TJ Monterde Came Close to Giving Up on Songwriting
TJ MONTERDE – Singer-songwriter TJ Monterde revealed that he nearly gave up on music after facing numerous challenges and moments of self-doubt.
TJ Monterde, now one of the most admired singer-songwriters in the Philippines, once came close to giving up on his dream of making it in the music industry.
In a heartfelt interview on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda last May 22, TJ opened up about the challenges he faced early in his career. According to him, breaking into the music scene wasn’t easy. He bounced from one recording company to another, searching for someone who would believe in his talent.
When there were no gigs, TJ resorted to voice-over work for commercials and event hosting just to earn a living. But things became so difficult that he reached a breaking point.
“There’s this specific night na hindi ko makalimutan din talaga na lagi ko naman kinukuwento,” he recalled. “There was this time na wala na talaga kaming pera. As in, wala na. Sabi ko sa kaibigan ko, si Macoy, ‘Bro, meron ka ba diyan pang-dinner lang natin?’”
His father was set to send him some money the next day, but that night, he and his friend only had 500 pesos each. Macoy’s money was just enough for a buy-one-take-one burger.
TJ shared that as they walked around Maysilo Circle, he kept his eyes on the ground, hoping to find even 10 or 20 pesos just to buy a soft drink. “’Yun na ‘yung point na sabi ko, ‘Tama pa ba ‘tong ginagawa ko sa buhay ko? Uuwi na lang kaya ako sa amin talaga?’”
But fate clearly had bigger plans. In 2016, TJ released Dating Tayo, a song he never expected would become a hit. Today, it stands as one of the biggest songs he has ever written.
For aspiring songwriters, TJ offers this advice: “Just wrtie what your heart wants you to write kasi you will never know, the next song might be your million dollar song, ito na ‘yung kanta mo.”
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