SOUL SEARCHING

Since exploding onto the scene after a viral audition, KZ TANDINGAN has found both a voice and a hope, to speak her truth and to open doors for others.

- JACS T. SAMPAYAN

THE FIRST TIME THAT MOST OF THE COUNTRY TOOK NOTICE OF KZ TANDINGAN, she shared the story of losing her voice and then finding it.

It was more than a decade ago, on one of the audition stops of the first season of the now defunct show X-Factor Philippines. She just turned 20, and tended toward pairing comfortable-looking kicks and dresses with her wild and wavy hair. In the video packet that prefaced her time on stage, she spoke of suddenly not being able to hit the notes she used to in high school, prompting a change of track. "Meron akong style ngayon na hindi ko naman talaga alam yung exact name ng genre," she said then. "I make it a point that pag kinanta ko, people will remember it for my style."

What a style it was. She scatted and made runs with Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and then rapped in Filipino in her own version of the Fugees' "Ready Or Not." The whole room, including the flabbergasted judges, seemed to lose its collective mind, erupting in cheers and dancing. "Davao del Sur, sa inyo ito," Gary Valenciano, who was part of the panel, told the crowd, pointing at Tandingan. "A star is born in Digos," fellow judge Martin Nievera added over the screams.

FATHER & DAUGHTER

In the years since her viral audition, Tandingan has gotten more than a few awards, sold out concerts here and abroad, sang alongside the likes of Jessie J, and picked up a moniker or two, including "Asia's Soul Supreme." Her layered take on "Rolling in the Deep," far removed from Adele's original version, has garnered around 24 million views on YouTube and spurred an international fanbase. But, while the 32-year-old now sports a short bright blue 'do and polished threads, she will always be a child of Mindanao.