Even true champions wait

MANILA, Philippines - If there is anything Rachelle Ann Go and Jed Madela learned in following their dreams, it must be the popular adage “All things good come to those who wait.”

Both much admired singers, they knew early in life that they were particularly blessed with extraordinary vocal cords, and likewise discovered it was a long and winding road to stardom.

Jed started singing as a boy. His preference early on was already pronounced that around age 11 he would record selections with his voice on tape. Particular favorites, he confessed in an interview, were Can’t We Start All Over Again, A Friend of Mine, You, Got to Let You Know. Rachelle Ann started earlier at age seven taking voice lessons at the behest of parents who were vocally inclined. At nine, she joined an amateur competition and won first prize singing Jennifer Holliday’s And I’m Telling You.

It was only natural that they would meet later as young adults and find themselves together as contracted regulars on ABS-CBN’s A.S.A.P. And now, come Oct. 24, they will be featured by Viva Concerts & Events for the first time together in True Champions: The Best Meets the Very Best at the Sky Dome, SM North EDSA.

Now in their 20s with some five years of professional experience behind them, they share with us some similar, some disparate feelings about the career they have chosen to pursue. From childhood Rachelle Ann was already a disciple of amateur singing contests, often winning them, honing her talent through them and through voice lessons she assiduously took. Jed, on the other hand, found himself joining the Prime Council show band as lead vocalist in 2000, and from this learned to perform. “I owe it to the band experience that my voice is what it is today.” He must have been right about it for Lea Salonga to have issued this oft-repeated quote — “Jed Madela possesses one of the most clean, clear and the most powerful voices that any man can humanly possess.”

To this day, he has never taken voice lessons which amazes everyone. But to him, the daily experience with the band, singing everything from ballad to R&B, to rock and even rap, to even dancing on stage has been better than any lessons he could take. “Nahasa ang boses ko. I learned through my mistakes, lost my voice, had a sore throat, understood about vocal placement, ano ang kaya, anong hindi masakit. Other singers are taught. I would rather go through the actual experience.”

He would perform three hours nightly at Strumms, Dish, Conways, Conservatory, Hard Rock, and practice with the band when not performing. On one occasion in 2003, the late Bella Tan of Universal Records who watched him performing at Conways, gave him her card and subsequently offered Jed a recording contract. To this day, Universal is still his label, with whom he has recorded five albums.

If Jed got into recording through discovery in a band, Rachelle Ann received her recording contract after winning as grand champion on GMA 7’s Search for a Star roughly around the same time. Her winning song was Mariah Carey’s Through the Rain.

Reminiscing, Rachelle Ann recalls how she was being convinced to join the search the year before in 2003. This was when the contest was still called Star for a Night. She felt she wasn’t ready, and Sarah Geronimo won the title. When the competition was underway in 2004, Rachelle Ann was confronted with another difficult decision. The finals of Search for a Star was in conflict with her schooling at San Beda where she was enrolled in International Business and Entrepreneurship. After consultation with her parents and her school, Rachelle Ann went for the competition.

After winning, she was contracted by Viva as recording artist for five years and since then released five albums with them. Her contract has recently been renewed for another five years. She also joined ABS-CBN as part of its talent pool primarily in A.S.A.P. including occasional acting stints. She also won recognition yearly from her hometown of Pasig, the Aliw Awards, MTV Pilipinas, Guillermo Mendoza, Awit, Myx Music, PMPC Star Awards in Music, plus international recognition with a silver medal and first prize at the Astana Song Festival, and silver medal at the Shanghai Song Festival. Her singing has brought her all over the country, and to the US and Canada. She, however, hasn’t forgotten to resume her studies and is pursuing an Associate in Arts at UP Open University.

Both Rachelle Ann and Jed have had enough exposure to the afflictions of being in show business. As expected, Jed has gone through the gauntlet of the “gay” accusation. Rachelle Ann has had her love life with fellow celebrities Christian Bautista and Gab Valenciano constantly probed in public.

 Still they persist because they love and are passionate about their chosen careers. They both have personal desires that don’t coincide with that of their management. Both have in their respective cabinets personal compositions they would like to record which are very different from their hit records. But they are willing to wait for the right time.

At the moment, the Champions concert is already a dream come true for them. They have long wanted to do a concert together. Both artists happily relate that Viva has given them a free hand in selecting their pieces and directing the show. With musical director Mark Lopez guiding them, they have come up with a concept that includes songs never heard from them before by their TV audience. They are confident this is how they can show everyone what is really meant by being a true champion.

(E-mail me at [email protected].)