KZ: Of course, I want to win!

KZ Tandingan always pushes herself to do things that she has never done before. She hopes to reach the final round of China’s The Singer 2018 in April.

MANILA, Philippines — By this time, KZ Tandingan should be in China prepping up for another round of performances for The Singer 2018. Her recent appearance in the reality show’s Episode 7 where she rendered Say Something landed her in the fourth spot, ending her probationary stint and turning into a regular contestant.

However, KZ said that her present standing is not an assurance of her inclusion in the finals in April given the fact that there is a part of the show that has not been shown yet.

“I cannot tell yet if I’ll reach the finals in April since every two weeks, there is an elimination so sana umabot tayo doon,” said KZ during the presscon for Cornerstone’s announcement of its eight major concerts to be held this year. “Meron pa na di umeere, na di pa napapanood na performance, so you have to watch out for it on March 9. But on YouTube, they will be showing the official video na parang official episode din nila.”

…Yeng Constantino, Angeline Quinto, Kyla…

When it comes to preparation, the singer is working hard on song rearrangements “because in the competition all the contestants sing covers. So, we only get two chances to sing our original songs and since di ako kasama dun sa first or second performance, I only have one chance to sing an original so now I am thinking that it’s not okay na bira lang ng bira. It is a must to learn the strategy, what song to perform and since I’ll be singing for the Chinese audience in particular, they appreciate more when you sing in Mandarin. So, learning how to sing in Mandarin is the biggest part of my preparation.” Recall that KZ sang in Mandarin during her second performance in the contest.

To this day, KZ has a Mandarin coach in China and here in the Philippines for her to get used to performing in the foreign language. She, too, memorizes the songs for her to deliver them as natural as can be.

But it doesn’t mean that she is required to sing only in Mandarin. In fact, her rendition of Say Something earned her a higher ranking. “I got a higher ranking in the last episode and I think the judging depended on the kind of feeling they were looking for during that episode.”

She continued, “There are no particular judges. The judges are the audience and they have three votes that can be used to (support) the participants, so sila yung kailangan matuwa sa performance.” 

If she were to decide, KZ wishes to sing Freddie Aguilar’s Anak in its Mandarin version knowing how popular the OPM song’s Mandarin and Cantonese versions are among the Chinese crowd. The song choices, KZ said, are determined by the Chinese team behind the reality show.

So far, KZ is doing well in the singing tilt but without denying how tough it is to be a contestant. In her assessment, she already had four or five performances yet that feeling of having butterflies in her stomach seems to never go away every time she’s onstage.

Asked to confirm talks that she has been already included in the finals in April, KZ answered in the negative saying that no one will never know until it happens. “As long as I am not yet eliminated, there is a chance for me to stay until April. There will be an episode where all the contestants will perform then the ranking will follow. But I cannot reveal any more details since they are super strict when it comes to confidentiality but in the next episode may malaking revelation na naganap.”

…Erik Santos, Richard Poon...

As for her reaction to her boyfriend TJ Monterde’s strong feeling that she will win, KZ said, “Of course, I’d be lying if I say that I don’t want to win but if I really think of it as a competition, it will be more difficult for me and it will only put much pressure on me so I really wanna take it one week at a time, one performance at a time and I always make sure that I do something different every week, I do something surprising every week. I always push myself to do things that I’ve never done before that it will even surprise people here in the Philippines who will get to watch my performance. And that’s all I am thinking because should I get eliminated this week or next week, as long as I gave the best performance ‘yun ang maaalala ng tao and that’s what truly matters to me.”

KZ never denied about initially having doubts on pushing through with her plans of joining The Singer 2018. She recounted how she shared to her Cornerstone family that she felt like backing out and not going to China anymore because she deemed the contest as too tough to handle. But thanks to them, KZ had a change of heart after hearing encouraging words and feeling the heartfelt support of her co-artists in the talent management outfit. Their text messages she had received during her stay in China all the more motivated her to do her best to stay in the competition.

What she didn’t expect was the instant recognition from the Chinese people, like when she received requests for photo opportunity while inside one of the malls in China. “Nakakataba lang ng puso na kahit di ako consistent na nasa top spot, naa-appreciate nila yung ginagawa ko.”

Meanwhile, KZ is set to conquer the local stage with her first major solo concert titled Soul Supreme at the Araneta Coliseum in June. KZ said that only after the conclusion of The Singer 2018 can her management finalize her schedule. But this is not to say that she no longer gives priority to the Filipino audience. “Of course, it has to be Filipinos first,” she stressed.

Nevertheless, KZ cannot still believe that she will be holding Soul Supreme as she recalled how equally surprised she was when her manager Erickson Raymundo told her two years ago that she was going to be part of the Divas Live with Yeng Constantino, Angeline Quinto and Kyla.

…and Jayda Avanzado, Claudia Barretto, Janina Vela, Alex Diaz and Kyle Echarri. — Photos by Ver Paulino

“That time, I really felt I wasn’t ready compared to what they (Yeng, Kyla and Angeline) have already achieved. I believed that I should be just the front act or guest but after everything that happened in two years’ time and the thing that’s happening this year, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to celebrate the overflowing blessings that God is giving me. I really cannot understand where all these are coming from kumbaga in the many years of pursuing our careers by working hard to hone our craft and consider the many years of waiting, true enough you just have to wait for God’s time and He will surprise you with things you never expect. Kaya nung sinabi sa akin na Araneta, sobrang takot ako but I believe God will not give me something that I cannot handle.”

As to her guests, KZ said they haven’t finalized the lineup yet but if possible, she loves to share the stage with her Cornerstone family. She also looks forward to The Divas Live II to happen at the Big Dome in November.

“I am super excited to have a repeat with the Divas like what we did when we went to the US. Sabi nga namin sobrang na-miss namin, so expect a fun concert with big surprises.”

Other Cornerstone artists present with KZ during the presscon were Yeng, Angeline, Kyla, John Prats, Moira dela Torre, Iñigo Pascual, Jason Dy, Jaya, Jay-R, Alex Diaz, Kyle Echarri, Jayda Avanzado, Claudia Barretto, Janina Vela, Erik Santos and Richard Poon.