Last Clasher standing

RNB singer Thea Astley clashed with Jeremiah at the Final Concert. INSTAGRAM.COM/THEAASTLEY

After 13 weeks of intense singing and competitions, Jeremiah Tiangco emerges as The Clash Season 2’s grand champion. He sits at the Top of the Clash after a one-on-one battle with Thea Astley last 15 December.

Jeremiah admitted that he auditioned for The Clash Season 1 in the past but never got past the first stage. He sang the “The Last Time,” the same song that he performed back in the second season, with some improvements.

“Thankful po ako sa experience na yun, kasi yun po yung nagbigay sakin ng motivation na kailangan i-improve ko pa po yung sarili ko (I was thankful for that experience because it motivated me to improve my skills),” he said.

A season later, he followed the steps of Season 1’s grand champion Golden Cañedo.

“Nung na-announce po na ako po yung naging winner, nabingi po ako actually. Alam ko po na magaling si Thea, alam ko po kung anong kaya niyang gawin. Alam ko po kung ano yung kapasidad niya. Sabi ko, whoever wins po, Lord kung sino po manalo, deserve niya (When I was announced as the winner, I went deaf for a moment. I know that Thea is great, I know what she can do. I know her capabilities. So I said, whoever wins deserves it).”

Among the Top 5 were Nef Medina, Jennifer Maravilla, Antonette Tismo and Thea Astley. It was eventually winnowed down to him and Thea for the Final Clash, the former winning the hearts of The Clash judges Ai Ai de las Alas, Lani Misalucha and Christian Bautista.

The 22-year-old chose the songs “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Set Fire To The Rain” for the first round of the competition, while his winning piece was “I Believe.”

SITTING at the Top of “The Clash” is the soulful balladeer from Cavite, Jeremiah Tiangco.

His mother and cousin were the reasons he joined the show. Jeremiah, for his part, is the reason his father may come home to the Philippines after 30 years. “Simula 19 years old pa lang po siya, nagta-trabaho na po siya sa barko. Ngayon po, pinapangako ko po sa kaniya na by God’s grace kung mananalo po ako, sila po yung priority ko (My father started working at 19. Now, I promised that if I won this competition by God’s grace, they would be my priority),” he shared.

Before the final show, Jeremiah had to endure struggles and went through a tough breakup with his partner of seven years while The Clash was ongoing. However, he thanks the whole production for giving him the drive and focus for his performances.

“Okay naman po kami, good friends po talaga kami (We’re okay, we’re good friends),” he admitted. It was a mutual understanding due to their priorities.

As the Grand Champion, Jeremiah won an exclusive contract with GMA 7, a brand new car, P1 million in cash and a house and lot, which sums up to P4 million in total.

He said that 10 percent of his winnings will go to the church. “Isa po sila sa mga nagdasal at sumuporta sakin ng lubusan kaya po nandito ako sa kinatatayuan ko ngayon (They’re the ones who prayed and supported me the most that’s why I’m right here),” Jeremiah shared.

After The Clash, the Top 5, who became closer as the competition went by, have plans to unwind and hang out.

HE gave his all on all the stages he stepped into, his determination to win unwavering. INSTAGRAM.COM/JEREMIAHTIANGCO

Jeremiah and Thea were dubbed as one of the love teams in their batch and were both overwhelmed to be the last two Clashers who battled it out for the last time. While he sang “I Believe,” Thea sang “A Natural Woman.”

“Sabi niya po sobrang proud po siya sakin. Ako naman po sinabi ko sa kaniya bago tawagin yung mananalo sabi ko ‘Thea, I’m so proud of you. Kasi out of all Clashers, bakit tayo. Hindi po talaga namin mawari na bakit kami (She told me how proud she was of me. I, too, before the announcement, told her the same. That out of all of the 64 clashers, why us? We can’t believe that it finally came down to the two of us),” he shared.

He looks forward to whatever blessings will come in his way, be it with his budding love team Thea or not. “Receive lang tayo ng receive, nandito na tayo eh (Let’s just receive and receive. We’re already here),” he quipped.

Thea was amazing, Jeremiah said, but thinks that his song choice made him win, as he believes it is the most important decision to make.

“Doon niyo po kasi mad-defend kung anong klaseng artist ka eh. Kung sino ka (That’s how you’ll be able to defend the kind of artist you are),” he said. Jeremiah wanted to give his 150 percent for the last time and ended up bagging the title.