“Cats” star Lea Salonga thinks not everyone has the right to release an album.

In an interview with Paparazzi, July 11, on the segment “Answer Mo,” Salonga didn’t name names but shot down celebrities who can’t sing a note yet insist on releasing albums.

“Let’s call a spade a spade. If you can’t sing don’t release an album. It’s that simple,” said she.

“I don’t care kung gaano ka kaguwapo, kung gaano ka kaganda o kung gaano ka ka-popular. Kung hindi ka marunong kumanta, wala kang karapatang kumanta, ‘wag ka na lang mag-release ng album.”

But it doesn’t stop there. “Kung hindi ka marunong kumanta, kahit karaoke ‘wag na lang,” she maintained.

Ironically, Salonga was once in a "love team" with Aga Muhlach—a popular actor known for releasing a few less-than-superb vocal outings.

Meanwhile, Salonga asserted that fellow singers should continue the pursuit of “excellence.”

“'Puwede na' can never be 'puwede na'. It has to be excellent. It doesn’t have to be perfect but it does have to be excellent.”

Salonga is best known for her role in the popular musical “Miss Saigon,” for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World Awards, on her way to being the first to win various international awards for a single role.

She was the first Asian to play Eponine as well as the first Asian to play Fantine in the musical “Les Misérables” on Broadway. Her excellent singing voice was also featured in a couple of Disney animated movies.

Beginning July 24, Lea will have her much-awaited appearance as Grizabella in the limited Manila run of “Cats,” the second longest-running musical in Broadway history, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Lea appears alongside an international cast from Australia and the UK.