For the last three weeks, singers and real-life sweethearts KZ Tandingan ang TJ Monterde have been ruling Billboard’s Philippine Top 20 charts.
The couple, who have been in the Top 20 of the music bible since the chart was created 12 weeks ago last Independence Day, have five songs between them in the Top 10 and three more below it.
KZ, a native of Digos, Davao del Sur who rose to prominence after winning the first and only season of “The X-Factor Philippines” in 2012, debuted at No. 1 three weeks ago with her rendition of Air Supply’s “Two Less Lonely People in the World” and has since stayed at the top spot.
The song was originally recorded by the Australian pop duo in 1982 for their album, “Now and Forever.” Released as the third single from that album, “Two Less Lonely People in the World” was a minor hit for Air Supply in the U.S. as it only peaked at No. 38 in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
This year, KZ Tandingan recorded her own rendition of “Two Less Lonely People in the World” as the official theme song of the recent blockbuster, “Kita Kita.” The film directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and headlined by the unlikely love team of Alessandra de Rossi and Empoy Marquez earned more than P320 million in the box office and is still showing in several U.S. cities.
The song that “Two Less Lonely People in the World” knocked out of the No. 1 spot is “Dahil sa Iyo” by Iñigo Pascual which was No. 1 for the first nine weeks of the chart’s existence. Coincidentally, Iñigo is the son of Piolo Pascual, one of the producers of “Kita Kita.”
Aside from peaking at number one in the Billboard Philippine Top 20, “Two Less Lonely People in the World” is also the number two single in Billboard Hot 100, the signature pop chart of Billboard that ranks international and local songs across all genres. The current number one in the Hot 100 is Luis Fonsi’s Latin dance hit, “Despacito.”
In addition to “Two Less Lonely People in the World,” KZ is also in the Top 10 of the Philippine Top 20 with her earlier hit, “Mahal Ko o Mahal Ako” which is now in No. 8 while TJ Monterde’s “Ikaw at Ako Pa Rin” where she is a featured artist sits at No. 13.
“Mahal Ko o Mahal Ako” is from KZ’s latest album, “Soul Supremacy” released by Star Music.
TJ’s Philippine Top 20 chart run is equally impressive. The singer-songwriter from Cagayan de Oro City is the only artist to have three songs in the Top 10 with “Tulad Mo” at No. 3, “Dating Tayo” at No. 4 and “Ikaw at Ako” at No. 9. Below the Top 10, he has three more songs that also included “Mahika” at No. 17 and “Imahinasyon” at No. 19 for a total of six songs in the chart, more than any other artist.
His chart dominance extends even to Billboard Philippines’ Catalog Chart ranking the most popular local songs released three years ago and below across all genres. The chart includes two of TJ’s previous hits, “Sa Tuwina” ranked No. 7 and “Nandito Lang Ako” which sits at No. 9. Both songs debuted in the said chart this week.
All of his six chart hits are from his three PolyEast releases, the 2014 album, “Ikaw at Ako,” the self-titled 2016 EP and his recently laucnhed EP, “Kahit Kunwari.”
KZ and TJ have been together since January, 2015 but it wasn’t until February this year that they made their relationship public.
Billboard’s Philippine charts are compiled by Nielsen Music based on streaming activity data from Spotify and YouTube as well as download sales data from Apple Music.
Watch KZ Tandingan’s live rendition of the country’s number one song, “Two Less Lonely People in the World” at the Wish 107.5 bus here:
