Lea Salonga’s name may now be permanently set into Hollywood Boulevard, but for the artists who gathered around her, the star represented something larger than another addition to an already decorated career.
From Hollywood performers who grew up hearing her voice to Filipino artists who watched her build an international career from Manila, tributes poured in after Salonga became the first Filipina to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Tony Award-winning actress and singer received the 2,855th star on September 4 in Los Angeles, under the Live Performance category. Her star is located along Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Pantages Theatre.
Among those paying tribute in person were Brandy, Ming-Na Wen and Filipino-American actor Darren Criss. Grammy and Academy Award winner H.E.R. was also at the ceremony.
But rather than simply recount Salonga’s awards, several of the speakers focused on what her career made possible for artists who came after her.
Brandy: Salonga opened a doorway
Singer and actress Brandy framed Salonga’s influence in terms of representation.
Salonga provided the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin and of Mulan in the animated film Mulan. For Brandy, those performances meant more than memorable Disney songs.
“There are singers who reach notes. Lea reaches hearts and souls,” Brandy said during the ceremony.
She argued that through Jasmine and Mulan, Salonga helped children who did not traditionally see themselves reflected in fairy tales imagine themselves inside those stories.
Brandy ultimately described Salonga’s legacy not simply by the number of times she was first, but by the opportunities that existed after she broke through.
“Who could walk through because she left the doorway open,” she said.
That idea carries particular weight in Salonga’s career.
In 1991, her performance as Kim in Miss Saigon made her the first Asian woman to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Decades later, her Hollywood star places another first beside her name.
Ming-Na Wen honors the other half of Mulan
There was another full-circle reunion at the ceremony.
Ming-Na Wen, who provided Mulan’s speaking voice in Disney’s 1998 animated film while Salonga supplied the character’s singing voice, was there to honor her longtime Disney counterpart.
Wen described Salonga as “fierce, beautiful inside and out, and determined,” while praising the honesty and soul she brings to her singing.
Their appearance together carried an obvious piece of Disney history: millions of viewers heard both women every time Mulan moved from dialogue into song.
More than two decades later, Wen stood beside Salonga as Hollywood formally recognized the singer’s body of work.
Darren Criss: Disney, Broadway and Filipino ‘royalty’
For Darren Criss, the tribute was more personal.
The Filipino-American Broadway actor said Salonga occupied a unique place in three worlds that helped shape him.
“She is Disney royalty. She’s Broadway royalty. She’s Filipino royalty,” Criss said.
Criss, himself a Tony winner, spoke not only about Salonga’s talent but also about the work ethic, discipline, humor and humility he had observed after becoming her friend.
He recalled nights at New York piano bars where Salonga would sing with the same enthusiasm she brought to major stages.
“She loves what she does, and it is a gift to us all,” he said.
His tribute also illustrated Salonga’s impact across generations of Filipino performers.
Salonga’s 1991 Tony victory was a breakthrough for Asian performers on Broadway. Criss would later become the first male performer of Filipino descent to win a Tony Award for acting.
Filipino stars join the celebration
The reaction extended quickly back to the Philippines.
Concert King Martin Nievera, a longtime friend and fellow performer, had already celebrated Salonga before the unveiling, thanking her for continually giving Filipinos “a reason to be proud.”
Salonga responded warmly: “Friend!!! You are too kind!!!”
Following the ceremony, Nievera again expressed his pride, writing that he watched from afar with “tears of pride” as his friend took her place in Hollywood history.
Vina Morales likewise congratulated her former The Voice coach and said she intended to line up for a photo with Salonga’s star when she next visits Los Angeles.
“You continue to inspire us and make our country proud,” Morales wrote.
Anne Curtis kept her reaction succinct, describing Salonga as “The one and only” before offering her congratulations. Singer Lani Misalucha similarly congratulated the Broadway star, while actress Iza Calzado said she was “beaming with pride.”
Journey frontman Arnel Pineda called the recognition a “very very well deserved honor.”
Concert performer Pops Fernandez did more than react from afar. She was in Los Angeles and personally witnessed Salonga receive the star.
A star carrying more than one name
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce itself emphasized that Salonga’s recognition went beyond an individual career milestone.
Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez described her as a “true trailblazer” and said the honor represented a milestone both for Salonga and for the Filipino community, as well as artists who would follow her.
That distinction matters when describing the history being made.
Salonga is the first Filipina to receive a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. She joins a broader group of entertainers with Filipino heritage already represented on the landmark, including Bruno Mars, apl.de.ap and Rob Schneider.
For Salonga, however, the most meaningful measure of the honor appeared to be what someone else might see in it years from now.
During her acceptance speech, she looked beyond her own career and toward an unknown Filipino child who might one day walk the same boulevard.
“I hope that someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name and thinks, ‘Oh, maybe I can get here too,’” Salonga said.
It echoed what her friends and fellow performers had been saying throughout the ceremony.
To many of those celebrating her, the bigger achievement was the path she had already left behind.