CEBU, Philippines — When people talk about Jed Madela, the first thing that might pop in their heads is “WCOPA champion” or “soulful belter.”
But really, despite all the vocal prowess and the awe that it generates, Jed wants to be remembered as someone who is more than just “The Voice.”
“It’s flattering, but sometimes it’s sad because it’s the only side of me that they see. Parang, that’s it. Boses lang,” Jed laments, as he tells us he’s aiming to prove to everyone that he can be funny and relatable as well.
Having had numerous concerts all over the country and abroad, Jed Madela has loads of bragging rights being the first Filipino to emerge a grand champion in the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA).
With his experience and skill, Jed is often seen on TV as a mentor or judge, if not showing off his remarkable vocal range.
Yet the singer doesn’t want to be defined by his achievements. “I want people to know that I’m not just a voice. I’m more than just somebody who can sing, and I want to showcase not only my talent but my entire personality, who I really am,” Jed explains, saying that he doesn’t get to do that with the limitations of TV thus, he does his best to connect through live performances.
Jed acknowledges the intimidating vibe he gives off, having been told that by a lot of people. He brushes it off as a mere misconception though. Even those closest to Jed thought that at first, that is, until they got to spend more time with him and learned that he was actually very approachable.
“Natatawa nga yung mga friends ko, so I want to break that image,” he says, even commenting on the poster for his upcoming show in Cebu—“La Voce,” a dinner concert for a cause at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino on November 17 – which featured a photo of him looking all formal, intimidating, and elitist.
For the past three months, Jed has been busy going around the country and scouting for talents for Team Philippines in next year’s WCOPA. With that, they have organized auditions in his hometown of Iloilo, as well as in Cebu, Manila, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro and Nueva Ecija. Jed is hands-on with his role in WCOPA, and even teaches the talents himself.
“We train them vocally, we teach them how to perform, and orient them on what to expect,” Jed says.
He says this mentoring, which he does for free, is his way of paying it forward and giving back to the ones who helped him on the way to the top. As a mentor, Jed claims he is reasonable and refuses to be the kind of teacher who demands and imposes. Instead, Jed works around the capabilities of an aspiring singer.
“I believe that these kids have individual, unique talents. The technique that works for one might not work for the other. I want it to be a pleasant experience for them – discovering their talent. Hindi yung first session pa lang ayaw na bumalik kasi natatakot,” Jed explains.
If someone is shy, he works around that and will never force them to be someone they are not on stage; when someone has a limited vocal range, he won’t insist that they perform a powerhouse piece.
The same thing goes for talents who have attitude problems—and Jed has seen quite a lot of these sorts.
“I try my best to be patient. There are people who believe so much in their talent, and ang galing naman talaga nila. But I’d rather train someone who has only this much talent, than somebody who has so much but ang yabang. If they won’t listen then I let them be, let them experience it for themselves and hopefully they’ll realize na tama pala yung sinabi ng mentors nila,” Jed quips.
He may be a cool, patient mentor, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s willing to sugarcoat his comments. Currently a judge on It’s Showtime’s Tawag Ng Tanghalan, Jed is easily one of the mentors who doesn’t hold back and points out both what’s good and what needs improvement in every contestant’s performance.
“I try my best not to sugarcoat, because then you’re giving them false hope. What’s the point diba, because how will that person know, how will that person learn? We say the positive, and we say what needs more work para balanced,” says Jed, a judge and coach who makes sure he dishes out constructive criticism, with words that are insightful and never humiliating.
Almost 15 years in the biz, with innumerable shows and standing ovations under his belt, Jed admits there was a time that he felt a void during his career. He felt that something was lacking, despite having concerts left and right.
At that point, Jed knew something was already very wrong and decided to do something about it. After serving as a judge in ABS-CBN’s “Your Face Sounds Familiar” and eventually for “Tawag Ng Tanghalan,” Jed realized he loved sharing his knowledge.
“With the years behind me, and my experience in the industry, I’ve learned a lot. Hindi naman pwedeng itago ko to lahat, akin lang to, hindi. I want to give input,” Jed says, revealing that his dream is to be able to put up a school for performing arts.
“Now I’m starting with the kids from WCOPA. I’ve had awards and my own trophies but to teach someone and see them succeed, ang sarap ng feeling. Yung tipong mananalo sila, may medal sila, tapos suot-suot nila, ipapakita nila sayo. Parang ang laking exclamation point niyan na tama ang ginagawa mo.”
Jed feels so much pride when he sees his trainees improve and succeed, let alone witnessing them bag awards in the international stage.
For now, Jed still does not have the luxury to retire. Nor does he want to. He’s still hungry. Most importantly, he seems to have found his purpose. There are things he wants to try—and one of them would be to perform a Bisaya song and highlight talents outside of Metro Manila.
When we ask icons and personalities for advice, they usually throw in the “Do your best and practice makes perfect” rhetoric. And it works. Some of us do find our big break, achieve our dreams and go on to pursue new ones. However, a lot of us don’t get to be as fortunate. Asked how to determine when an aspiring singer has to stop and pursue something else, Jed says it’s all up to the individual.
“Pag ikaw mismo ang nagsabi sa sarili mo na ayaw mo na,” he says. “If that’s what you love, if that’s your passion, you will not stop until you reach it. Kung sintunado ka, you will go out of your way to find a teacher. Kung mahiyain ka, you will go out of your way to get out of that box.”
“I know that there’s a limit, when you feel like you’ve done everything, and exhausted all the means—ikaw lang ang makapagsasabi na tama na. No one can tell me ‘Jed it’s time to retire’, ‘Jed slow down’—nobody but ako lang. Same goes for them.” (FREEMAN)