Golden Cañedo: The pride of Minglanilla

CEBU, Philippines — Golden Cañedo couldn’t stifle her tears as she was declared the very first “The Clash” Grand Champion Sunday night.

The 16-year-old Cebuana was but a voice amidst 61 other contestants when the GMA-7 reality-singing competition “The Clash” began in July, with Regine Velasquez-Alcasid as “Clash Master” and Christian Bautista, Lani Misalucha and Ai-Ai Delas Alas as judges.

As the competition progressed, the Golden Voice of Cebu was the sole Cebuana (out of six Cebuano Clashers) to make it to the Top Six finalists alongside “Matinik na Heartthrob ng Valenzuela” Anthony Rosaldo, Garret Bolden known as “Tower of Power ng Olongapo,” “Trending R&B Star ng North Cotabato” Jong Madaliday, Josh Adornado also known as the “Cute Crooner ng Cagayan De Oro,” and the “Fierce Diva ng Pampanga” Mirriam Manalo.

The rest of the Top 12 Clashers --- Melbelline Caluag, Mika Gorospe, Lyra Micolob, Kyryll Ugdiman and Cebuanas Esterlina Olmedo and Danielle Ozaraga --- were also present during the finals.

The Top Five finalists (after the elimination of Anthony on September 29) were to sing a solo piece before being trimmed down to two for the final showdown. Golden sang George Canseco’s “Ngayon” (Basil Valdez), earning praise from the judges for her performance.

“Sa unang few notes, punong-puno ng puso,” judge Lani told the Minglanilla native. “We are proud of you. You did a good job."

Before “The Final Clash,” Golden told The Freeman that she was worried about the finals since there were a lot of belters. But in the end, after battling it out with ­­North Cotabato’s Jong Madaliday who performed “Jealous” during the Ultimate Clash, Golden was the one to sing the official “The Clash” 2018 victory song “Ngayon ang Tagumpay.”

Aside from the bragging rights of being "The Clash" champion, Golden also gained an exclusive management contract from GMA Network, a brand new car, one million pesos and house and lot from Bria Homes. The Top Six are also set to take part in the network's upcoming musical variety program called “Studio 7.”

Fellow Cebu Clasher Esterlina Olmedo also won Most Loved Clasher for being popular among “The Clash” fans online and on ground.

Golden, a Grade 10 student who studied at the University of the Visayas-Minglanilla Campus, was a student by day and kontesera by night, travelling all over Cebu to join competitions. She is an aspiring flight attendant or cruise ship singer.

She used to feel unsure of her singing skills despite other peole's compliments. She also worried about her abilities, because she only started competing seriously when she was 12 years old. However, throughout the competition, Golden was able to grow more confident and saw that a lot of people had so much faith in her.

Golden further shared that she got to find out her strengths and weaknesses, as well as work on her character and personality because of the competition. On “The Clash” YouTube handle, Golden said she learned to say “po” and “opo” and greet strangers despite her shyness and uncertainty.

“To all the youngest, just like me, who have dreams, padayon lang gyud,” Golden had told The Freeman prior to her victory. “Pray and keep doing what you do. Don’t let the struggles get to you and don’t quit.”