screens, beautiful shafts of light poignantly lit the stage, and Sharon appeared as the audience gushed,” he narrated.
During the concert, Lauchengco was also surprised by his “Bagets” co-stars Aga Muhlach, Herbert Bautista, Eula Valdez, Yayo Aguila, William Martinez, and Monching Guttierez, who joined the singer for the performance of “Just Got Lucky,” delighting the 80s concertgoers.