February 26 was a date many were looking forward to as the night of a concert featuring Hannah Manaloto, LA Santos, Janina Gonzales and Lasallian, Chad Angeles at the Music Museum with Ms. Roselle Nava as special guest. Entitled “One”, A New Beginning”, this event was an evening keenly awaited by relatives, friends and fans of these 4 young upcoming and truly talented performers.
Chad, in particular, had a number of Lasallian fans who have previously seen him perform in La Salle functions from La Salle Green Hills to DLSU and even in Bacolod. One person, La Salle alumnus P.M.Vasquez who was totally unfamiliar with Chads’ repertoire, asked his companions in the car, on their way to the concert, what kind of songs does Chad sing and someone remarked, “Oh, he sings old people songs.” And Vasquez made a mental note to himself of what his expectations tonight would be. By the end of the night, Vasquez (in his words) was ‘blown away’ which to him was still an understatement. “I witnessed a new ‘Chad’ – and a multidimensional one at that”.
Chad immediately brought the house down with his awesome performances. His own interpretation of “Love never felt so good” for his opening number was a prelude of an exciting night of music ahead. He moved very well on stage and was able to connect with the audience like a seasoned performer would do.
The road to this night for Chad Angeles was paved with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. It started in Bacolod in 2007 when the Angeles family made a major decision that changed everyone’s destiny. The family decided to drop everything and without any preparation nor plan or even an idea how long they will stay, they migrated to Manila. Chad was then a Grade 4 student at the University of St. La Salle (Bacolod City) when his older brother Charles was invited by the then La Salle Green Hills president, Br. Felipe Belleza FSC, and LSGH Sports Director Nongnong Calanog to play basketball for the La Salle Green Hills varsity team. In Manila, he first enrolled at St. Claire (Quezon City) for Grade 5 and 6 and later moved to La Salle Green Hills where he finished high school.
His second song for the night entitled “Me and Mrs. Jones” was a very hard song to interpret because the song needed someone with life experiences, depth and emotional maturity for it to be felt by the audience. It was totally unexpected and Chad nailed it like a veteran crooner with a fresh take on the song.
Quite unexpectedly, at the age of 12 the parents (Ely and Cecille) of Chad, discovered that he has a potential in singing. Right away they decided to enroll him at Muzik Korner owned by fellow Lasallian and singing star Ms. Roselle Nava. This was the start of the mentorship by Nava on Chad.
For his third song, Chad heartfully dedicated the song “Isang Saglit” to his “Lolo” Engr. Cesar E. Gonzales, who flew all the way from Davao City just to watch Chad’s concert. For the song to be sang the way it was written, the interpreter needed to have experienced a deep heart-ache and disappointment. Surprisingly, Chad nailed it like a once broken hearted lover. He also dedicated this song to his “Lola” Zosing who now lives in Houston, Texas and who has been very supportive ever since he started his interest in singing.
Well the singing career started when Chad wanted to join and participate in an LSGH event billed as “TATAK GREEN HILLS” handled by LSGH alumnus Tony Atayde. By the time Chad inquired, it turned out that the audition was already technically concluded. But Atayde gave him the chance to audition over the phone. Luckily and quite unexpectedly, Chad passed the audition. For the event, he then meets another singing icon, Juan Miguel Salvador who together with Atayde and Nava becomes his mentors. With such a powerhouse of talents training and pushing him, Chad was more encouraged to always do his best in every performance.
In a duet with fellow performer Ms. Nina Gonzales, singing “Am Gonna Lose You”, showcased his vocal range. Chad performed with full confidence and managed to sing side by side with another great talent.
For his fourth song, Chad’s version of “You and I” was the icing on the cake that evening. Chad performed like a season pro, full of confidence and delighted the audience with his dance moves.
Chad is a fresh, new up and coming great talent to watch out for. It was indeed an unexpected performance from a performer on the verge of stardom.
Bravo Chad.
Article was originally published in 2016.
