Ni Reggee Bonoan

“NANDOON pa,” ang matipid na sagot sa amin ng manager ni KZ Tandingan na si Erickson Raymundo nang tanungin namin kahapon kung eliminated na ang pambato ng Pilipinas sa Singer 2018 dahil mababa ang score sa episode nitong nakaraang weekend.

Sa napanood kasing episode 8 ng nasabing patimpalak sa China ay hindi pumasok si KZ sa Top 4 pero may mga nabasa naman kaming nasa top 5 naman siya at hindi lang daw tinawag ang pangalan.

Ang version ni Sheryl Crow sa soundtrack ng pelikulang Cars na Real Gone ang kinanta ni KZ kaya rock star ang dating ng Pinay singer habang tumutugtog ng kanyang electric guitar na lalong ikinahanga at ikinatayo pa ng Chinese audience.

Nag-rap uli siya at muling ipinakilala ang sarili na galing ng Pilipinas at sabay bigkas ng, “Come on everybody sa akin ay sumabay, sama-sama sumayaw at itaas ang mga kamay!”

Kung pagbabasehan ang reaksiyon ng audience sa episode 8 ng Singer 2018 ay iisiping pasok sa top 4 si KZ kaya nakakapagtaka na hindi man lang siya tinawag.

Ang post ni Jeff Vadillo, VP ng Cornerstone Entertainment na kasama ni KZ sa China pagkatapos ng performance: “As the weeks go by, we are feeling the pressure to offer something new for the show. The production wanted the participants to do something that they’ve never done before.

“There were a lot of song ideas thrown in the air but there is one particular genre they want KZ to do which is Rock. They gave us this very exciting arrangement of a song by Sheryl Crow called Real Gone and although we had hesitations at first, KZ took on the challenge of interpreting and developing the said song.

“This production would also require her to play electric guitar (her first time ever to do onstage). She will also be backed by some of the most popular session musicians in China.

“During rehearsals, we changed the first line of the song to ‘Filipino Made Spotlight World Stage’ to emphasize KZ’s nationality and KZ also added in the bridge a short rap verse from ‘Sumayaw Ka’ as homage to OPM Rap Icon - Gloc 9. It was explosive!

“As a Filipino watching her perform on the HBS stage in a show that will be watched by more than a hundred million people one cannot help but be proud as KZ waves our Philippine flag through her music.

“The end product was also way, way better than we imagined and it brought KZ’s versatility to a whole new level.

“In spite of the cultural differences, this show has proven to be a great musical showcase for KZ and with every episode we feel her audience growing in Mainland China - which is ultimately our end goal.”

Hinahangaan din ng Chinese audience si Jessie J na hindi nakapag-perform sa episode 8 dahil nagkasakit, pero kasama na uli sa episode 9.

May mga nabasa kaming announcement na sa episode 9 ay wala na, pinauwi na ng Pilipinas si KZ kasama ang isa pang challenger na si James Li.

Pero base naman sa nakuha naming report sa aming source ay may ‘twist’ daw na hindi pa puwedeng i-reveal.

Hmmm, para sa tagahanga ni KZ at sa mga nag-aabang ng journey niya sa Singer 2018 ay mapapanood pa rin po siya sa episode 10.