Jaya admits she’s deaf in her right ear, says it was hard performing with Elizabeth Ramsay

Jaya  (Image: Instagram/@jaya)

Jaya revealed that she is deaf in her right ear due to loud speakers on stage when she used to perform in the US.

“I’m about 30-40 percent off sa right, so it’s muffled,” the singer admitted in a “Tonight with Boy Abunda” episode aired Thursday. She made this admission even as she was being criticized for being a “terror hurado (judge)” in the “Tawag Ng Tanghalan” segment on “It’s Showtime.”

“Ang sinasabi nila is an opinion and I have to respect that,” Jaya said of the criticisms hurled at her. “But at the same time, I respect more the opinions of those who know how to sing.”

She also noted that she receives criticisms and advice from other professional singers “because I need it to grow.” “Hindi ako nahu-hurt na sinabi nila ‘yan kasi you know, at the end of the day, these people have probably never seen me perform.”

Explaining why she is strict, she said: “Ang ‘Tawag Ng Tanghalan’ ay di biro (Tawag Ng Tanghalan is no joke). The only reason why they get gonged is because we also have rules.” She then reassured”…’Pag ako nang-gong, gusto ko malaman niya bakit (If I hit that gong, I want to let him/her know why). Hindi ‘yan katapusan ng sinisimulan mong career or career mo na ongoing (It’s not the end of your starting or ongoing career). It’s just the performance for the day has not been that good.”

Jaya also looked back on performing with her mother, the late comedienne Elizabeth Ramsey, which she described as “hard.”

Despite remembering the crazy advice she was being given by Ramsey, she told the audience: “Di po ako iba sa nanay ko. Kung ano po yung ginagawa niya, ganun din po ako, kaya lang sa bahay ko lang ginagawa.”

(I’m not different from my mom.  What she did, I do it too, but only at home.)

And it appears her 12-year-old daughter, Sabriya Gotidoc, may have inherited her musical genes—but in a different genre. The singer said the girl is more interested in rock and alternative music, adding she is not pressuring her to hit high notes like her.

“Sabi ko, ‘Sab, you will never hear from me na sabihin ko sa’yo na bumirit ka, mag-RnB ka,” Jaya recalled. “Basta kung ano yung gusto mo, i-master mo ‘yan kasi ‘yan yung makakapagpasaya sa’yo eh.”

(I said, “Sab, you will never hear from me to tell you to hit those high notes, sing RnB songs. Just master what you like because that’s what will make you happy.)  Katrina Hallare /ra

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