Jed Madela, the young blood behind the voice that lures thousand ships! Common testimony and sentiments admires his voice with their two feet nailed perpendicular on the floor crowning him with a round of applause, all hail the voice! Just like a bachelor's summa cum laude – with great praise.Jed started turning the pages of his life at the “Dinagyang” capital of the country, Iloilo city where he was born. He started exploring the musical horizons of his life as soon as he knew that he has an endowment of it. Nonetheless, his giftedness in music doesn't exhausted him enough, his interest in visual arts add further color and energy to his musical apostolate. He draws, paints and sketch during slack time and do artful finish in his house as well as the stage for his concert. He have been into a band for fun sometime in his life. Not until he has stepped into the shores of Manila that he was discovered by a talent scout when he was asked by a singer-friend to jam with him.
From then on, Jed just got to be unstoppable; conquering shores after shores, reminiscing souls after souls, reaching stars after stars and Filipinos' pride after pride.
Perhaps, one of Jed Madela's greatest hits is his domination of the 2005 World Championship of the Performing Arts (WCOPA) held at Hollywood, California, USA. He was said to have sacked six gold medals in all six different categories. Fantastic indeed that he was called “The Grand Champion Performer of the World.” Not much, he was said to be arrayed into the Hall of Fame of the World as credited to his winning various awards by a single country. Plus the fact that he's the first Asian to win this Talent Olympics. Some more, every year he was commissioned to close and open the ceremony of the said event.
“It was a challenge for me because it is not easy to do remakes. When you revive a song, you have to give justice to the original but at the same time, you have to make it sound your own without compromising what the original composers and arrangers want.”
Jed Madela has four studio albums so far: I'll Be Around (2003), as being the debut album, Songs Rediscovered (2005), Only Human (2007) and Songs Rediscovered 2 (2009) in a whole new packaging, where he will be sharing later his turns and ideas about the said new album.
The vibrancy of his voice and the clear-as-glass to a crystal-clear vocal exodus enable one of the Philippine's pride to say in one of her interview, “Hindi siya tao! You cannot be human and produce the sound that he makes. You will understand why. I'm really hoping that there are seatbelts in your chairs, trust me, you are going to need them.” – Lea Salonga. So comely his voice is that it never did escape the record of Pinoy Song Magazine. Once upon a while, Jed graced your OPM Music Authority with his presence and musical ideology. He was caught on the record and on cam during our pictorial sessions with him, together with the other gentlemen who are fellow advocate of music, Jay-R and Richard Poon.
“Not to pay too much attention on competition but focusing on how you can improve your craft.”
“That I'm human,” he said as the record rolls when he was asked what we should know about Jed Madela. It would be a statement that might quote his album “Only Human.” Off-stage, Jed tries to recompose himself and went back to the usual mind set, “as soon as I step off the stage, I’m always back to my regular self. Also, I try to choose the people I hang out with, he said.”
Besides being a chocolate lover and hanging out with friends when he's of the platform, you'd rather caught him traveling as his coolest experience as an artist. Obviously, he’s been to travel to and fro of USA for his crowned performance at WCOPA, besides his local travels for concerts or leisure. Nevertheless, most of the time he stays at home as he said that he's a very domesticated person.
As he was doing so far, Jed dreamed of establishing an international career, “well, just like any local artist, I would like to explore and establish an international career,” he told us. Before anything else, he just wants bring his sound to a north-heading direction where he sees maturity, “to a more mature sound,” he asserts.
Jed's song line-ups are among the most coveted here and abroad, revived or not. But, even as an artist himself he tries to choose among the finest of the best songs to associate with himself. Let Me Love You (From The Bottom of My Heart) speaks something out of him as the one he has chosen and his very first single.
He's strict in standing with the principle of focusing on your craft or music instead of competition if one wants to engineer a musical relationship and career that is reputable. “Not to pay too much attention on competition but focusing on how you can improve your craft,” he points.
Before further bits from his thought, Jed hinted us on his sentiments about music piracy. “Yes. It’s sad to know that our artistic abilities are being limited to such a small scope. Also, if we are so hooked on pirated CDs and internet downloading, we deprive ourselves of the total package. That is why we really poured so much attention to the packaging of my latest album, SR2, so that the consumers will not only enjoy the music but appreciate the artistic input that was put into the album,” he asserts.
ALBUM TALKS
Let's talk about your latest full-length studio record, how do you feel this album differs from your earlier works?
Songs Rediscovered 2 is my 5th album with Universal Records and I think it’s my most personal album since they gave me the entire free-hand in the album; from the choosing of the songs, to the packaging and layout. The 16 tracks are songs that are really close to my heart and each one has a significant meaning to me.
How did you prepare for the new record?
Well, we carefully chose the songs to be included and since there were more than a hundred beautiful songs to choose from, it was a difficult task to narrow them down to 16. Also, we had to meet several times to plan on the look of the album, the artists to work with and the theme of the project.
How does your album reflect your personality?
Since I am known as a balladeer, most of the songs in the album are ballads that have had their share of popularity during the time they were released. Also, these are the songs I grew up with and have significant meaning to my life.
How easy or difficult did you think it was to do your album?
It was a challenge for me because it is not easy to do remakes. When you revive a song, you have to give justice to the original but at the same time; you have to make it sound your own without compromising what the original composers and arrangers want. Another challenge for us was the packaging because we really wanted to sway from the usual square jewel case.
How did you motivate yourself for each song on 'Songs Rediscovered'?
As an actor would with a script, I internalized and understood the “story” of each song. After that, I drew emotions from people around me and from past experiences.
Since you've done cover songs, what do you enjoy about playing covers? How do you decide on which songs would work well as Jed's songs?
Well, as I’ve said, it ain’t easy doing remakes. A lot has to be considered for it to be worth reviving. A consideration would be if the song would match my voice, my image and singing style.
How do you feel this album differs thematically or production wise from the previous albums?
Aside from the fact that Universal Records gave me the freehand on the decision making in all aspects of the project, this album is collectively coined as an all English OPM album.
Do you have any sort of tentative time frame in coming out an all-original album?
This solely depends on the recording label and the trend of the market.
'Everyday' is one of our favorite songs on the album. If you had limited power to make a video for the song and cast anyone in the lead role, who would the girl be?
Wow! There’s a lot to choose from. Just looking on the pool of lovely colleagues I have in ABS-CBN, it’s a big pool to choose from… Bea Alonzo, Kristine Hermosa, Anne Curtis, Nikki Gil.
Do you think that there is an advantage in going out and playing gigs and generating a buzz before actually releasing your album?
Yes. Simply because you are making the people know that a new project is underway.
How do you approach studio recording? Do you attempt to recreate your live sound on the record or vice versa?
There is a big difference with studio recording and live performances. Aside from the technical aspect, the studio is more of a controlled environment while in live performances; you are free to do whatever you want without holding back.
Of all the songs that you have on 'Songs Rediscovered 2', is there one song that means more to you than the others?
It’s hard to choose a single one since all 16 are personal choices from a long list of more than a hundred songs.
What moods do you want your listeners to take away upon listening to your album?
Stress? I just want the listeners to feel relaxed when they listen to my songs.
Did you have a lot of creative control with this album?
Yes. Very much.
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