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The singing tycoon

APPARENTLY, 'BETTER late than never' is George Yang’s motto, at least where his music is concerned.

For all that the tycoon came to it late in life, he sure has taken to it like a fish to water—that is, if his new CD Always Yang: Timeless Songs By George Yang is any indication. "I’ve always known I could sing," he reveals. "It’s just that I never did anything about it because for the longest time, my focus was on finishing school and going into business."

It is only now that he has built his empire—he is the man to whom Filipinos owe their daily McDonald’s fix, since he brought the fast food chain to the Philippines—that he is able to pursue music full-time. "Now I have more time for singing, because my children can take over my business for me," he says. George says his family is fully supportive of his decision. "My wife and my other relatives are cheering me on."

Distributed by Universal Records, the album is a delightful mix of classical music, show tunes and standards. Of its 16 tracks, 11 are in Italian, including O Sole Mio, composed by Giovanni Capuo and Eduardo di Capua. George’s take on Nessun Dorma—the aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot; it is one of the more well-known tenor arias—also appears on the album. He also recorded an Italian-language version of Unchained Melody, titled Senza Catene.

To help listeners appreciate the meaning of the Italian songs, the CD comes with a lyric sheet that includes English translations. The last five tracks on the album are all in English. Covers of I’ll Be Seeing You, Once Upon A Time, Stardust and All I Ask Of You from the Broadway musical Phantom of the Opera—one of two songs on which George sings with his vocal coach, internationally acclaimed soprano Rachelle Gerodias—round out the tracklist.