00:00Can you hear me? I'm just checking.
00:05Thank you so much. Okay, this is surreal.
00:09This is... okay.
00:13I have walked down this street many times.
00:17I've stepped on a lot of famous people.
00:20And now people get to step on me.
00:24Which feels strangely appropriate for a show business.
00:31I love a full circle moment.
00:34But truly, to see my name here,
00:37to know that it will be here forever,
00:42is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around.
00:47Because long before Hollywood, long before Broadway,
00:51there was Manila.
00:58If you had told seven-year-old Lea Salonga,
01:01making her stage debut in a production of The King and I in the Philippines,
01:07that nearly 50 years later,
01:09she would be standing on Hollywood Boulevard
01:13in front of this iconic theater,
01:17surrounded by so many wonderful friends,
01:20family, and colleagues,
01:23receiving a star on the Walk of Fame,
01:26she would have said,
01:27Ha, what's that?
01:31I was a little girl...
01:35I got the accent just right.
01:37I was a little girl in the Philippines
01:39who loved to sing and perform.
01:42I started working when I was very young,
01:45and I certainly didn't have some grand plan
01:49for how any of this was supposed to unfold.
01:52I just knew that I loved doing it.
01:55This career has taken me to places I never imagined I would go,
02:01introduced me to some extraordinary people,
02:04and allowed me to keep doing what I love.
02:08There's something funny about a star like this,
02:12because there's only room for one name.
02:16Mine.
02:20But no career is ever the work of just one person.
02:24So if they made this star big enough,
02:26there would be a lot of other names on it.
02:29My family, first and foremost.
02:32My mother, who...
02:34Yeah.
02:36The ones that know her well.
02:39Who was there from the very beginning,
02:41using her hard-earned money to record my first album.
02:44She loaded pressed vinyls into our family car
02:48and went door-to-door to stores back home selling copies.
02:52She was my manager for decades,
02:55my champion my whole life.
02:58None of this happens without her.
03:00My brother,
03:02my first duet partner,
03:05my favorite accompanist,
03:07and the finest musician I know.
03:09My son,
03:11who is back east,
03:14having just started his own journey
03:16into the world of acting and entertainment.
03:19He is an inspiration,
03:22the bravest person I've ever met,
03:26my proudest production,
03:28today and always.
03:35There would be the people who have
03:38loved me,
03:40shown up for me,
03:41like all y'all out here.
03:47Supported me,
03:47protected me,
03:48encouraged me,
03:50told me the truth when I needed to hear it,
03:52and occasionally reminded me that
03:55there actually is a life outside of show business.
03:59There would be the teachers who taught me,
04:02the directors who trusted me,
04:05the composers and lyricists
04:07who gave me extraordinary words and music to sing,
04:11the actors I've had the privilege
04:13of standing beside,
04:15the musicians who have made me sound
04:17so much better than I have any right to,
04:20the crews who somehow make everything work,
04:25the people who have represented me
04:27and fought for me
04:28and helped me navigate this very strange business,
04:32and of course,
04:34the audiences.
04:36Some of you have met me as Kim,
04:40some as Eponine
04:42or Fantine,
04:45some of you heard my voice coming out of
04:48Princess Jasmine or Mulan,
04:53before you had any idea who I was.
04:57And some of you
04:58have stayed with me through all of it.
05:06I also can't stand here today
05:09without thinking about where I come from.
05:13When I began my career,
05:15I didn't see very many people
05:17who looked like me
05:18doing the things I dreamed of doing
05:21on the world's biggest stages and screens.
05:24There wasn't an obvious road.
05:27I was incredibly fortunate
05:29that there were people
05:31who opened doors for me,
05:33who took chances on me,
05:35and who saw what I might be capable of.
05:39And over the years,
05:41I have watched that world
05:42begin to change.
05:45Not enough,
05:47not completely,
05:49but it has changed.
05:51There are so many extraordinary
05:53Filipino and Asian artists
05:56working today,
05:57telling our stories,
05:59playing roles we once could have
06:01never imagined being offered,
06:03and creating new opportunities
06:05for future generations.
06:08That means an enormous amount to me.
06:11I hope that someday
06:14a young Filipino kid
06:16comes to Hollywood,
06:18sees my name,
06:19and thinks,
06:21oh,
06:23maybe I can get here too.
06:31So to everyone who has been part
06:33of this very improbable career
06:36and journey,
06:37thank you.
06:40And thank you to the
06:41Hollywood Chamber of Commerce,
06:43the Manila International Film Festival,
06:45and everyone responsible
06:47for this incredible honor.
06:49I will treasure it.
06:51And to everyone who walks down
06:53Hollywood Boulevard
06:54in the years ahead,
06:57please feel free to step on me.
07:00Maraming maraming salamat.
07:07What an extraordinary journey
07:10this has been.
07:12And the best part is,
07:15I'm not done yet.
