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Nathalie Tomada - The Philippine Star
February 6, 2025 | 12:00am
Whatever magic spell TJ Monterde’s hit song Palagi holds, the air at the Big Dome was so filled with romance that multiple wedding proposals took place during his duet with wife, KZ Tandingan, on the last of his three-night “Sarili Nating Mundo” concert.
From the VIP section to the bleachers, men went down on their knees and pulled out rings. TJ had to quip about bringing out a pastor for an instant mass weding.
The STAR learned from concert producer Cornerstone that a total of 10 proposals also happened on the first two days of the show, including one involving his own band member.
February has just begun, but Valentine’s Day indeed came early. And while yours truly never felt more single, needless to say, it was still the most romantic concert experience we’ve had so far.
Perhaps the most romantic moment of the night was courtesy of TJ and KZ.
“Aside from being a great artist, singer, songwriter, head of his own label, husband, dada to our dogs, son, son-in-law, brother, TJ is my inspiration. Kasi as an artist, I also feel I’m in my season of waiting and sometimes, I feel like it’s time to throw in the towel and give up on music and everything,” KZ told her hubby onstage.
TJ receives an award from Araneta Coliseum officials for being the first local male solo act to sell out the venue for three consecutive nights.
“But every time I wake up in the morning and I look to my left, I see this man and I am reminded that a few years ago, he was about to give up, but he chose to fight.
“And in less than a year, he’s now one of the most-streamed artists in the Philippines. He’s the first male solo act to sell out Araneta Coliseum three nights in a freakin’ row.
“So, on behalf of all of us, thank you for reminding us that dreams do come true. I love you so much, wala ka nang magagawa. You signed away your rights, hahaha!
“Seriously, I never imagined that I could love you even more after 10 years of being together. And I’m excited to spend 10 more lifetimes with you.”
TJ then kissed his wife and they hugged onstage.
Billboard Philippines awards TJ's Palagi as the No. 1 song for 2024.
Talking to the media post-show, TJ shared that he had actually informed KZ that he would kiss her onstage.
“Sabi ko, ‘Mamaya kiss kita onstage ha.’ ‘Huwag kang magbiro nang ganyan,’ kaya ilag na ilag siya… Lagi ko rin sinasabi sa kanya na wala rin naman ang lahat ng ito kung hindi dahil sa kanya,” he said.
TJ with guest artist Arthur Nery.
“I can safely say that this concert exists because of Palagi, and she’s the inspiration when I wrote the song. This is all because of her.”
In case you don’t know the story yet, Palagi was TJ’s gift to the singer on the 10th anniversary of their first meeting. It was also born out of the lowest moment in his career when he thought he was done with music.
Concert king Martin Nievera serves as front act.
He was already thinking of shifting careers, but Palagi came to him — a song he released independently and wrote, for the very first time, without the pressure of producing a hit.
It became the biggest hit of last year, with even esteemed songwriter Ogie Alcasid saying he wished he had written it. Recently, it reached one billion streams on Spotify and declared the No. 1 song in the Philippines for 2024 by Billboard Philippines.
Couples get engaged during the concert night.
During the interview, TJ was asked how he plans to reward himself after successfully mounting shows for three consecutive nights.
He had initially wanted to purchase a watch to mark this milestone in his more than decade-long career.
“I want to buy a watch. To celebrate that I was able to do Araneta,” he said.
The singer said he has been eyeing a luxury watch and even asked his manager how much would his talent fee be for this concert so as to check if he could afford to buy himself a watch.
But he had the biggest surprise before the show when he received his dream watch as a gift from KZ.
The show produced by Cornerstone Concerts features a dynamic stage and giant LED screens, with audiences wearing LED wristbands that light up the venue in multiple colors according to song.
“Before the show started, KZ gifted me with the watch. Sobrang na-touch ako kasi hindi pa naman ako sure kung bibilhin ko yung relo na yun.
“But she bought it for me. It’s my first of this brand of watch. Na-touch ako kasi binigyan niya ako nun pero wala siya nung relo na yun. Inuna niya ako.
“I’m happy — it’s the gesture.”
TJ and KZ enter the venue via a car before launching into a duet of the former's hit song Palagi. –
CORNERSTONE CONCERTS
Meanwhile, a visibly overwhelmed TJ admitted that it might be hard to top his concert series named after his 2024 album Sariling Mundo and featured the likes of — at least on the third night — South Korean hitmaker 10CM, fellow Cagayan de Oro native Arthur Nery and even the concert king Martin Nievera as front act.
TJ Monterde shares a sweet kiss with wife KZ Tandingan on the last night of his ‘Sarili Nating Mundo’ concert series at the Big Dome.
“I’m so proud of the show. We all worked hard on this. This was all a collaboration. Direk John Prats, the band, everybody, and aside from that, we were just very happy…
“It’s hard to top it. Kaya kanina, ina-absorb ko lang, ‘di ko alam kung mauulit pa ‘to. I’m just enjoying my moment.
Concert director John Prats.
“But towards the end… (I couldn’t help it.) I broke down because wala eh. I just told myself, ‘Bro, you did it!’ Thank you, God, for making it possible!”
