How Jed won the hearts of Vancouverites

Jed Madela has just returned from a successful tour of Canada. Here in the words of Rodrigo Juatco of the PhilAsian Chronicle was how he conquered the hearts of Filipinos in Vancouver:

“Rain…rain go away. Come again another day. Little Vancouverites want to play.” This twist on a popular nursery rhyme is often recited by people living in Vancouver who are known for having a beautiful city and loads of RAIN.

Thankfully, rain wasn’t on the minds of Filipinos when Jed came to perform in Beyond Expectations Canada Tour at River Rock Casino last Feb. 4. Producers Roque and Janice Lozano Juatco Jr. of Pinoy Buzz Vancouver brought the winner of the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) here to strut his stuff.

The concert was a tour-de-force from the get-go. Swaggadelikz, a local all girls dance crew, and dance sensation Nathan Quintos, lit up the stage with their moves and youthful charm. Upcoming local band Flazbak warmed up the audience further with their dynamic music. Nicole Lontayao was stellar when she sang Memory. Twelve-year-old JJ Cepeda did not disappoint with Wings of Love. Marion Torres was a pleasure to the ears with Isang Lahi. Jojo Quimpo with Dynamix gave an energetic performance. He tantalized us further by singing his original Talaga. Janice Lozano, a local celebrity and host of Pinoy Buzz Vancouver, showed us why she is “Vancouver’s Sweetheart of Songs,” and had the crowd begging for more.

Stunned silence greeted Jed’s powerful voice belting out Bring Me to Life, Edge of Glory and Rolling in the Deep. He showed everyone why he won the WCOPA. He also displayed his corky-side. His Pinoy-ness came out when he asked everyone if they understood the meaning of the Italian aria he sang. He feigned surprise when he exclaimed, “Really? You do. I don’t. I only sang it to be sosyal.”

Jed’s boyish charm and humor touched the hearts of everyone. We saw a world-class-performer brimming with talent and a sincere individual who loves to entertain. In fact, when a man in the crowd yelled “I love you, Jed,” his retort was, “mahal din kita, pare,” in a very deep, masculine voice, sending everyone into bouts of laughter.

On that night, Jed instilled the importance of supporting original Pilipino music. He believes that Filipinos are the best songwriters in the world. We should be proud of our music. No one else writes music with such passion and feeling. He emphasized his point by singing Ogie Alcasid’s Ikaw Lamang and Kailangan Kita and gave a convincing argument to his claim that Filipinos are world-class songwriters.

Jed went on to perform his songs Breathe Again and Ikaw Na Lang Ang Kulang. He jokingly reminded everyone that it was only 10 more days to Valentine’s Day and his CD of love songs makes an ideal Valentine’s Day present. The women in the crowd oohed, when Jed mentioned that he would be in an airplane alone on Valentine’s Day. He will not have a date. Judging from the response given by the females present, I don’t think he would have had a problem finding a date, or two that night.

Jed believes that Filipinos are the world’s best songwriters, and that no one else writes music with such passion

Jed sang in a thick Visayan accent reminiscent of Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao. Everyone knows that Manny loves to sing, so when Jed sang in the champion’s voice, laughter filled the hall. “Manny,” he pointed out, “is my hero.” To pay tribute to his hero, he asked if he could sing Pacman’s Para Sa ‘Yo. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear as Jed prepared to sing, anticipating another Pacquiao rendition. A sigh of relief resounded when Jed sang the song so perfectly in his own voice, that all the ladies were swooning in their seats.

Jed asked the audience who they thought was the greatest Filipino hero. Names flew in rapid succession. Yet the person he had in mind was someone no one expected. This person quietly occupied history with a song that has been translated in 26 languages in over 56 countries. It was none other than folk-singer Freddie Aguilar, and the song he wrote was Anak. Jed sang Anak. Not a dry eye left in the theater at the conclusion of the song.

Jed ended his program with Remember Me. He sent his magical voice to all corners of the concert hall drawing everyone into his music. The crowd, however, was not ready to remember him just yet after the song ended. The enthusiastic encore lured Jed back onstage. He closed the night with an electrifying medley of ’80s hits and promised to sign autographs and greet everyone after the show.

So yes, rain falls freely from our skies. But for one night, last Feb. 4, we Filipinos in Vancouver were treated to a ray of sunshine in Jed Madela. He educated us on the beauty of our music. He reminded us to honor our heroes. He allowed us to feel good about ourselves not only as individuals, but as a people. With all the gloom and doom occurring around the world, and most especially back home, that is no small feat.

Congratulations to Pinoy Buzz Vancouver, Pinoy Rock Entertainment in cooperation with Umac, TFC, Philippine Asian Chronicle, PAL, Times Telecom, and all the sponsors. To all the local artists mentioned above, thank you for showing everyone the level of talent being produced by our fair city. And to all those who were not in attendance, “dude, you missed one hell of a show.”