KZ Tandingan
Tandingan in 2025
Background information
Born	Kristine Zhenie Lobrigas Tandingan (1992-03-11)March 11, 1992 (age 33) Digos,Davao del Sur, Philippines
Genres	Acoustic jazz pop R&B
Occupations	Singer rapper
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Star Music Tarsier Records
Spouse	TJ Monterde ​ (m. 2020)​

Kristine Zhenie Lobrigas "KZ" Tandingan-Monterde^[1] (born March 11, 1992) is a Filipino singer and rapper. She rose to prominence following her win on thefirst season ofThe X Factor Philippines in 2012.^[2]

Hailed as "Asia's Soul Supreme" by various media outlets,^[3][4][5][6] Tandingan is recognized as one of her generation's most celebrated Filipino artists.^[7] She has been honored with various accolades and recognitions including 7Awit Awards, 3Wish 107.5 Music Awards and 2Myx Music Awards. She achieved international acclaim after participating in the most popular reality TV singing competition inChina,Singer 2018.^[8][9] The following year, she made history as the first Filipino artist to stage a sold-out solo concert inDubai World Trade Center Arena.^[10] In 2021, she recorded the first full Filipino Disney songGabay for the film "Raya and the Last Dragon".^[5][10] Tandingan is also among the most successful artists onBillboard's Philippine Top 20 chart,^[11] scoring multiple hits and has reached Platinum status for her sophomore album, "Soul Supremacy".^[12] As of 2022, her catalog has reached over 278 million all-time streams onSpotify, becoming one of the most streamed female artists in the country.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023, Tandingan served as one of the coaches for thefifth season ofThe Voice Kids,^[13] and reprised her role in thethird season ofThe Voice Teens.^[14]

KZ Tandingan started singing as a child but had to stop when she was in her junior year in high school after suffering from a throat problem. She is an alumna ofUniversity of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City and had graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in biology.^[15]

Before she joinedThe X Factor Philippines, Tandingan was part of a local acoustic band.^[15]

Tandingan was considered an early favorite after she performed a jazzy version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in the fourth week of the Judges' auditions. After receiving a standing ovation from all the judges, she was requested to sing again. Tandingan obliged and sang "Ready or Not" by American hip-hop group,The Fugees. With her second song, she also showed her rapping skills. Tandingan was greatly praised by all of the judges. Nievera even shouted, "A star is born in Digos!".^[16] The video of Tandingan's audition went viral online after it was uploaded in YouTube. The video reached nearly 1 million views before it was removed due to copyright issues.^[17] During the Bootcamp stage, she sang "Mahirap Magmahal ng Syota ng Iba" by theAPO Hiking Society and cried after she made the cut for the Top 20.^[18] Tandingan sang "Killing Me Softly with His Song" byRoberta Flack during the Judges' home visit. On week 9, she landed on the bottom 2 for the first time with teammate Allen Sta. Maria, but she survived elimination. Tandingan was Charice's last remaining act after Allen Sta. Maria was eliminated on week 9. She reached the grand finals on October 7, 2012, and was proclaimed the winner ofThe X Factor Philippines.^[2]

Performances and results

On January 7, 2013, Tandingan entered theHimig Handog contest with the song entry called "Scared To Death", written by Domingo Rosco Jr. The song was accompanied with a music video that was assigned as a project to be directed byUniversity of Santo Tomas and premiered on February 2 inMyx Philippines. She performed the song in the grand finals on February 24, 2013, at theSM Mall of Asia Arena. Overall, the song finished in 4th place and was the third runner-up for Best P-pop Love Song thus rewarding the writer of Tandingan's song one hundred thousand pesos in cash.^[19][20] On April 21, 2013, she toured across North America as a supporting act for pop bandSide A.^[19][21] On May 2, 2013, Tandingan released her self-titled debut album. The album was produced by Jonathan Manalo and consists of mainly original songs with some covers.^[22] On June 27, 2013, she officially launched the album on Makati City.^[23][24][25]

On January 11, 2014, Tandingan won ₱1,000,000 inThe Singing Bee where she accumulated 4 straight songs correctly. In the show, she did not make a single error in the first 2 rounds and eventually won a tie-breaker against co-contestants Frenchie Dy andSitti, who also did not commit any errors throughout the game. The following year, she was announced as one of the eight contestants for the second season ofYour Face Sounds Familiar along withMyrtle Sarrosa,Sam Concepcion,Cacai Bautista,Kean Cipriano,Denise Laurel,Michael Pangilinan and Eric Nicolas. The show ran from September 12, 2015, to December 13, 2015. and she was the 3rd runner-up. Tandingan was then announced as one of the celebrity mentors inWe Love OPM in 2016, being the mentor of Team O Diva. The show ran from May 14, 2016, to July 17, 2016. She is currently seen inASAP, as one of the ASAP Soul Sessions withJason Dy,Daryl Ong,Jay R andKyla. The Soul Sessions formed on May 15, 2016, and disbanded in late 2017.^[26]

On February 9, 2018, Tandingan competed as a weekly challenger onChina'sSinger 2018 wherein she placed first on her debut round on week five. She sang her own rendition ofAdele's "Rolling in the Deep". She remained as a contestant on the show until her elimination on week nine.^[27]

On February 16, 2018, Tandingan sang theMandopop song in her own rendition, "The Hurts You Never Knew" (Chinese: 你不知道的痛), a combination of three pieces of songs "What Else Do You Want From Me"(Chinese:你還要我怎樣) byJoker Xue, "All The Things You Never Knew" (Chinese:你不知道的事) byWang Leehom and "Still Aching" (Chinese:還隱隱作痛) byPower Station. She was allowed to remain in the competition for ranking third in the top four, per the competition rules for a challenger.^[28]

On March 16, 2018, Tandingan sang "Royals" where she was the third person to perform. That week was a double elimination (after one contestant was too ill to perform and was givenbye that week), and per the competition rules the two singers receiving the lowest count of overall votes would be eliminated. She finished last on the overall votes, which resulted in her elimination ofSinger 2018 (another contestant, James Li, was also eliminated for finishing 7th on the overall count after a challenger of the week successfully placed in the top four).^{[citation needed]}

Tandingan's stint on the show showcased her artistry in different music genres. Her eventual elimination created a flurry of criticism from social media commentators and Chinese fans she had gained. OnWeibo, China's equivalent ofTwitter, KZ Tandingan became the second-most talked-about topic after her elimination.^{[citation needed]}

Eliminated singers, except singers who withdrew and singers in the first round, returned for the breakout episode (aired April 6, 2018) for a chance to re-enterSinger 2018 and qualify for the grand finals. Tandingan performed a Tagalog/Mandarin rendition ofAnak and finished 7th, and was unable to advance to the finals. Despite her elimination, she later returned as a guest singer (along with former winnerCoco Lee) for a performance fromJessie J (who was the series winner) in the grand finals aired April 13, 2018.^{[citation needed]}

On April 27, 2016, KZ was announced to be part of the DIVAS Live in Manila concert along withKyla,Yeng Constantino, andAngeline Quinto (Rachelle Ann Go was originally planned to be part of the lineup, but backed out due to international commitments). The singers staged their first team-up concert titled DIVAS Live in Manila on November 11, 2016, at theSmart Araneta Coliseum.^[29]

On December 15, 2018, Tandingan, along with Constantino, Kyla and Quinto staged another concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum withBoyz II Men titled Boyz II Men with DIVAS.^[30]

From July–August 2023, Kyla, Yeng and KZ toured in the United States and Canada following the Cornerstone All Star Concert, withJason Dy as their special guest for the tour, titled Vocal Champs.^[31]

On April 27, 2016, it was announced that a girl group named DIVAS, composed of Tandingan,Yeng Constantino,Kyla,Rachelle Ann Go andAngeline Quinto would debut with their first concert at theSmart Araneta Coliseum titled DIVAS: Live in Manila on November 11, 2016. However, Go left the group due to scheduling problems.^{[citation needed]}

KZ held her first major solo concertSupreme: KZ Tandingan at Mall of Asia Arena on June 22, 2018. She shared the stage with some of the biggest artists in Philippines, including fellow ASAP Soul SessionistsKyla,Jason Dy andDaryl Ong, her biggest rap influenceGloc-9,Malaya hitmakerMoira Dela Torre, singerIñigo Pascual, and rapperShanti Dope.^[32] Shen then embarked on her first world tour, the "Supreme: World Tour".

On October 31, 2018, KZ returned to the MOA Arena Stage, this time performing alongside Chinese singersFish Leong,A-Lin,Faye at the PDMN "To Youth Nice To Meet You" Phil-Chi Star Concert.^{[citation needed]}

On December 15, DIVAS returned to the Araneta Coliseum, staging a collaboration concert with the international R&B vocal trioBoyz II Men.^{[citation needed]}

Tandingan married musician TJ Monterde on August 28, 2020.^[33]

Notes

• Living people
• 1992 births
• 21st-century Filipino singers
• 21st-century Filipino women singers
• Awit Awards winners
• Filipino women pop singers
• Filipino women rappers
• Mandarin-language singers
• Singers from Davao del Sur
• Star Magic
• Star Music artists
• The X Factor Philippines
• The X Factor winners
• 21st-century rappers

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• Use mdy dates from April 2021
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• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2025
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021