It has already been almost a decade since Jason Dy was hailed as the grand champion of “The Voice Philippines Season 2” in 2015.

While he’s now known as one of the finest singers in the country, many of us were probably not aware of the sacrifices, hardships, and rejections that he had to go through before attaining his dream of making it to the local entertainment scene. And he had the chance to share his inspiring story of grit to greatness through his amusing and insightful conversation with Melai Cantiveros during his appearance in the latest episode of ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube’s Bisaya talk show “Kuan On One.”

Aside from being the “big winners” of the reality shows that they competed in, both Melai and Jason are loud and proud “Mindanaoan Bisdak” since Jason hails from Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, which is a few hours’ drive away from Melai’s hometown, General Santos City.

In the 10 years that he’s been in the local entertainment scene, not a lot of people probably know how his journey started and went on until he’s able to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a singer. According to Jason, he already knew that he wanted to become a singer when he was still a young boy, yet he didn’t know how he would make it come true since he was in Butuan City, which is miles away from Manila.

And he finally had the opportunity to be closer to his dreams when his mom supported his decision to pursue college at the University of Sto. Tomas (UST), where he took up a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. As a timid probinsyano, he initially experienced a lot of struggles in his early days in Manila, from having to adjust to the way of life to conquering the language barrier since conversing in Tagalog was a huge challenge for him at first.

Eventually, Jason was able to overcome those later on and even mustered the courage to take on a side hustle as a haranista or serenade singer, which didn’t only help him earn money, but also overcome his shyness and gain confidence. Since he grew up shy, he never had the courage to join any singing contests until 2011, when he had his first foray into reality shows through “Pilipinas Got Talent Season 2.” He stopped going to school for a year to focus on auditions and tried again his luck in “X-Factor Philippines” in 2012 and “The Voice Philippines Season 1,” but to no avail as he always got rejected just on the first stages of the screening.

The crooner admitted that the slew of rejections actually got him discouraged, which made him think that it was probably God’s way of redirecting him or telling him to just pursue his studies again because a singing career is not for him. But before completely giving up, he once again attempted to join “The Voice PH Season 2” and finally made it to the Blind Auditions.

“My wish, apart from being able to enter the contest, was that there was at least one coach who would turn his or her red chair for me. I was already okay with that, just so I wouldn’t waste my entry into the contest. It would be a bit embarrassing if I already participated and then I was filmed in the blind auditions, yet no one even turned for me. So, all my efforts would seem to be wasted,” he recounted in Bisaya.

However, he got more than what he asked for, as not only one but three coaches turned for him, which he was totally thankful for. And since he’s been an avid fan of Sarah Geronimo ever since she was just starting in the industry, up to the present when she’s hailed as the “Popstar Royalty,” he chose to be part of Team Sarah.

Winning “The Voice PH” was something that he didn’t expect, but that memorable experience made him realize that God maybe saw that he wasn’t completely ready yet or that his skills were not mature enough in his initial attempts, so He had him wait for his moment to shine. And that right time came in the said competition, in which she prevailed as the champion.

“The best part is not that you won ‘The Voice PH,’ but that you discovered in yourself that if you are persistent, you really are persistent. No matter how many times you are rejected, you will still stand up,” Melai commented in Bisaya. “You know, we can never really know God’s plan. We don’t really know, so just get on with life. Just trust in God that He will give you your heart’s desire as long as you have good character.”
The gregarious host then put her guest’s impromptu singing chops to the test in the “Dakong Problema” segment by challenging him to compose a “song for life” using the Bisaya words that she provided: “puhon” (someday), “daug” (victory), “padayon” (continue), “kuan” (a pause word used to fill in when the speaker cannot think of the right word), and “dasig” (enthusiasm/encouragement). But he opted to focus on puhon since it was the word that struck him the most.

Melai also took on the dare and was able to come up with a novelty song using the Bisaya words “katawa” (laughter), “gwapa” (beautiful), “kasing-kasing” (heart), “aguy” (ouch), and “kalipay” (happiness)” that Jason provided.

The hit online show capped off with the “Ultimate Yawyaw” segment, in which Kuantie Melai and the guest shared the realizations kindled to them by their conversation. Melai commended Jason for being able to overcome his shyness and the obstacles in life that led him to where he is at present.

She stated in Bisaya, “Your being persistent – you didn’t know where you really got it from, but that’s what brought you to your current situation. It was not easy, but you did it because you were persistent. It’s not the material things that you must be really thankful for, but your persistence, because you can use that until your old age.”

On the other hand, Jason summed up his “yawyaw” in one word, which was “ngisi” (smile). He said, “Just smile. You should just stay positive. If you get rejected, smile. Just smile at the one who rejected you. If you are accepted, you should smile more. If you win, you should smile even more. If you lose, cry for a while, and then smile anyway.”

Then he continued, “You can only do so much. Do what you can, and then God and the universe will take care of the rest. Just surrender to Him. Just do what you can. Fight. Be persistent. If it’s not for you, it’s really not for you. There is time for you.”

He went on to add how his previous experiences made him realize that rejection is always redirection. If something is not meant for us, just accept it regardless of how difficult it can be because God will place us somewhere better than what we presumed was our destination.

And lastly, Melai asked him what his favorite Bisaya expression is, to which Jason related, “mao na na run,” which translates to “that’s it” and signifies acceptance or optimism. Besides, it can also be interpreted as the oft-quoted aphorism “everything happens for a reason.” which is one of the concepts that he’s been holding on to, especially in the early chapters of his singing career.