KZ Tandingan ‘Singer 2018’: Filipino Singer’s Chinese Rendition Put Her In Regular Spot With Jessie J

Filipino Singer KZ Tandingan has been gracing the top trending spot in YouTube Asia for the past couple of weeks now. This year, she joined the massive Chinese singing show Singer 2018 together with renowned pop star Jessie J.

Singer 2018 has different way of judging and ranking its contestants. It’s not a straight-up elimination process where two artists are matched in a sing-off and the other one loses. It will be a series of artists, including international singer/songwriter Jessie J, to rally for the Top 1 ranking every episode. Though it’s a reality singing contest, it’s unlike the traditional American Idol format most are familiar with.

KZ Tandingan’s latest performance was sung in Chinese. Translated into English, “The Pain Which You Don’t Know” has been a classic ballad for the nation, according to Rappler. Many were seen crying as Tandingan belted out the lyrics. The fans said it was impressive since she was able to memorize and sing the song in Chinese. Though Tandingan admits she barely understood the lyrics of the song given that she only had two weeks to learn the song, she took the melody to heart and used it as a way to relate to its meaning.

Nonetheless, her emotions gave life to the song. According to a translation given by ABS-CBN, the song talks about heartbreak and letting go.

Many YouTube users commented on the translation, saying they understand now why it was an emotional performance. Some said they already knew the song would be a sad song but they couldn’t connect it with the lyrics. Seeing the translation, it gave more light to the meaning behind the Chinese ballad.

“This is the first time I appreciate a song that I couldn’t understand,” one viewer wrote. “The lyrics [are] truly heartbreaking, the singer gave justice to the song. Beautiful.”

For this week, Tandingan ranked 6th out of the 8 contestants. Jessie J ranked second for her performance of Prince’s Purple Rain.

Even though the two are in competition, they seem to be one of the closest contestants on the show. When Tandingan came in a few weeks ago, Jessie J was the first contestant who welcomed her to the house.

Tandingan got emotional since she said the British singer was her inspiration from the start. KZ Tandingan used to have an illness that prevented her from singing the high notes of a song. However, as she told Jessie J, when she heard the pop star, she became inspired to sing again and to practice so she could hit the high notes in the songs.

KZ Tandingan current ranks third overall.

Watch her performance (with translation) below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqtKsa666Fs