Twenty-one-year-old Jeremiah Tiangco was a vision of pride and enthusiasm when he waived at the crowd that cheered for him during the grand finals of GMA-7’s The Clash.
The Cavite native said he’s “living his dream” after defeating four other finalists—Nef Medina, Jennifer Maravilla, Antonette Tismo, and Thea Astley—in the last rounds of the competition to be declared Grand Champion of the original talent search.
For the first round, Jeremiah performed an impressive mash-up of R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.” And in the final segment where he went head-to-head with Thea Astley, he did a powerful yet soulful rendition of Fantasia’s “I Believe.”
“I personally chose this song,” Jeremiah told Manila Standard shortly after winning the top prize.
“Apart from it has a personal meaning, the song allowed me to showcase my vocal range. I can also show different emotions through the song. And I like how the song allowed me to start soft, do some modulations then soared towards the end of it. I was comfortable playing with the song.”
Jeremiah’s journey in The Clash was not smooth sailing. He said he had to deal with rough patches before he could regain composure and set his priority.
“I was out of focus for a time, but because of the production staff, who constantly reminded me of the reason why I joined the competition, I get to realign my goal and set my eyes on the grand champion title.”
Jeremiah follows Golden Cañedo, who was the inaugural Grand Champion last year. And as the grand winner, the young singer took home an exclusive management contract with GMA 7, a brand-new car, P1 million in cash, and a house and lot, all worth over P4 million in total.
“I’m planning to invest my prize. That’s the first thing that came to mind. But a good portion of the cash prize will go to my cousin’s education. And hopefully, after 30 years, I’d be able to make my father come back home. He’s an OFW,” he shared.
Since the beginning of the competition, Jeremiah was considered one of the frontrunners with his performances gaining huge following especially on social media and YouTube.
“I thank God, most of all. This talent, this voice I have wouldn’t be here if not because of Him. I also would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the people who supported my journey in this competition. They were a morale booster.”
Asked on what his edge was to emerge victorious in the reality singing search after 13 weeks of grueling challenges, the new The Chash Grand Champion said that he was an eager student throughout the entire run of the televised singing tourney.
“I wouldn’t mind if any of us won. Everybody was deserving and talented. I think my only advantage was I listened to the prod team and to the judges’ comment and feedback all the time. I wanted to take everything in. I tried to learn and apply everything that they told me before and after performances,” he said.
Before winning the second season of The Clash, he auditioned in the singing tilt’s first season but didn’t qualify to be an official contender. He was also a two-time defending champion on the second season of Tawag ng Tanghalan, a segment of ABS-CBN noontime show It’s Showtime.