A post shared by Catriona Gray (@catriona_gray) on May 1, 2018 at 5:52am PDT

MANILA – Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray recently opened up about two persons she admires the most, and one of them is a well-known singer-actress in the country.

In an exclusive interview with Metro.Style, Gray revealed that she considers Tony winner Lea Salonga as one of her biggest inspirations.

“I grew up listening to her voice on the cassette tapes of ‘Miss Saigon’ which is my dad’s favorite musical, and it so happens to be mine as well,” said Gray, a singer who earned a Certificate in Music Theory from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

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“She really connected to me in the music sense. Even though I was really young – I didn’t understand the message of ‘Miss Saigon,’ obviously, it’s a bit mature for a young girl, and I didn’t even know what the words she was singing meant. [But] As soon as I heard her, something connected to me,” she added.

A post shared by Lea Salonga (@msleasalonga) on Jun 11, 2017 at 10:03pm PDT

“She (Salonga) was this young Filipina who just brought all the eyes of the world to the Philippines and Asia. As a little girl who was interested in music, she was an inspiration.”

Aside from Salonga, Gray also looks up to her father, saying she has seen him “overcome so many things.”

“I’ve seen him put himself in situations that are not nice just to provide for us as a family. He’s always so wise, and no matter what challenge or difficulty we go through – or he goes through – he has this amazing mindset that he can be everything, and so far he has,” she said. “For me, growing up, seeing that in my life, it’s very inspirational.”

A post shared by Clint Bondad (@clintbondad) on Apr 2, 2018 at 10:46pm PDT

Gray is set to represent the Philippines in this year’s Miss Universe pageant.

Prior to winning the Miss Universe Philippines 2018 crown, she was named Miss World Philippines in 2016.

“I didn’t want to have a regret. ‘What if I joined? What if I could’ve gotten Miss Universe Philippines?’ I hope my story inspires other people, too. A lot of people are trying to put you down, but you can always break through it. The only person who can decide on your fate is you,” she said.