MANILA, Philippines -- It seems that American pop hit-maker Connie Francis has finally found the happiness that eluded her at the height of her stardom in the 1960s, and the peace of mind she had sought after a harrowing incident in the ’70s.

Now 69, Francis, who recorded some of the world’s most popular songs in her time -- among them “Who’s Sorry Now,” “Where the Boys Are,” “Tammy” and “Stupid Cupid” -- is still active as a concert performer.

In a phone conversation on Tuesday, she told Philippine Daily Inquirer she was glad to finally visit Manila, among her biggest fan bases, even if it’s just for a one-night Valentine concert on Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Married four times and once romantically linked to another pop icon, Bobby Darin, Francis described her life as “a Greek tragedy.”

“I went through some bad relationships,” she admitted. Looking back, Francis said Darin was her one true love, and not marrying him was “the biggest mistake” of her life.

She had merely obeyed her father, who had insisted that Darin was to be avoided at all costs. “Bobby was hip, cocky, a ladies’ man … so sure of himself,” Francis recalled. They had met in the mid-’50s, when they were both struggling to make it in the business. “My father didn’t want him for me.”

Obedience to her father was also what led her to a music career, Francis said. Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Italian neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, the would-be pop star was made to take accordion lessons at age 3.

“Music was my father’s life,” Francis said. “We were very poor. He wanted me to become an accordion teacher because he loved to play the instrument.”

She was 4 when she first played the accordion in public, at an amusement park in New Jersey. “I hated it,” she recalled. “What I really wanted was to sing like my idol, Patti Page, whose songs I faithfully listened to on the radio.”

Francis pursued her dream. Signed to MGM Records in the mid-’50s, her first nine singles failed to take off. The label considered dropping her.

But in 1958, her cover version of an old hit, “Who’s Sorry Now?” (from the 1946 movie, “A Night in Casablanca”) went straight to No. 4 on the Billboard chart, sold a million copies, spent six weeks at No. 1 in the UK, and made her a worldwide singing sensation.

Francis proceeded to become known primarily for remakes of beloved old standards, delivered in a distinct “sobbing” style. But she also distinguished herself as a flexible vocal stylist, shining in such early rock ‘n’ roll ditties as “Stupid Cupid,” which she recorded after obtaining permission from songwriter Neil Sedaka.

Sedaka subsequently penned what would become her all-time signature hit, “Where the Boys Are.”

The tune became the title song of a 1960s film in which Francis also debuted as an actress. By this time, she had achieved the level of popularity that would translate to hit TV shows and a nine-year stint in Las Vegas.

But her personal life was in shambles.

A marriage in 1964, entered into against his father’s wishes, ended in divorce three months later. A second marriage in 1971 was dissolved after a year, followed by two more unsuccessful unions.

She didn’t bear children of her own. She has an adopted son, now aged 33.

In 1974 Francis was raped in a room of a famous motel chain after a concert in New York. She sued the motel for failing to provide adequate security. And though she won a $3-million indemnity, the incident left such a deep gash in her mind, that she withdrew from the public eye and didn’t sing for seven years.

It was all behind her now, she said. She staged a successful comeback in 1989 and now, she insisted, things “couldn’t be better.” In fact, she just wrote a new song with Sedaka. “We’ll be recording it next week,” she cheerfully announced.

She rued the fact that this was only her first time to perform in the Manila. “I remember getting so much fan mail from the Philippines,” she said. “Well, better late than never!”

She is set to perform her trademark heartache songs as well as the happy, upbeat ones. Darin had taught her a lot, she said, in terms of singing technique. “And he taught me how to sing rock ‘n’ roll.”

And then for a few seconds, Connie sounded pensive. “Bobby...,” she sighed, “we broke each other’s hearts.”