Jaya admits to attempted suicide

You wouldn’t think there’s something wrong with Jaya’s past.

The Queen of Soul doesn’t rant on social media. She never had a single spat or scandal in all the 25 years she’s been in the fickle showbiz industry.

But there’s something more to her than meets the eye.

Personal demons

Back before she and Regine Velasquez even became bosom friends, Jaya wrestled with her personal demons as only someone with a lonely childhood can.

“Ipinanganak ako nung 70s. Ibang generation yon. Wala kang karapatan. Ang mom ko (seasoned performer Elizabeth Ramsay, now in her early 80s), kumakayod. Wala akong yaya. Wala akong kasama (sa bahay). Wala akong Ate. Normal ba yon?”

She matured fast. At seven, Jaya said she had the mind of a 12 year old.

‘Anong nangyari?’

The alienated feeling was too much. Jaya did not specify the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back, but she just found herself at the end of the rope.

“Alam kong mali. Ayaw akong tanggapin ni Lord. Bumubula ka na paggising mo. Ang daming suka. Anong nangyari?”

That angst drove Jaya to sing “Dahil Tanging Ikaw,” “Wala na bang Pag-ibig,” “Hanggang Ngayo’y Mahal” and others with so much fire, these have become hits and has spawned remakes up to now, as she marks her 25th anniversary concert “Memories 25 Years” on Monday, November 10 at Solaire Hotel and Casino Grand Ballroom.

Saving grace

Jaya’s friends, with Regine on top of the list, became her saving grace.

“Ang dami kong friends na malalapitan. I can just call Songbird (Regine) straight.”

Family also inspires Jaya.

“I have two beautiful kids and a loving husband na mas bagets sa akin. Ang kids ko, talented nila. They rap and sing but they’re so shy . My daughter has the talent for drawing of a 12 or 13 year old. And she’s only eight.”

Be positive

All of them have made Jaya get over her sad past.

“As a human being, I’ve become more tolerant. Ang pikon, kawawa. Just be positive.”

Jaya is positive she will fully recover from laparoscopic surgery over the weekend, when she was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital Quezon City after complaining of pain that made her feel “na parang binugbog ka ng 10 lalaki.”

“Wala na akong gall bladder,” she says. But Jaya is sure that with a change of diet, and walking exercises to speed up the healing process, she can make it.

“Wala na ito by Friday,” she said at a presscon last Tuesday, October 14.

Jaya can only look back at her 25 years in showbiz and tick off the lessons she learned in her colorful journey.

‘Pakikisama’ and humility

“Pakikisama” and humility are musts.  But it’s something some of today’s new talents lack, Jaya laments.

She doesn’t name names, but you can tell she’s not pleased.

“When you work with these people once a week, dinadaan-daanan ka na lang. Magkatabi pa nga kami ni Songbird.”

What’s to blame

Jaya thinks today’s culture of instant stardom is to blame.

“Sinasabihan ka na ang galing mo, ikaw na. Oo, nananalo sila sa contest. Pero di pa sila sumasali sa contest na manalo, matalo, uuwi ka ng luhaan. Proseso yon.”

Wise words from someone who has stayed 25 years in the business, and who will probably stay even longer to work with younger singers who may or may not last as long in the industry the way Jaya has.