JED Madela was in tears during his recent 20th anniversary concert “Welcome to My World” at the Music Museum on July 5.
Towards the end of his more than two-hour concert, some members of the audience started yelling, “We love you, manong.” Madela grew up in Iloilo and the term manong in Ilonggo means older brother or kuya.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News backstage after the show, Madela explained why he got emotional.
“Sa 20 years na nasa industriya ako, hindi ko pa rin talaga fully na-a-absorb ‘yung idea of being a public personality. People say things about you, people would judge you just for the heck of it. I’m the type kasi na I get affected easily. But tonight, seeing people calling me manong, ‘we love you manong, ‘we love you Jed,’ it felt better,” he said.
This sentiment comes amidst recent events in Madela’s life with an apparent rift with his former manager and aunt Annie Mercado. ABS-CBN News has learned that the two had a falling out after two decades of talent-manager relationship.
On the eve of his concert, Madela released the song “Wish U The Worst,” an uptempo track with club beats written and composed by Kio Priest. A few minutes after the song’s midnight release, Madela’s former manager Mercado publicly posted a lengthy message for him.
“This song tells you so much about the kind of person the singer truly is. Title pa lang he invested on negativity na. It’s full of negativity, hate, and bitterness always playing the ‘victim’ when he is the offender. He’s always played the game ‘if the shoe fits’… well sorry, I don’t wanna play… I don’t hide behind songs and post with double meanings. So here it is:”
“Jed Madela, don’t taunt me with a song. Panindigan mo ‘yan ha. Let’s go to the press and tell all. If you don’t wanna, I will. I think people wanna know the truth,” she wrote, calling Madela an “ungrateful man.”
Madela was asked for his reaction to the post of his aunt and he said: “It’s a family matter, and we’re trying to deal with it privately.”
But was “Wish U the Worst” a diss track?
“I didn’t write the song,” he clarified. “It was written by Kio Priest. It just so happened that it was offered to me, I wanted a new sound. Ni-record ko siya, you have to go with the flow of how things are now. It just so happened na it got caught in the middle.”
Despite everything, Madela said his appreciation and gratefulness towards her former manager has not changed.
“I guess things just have to happen, but I do hope things get better. That was the message of my final song – that all will be alright in time, if we learn to forgive,” he said. (ABS-CBN News)
