MANILA, Philippines — Award-winning versatile actress Jaclyn Jose showed her support and admiration to Filipina singer KZ Tandingan, who was recently eliminated from China's international singing contest "Singer 2018," where KZ competed with British pop star Jessie J.
Though Jaclyn is from GMA and KZ is from GMA’s rival ABS-CBN, Jaclyn roots for KZ and even posted a video clip of KZ singing Lorde's "Royas" in “Singer 2018.”
The Instagram post was captioned: “My Queen! I am a huge fan! I have a very strong feeling you are coming back and win!!!”
Besides Jaclyn, Journey frontman Arnel Pineda also gave KZ a tap in the back.
In a Twitter post, KZ said: "gave everything, every single ounce of strength, and my little heart for every performance. Regardless of the ranking, I hope you guys are proud to be Filipino, because I am, even in a foreign land."
Arnel then replied to KZ's post, saying: yes to that @KZofficial..super proud of you..keep holding our #PHflag w/ you up on stage each chance you get."
yes to that @KZofficial ..super proud of you..keep holding our #PHflag w/ you up on stage each chance you get.. https://t.co/oB5Vwr3tYC
— Arnel Pineda (@arnelpineda) March 9, 2018
KZ debuted in the show last February 9 and her first performance of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” earned her the top spot in the competition. The contenders’ places are determined by votes from the studio audience.
The following week, KZ ranked sixth out of eight contestants, composed of mostly Chinese singing stars. Though a non-Chinese, KZ was praised for her impressive medley of Chinese songs.
On the February 23, KZ ranked fourth for singing A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s “Say Something.”
But on March 16, KZ was at the bottom three, despite surprising the audience with her guitar-playing skills to the tune of Sheryl Crow’s “Real Gone.” During this episode, Jessie J was absent as she fell ill during rehearsals for her performance of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.”
The following week, on March 16, Jessie J topped in the contest by singing “My Heart Will Go On,” while KZ placed last and was eliminated.
KZ was the first and only Filipina to have made it to the competition. The contest’s data show that KZ is scheduled to make a return performance on March 23, but this does not guarantee her comeback in the competition, which will end on April 13.
In a Twitter post, KZ said she has no regrets and is only full of gratitude for the opportunity to showcase Filipino talent abroad.
"I close my eyes because faith is seeing for me. I did everything I could, but the results are out of our control. Im going home tomorrow with a happy heart. This won’t be the last time the world will hear a filipino sing her heart out. Thank You Lord! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!" she wrote.
I close my eyes because faith is seeing for me. I did everything I could, but the results are out of our control. Im going home tomorrow with a happy heart. This won’t be the last time the world will hear a filipino sing her heart out. Thank You Lord! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
— KZ TANDINGAN (@KZofficial) March 16, 2018
RELATED: KZ Tandingan, idol Jessie J land in ‘Singer 2018’ top 4
WATCH: KZ Tandingan beats her idol Jessie J, raps in Tagalog in ‘Singer 2018’