
TJ Monterde Surpasses 5 Million Monthly Listeners on Spotify
Words by Julian Mauricio
Special thanks to Caress Caballero of Cornerstone Entertainment
There was a time when TJ Monterde was best known for being the husband of hitmaker KZ Tandingan. But that time is over. These days, TJ is stepping out of his beloved’s shadow to become a star in his own right. When the curtain fell on 2023, he made Spotify’s annual #SpotifyWrapped as one of the most-streamed OPM artists that year, alongside big names like Arthur Nery, Ben&Ben, Moira Dela Torre, and Zack Tabudlo.
His latest accomplishment? Surpassing 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The Cagayan de Oro-born artist was stunned when he heard the news, as when 2024 began, his goal was merely to keep his monthly listeners at what for him was a modest number of 3 million. He could hardly believe his ears when his management told him that he had nearly doubled that amount. As of this writing, he has 5,102,547 monthly listeners on Spotify.
When “Palagi” became a hit, it contributed greatly to his increased visibility on the platform. To date, it has 69 million streams. It’s equally popular on YouTube, where its lyric video has 18 million views. Its official music video has 8.3 million views, and a performance video TJ filmed for The Cozy Cove’s YouTube series has earned 24 million views. All that, combined with the success of songs like “Dating Tayo” (119 million) and “Ikaw at Ako” (40.8 million), catapulted TJ into the spotlight.
Palagi (Live at The Cozy Cove) – TJ Monterde
When asked to comment on the viral success of “Palagi,” TJ said, “It feels overwhelming. I didn’t expect this because when I wrote it, I didn’t set out to write a hit song. I wrote it as a song of reassurance for KZ. It was really meant to be a personal song. But now, many people are messaging me, expressing how it helped them strengthen their relationships, and to me, that’s one of the things I’m meant to do as a songwriter.”
TJ’s popularity is at an all-time high right now. Having achieved his dream of touching people’s hearts with his songs, his new goal is to attract more listeners not only in the Philippines but also globally. He took his first steps toward that goal by releasing the album Sariling Mundo, which was followed by a two-day sold-out concert at the New Frontier Theater.
Sariling Mundo Concert [Highlight Reel]
“I’m grateful because I believe I’ve found the perfect song to introduce all of my previous work. Remaining authentic has always been important to me. I’m thrilled that many people are embracing my stories as their own. And there are still more songs I want to write and sing for everyone,” he says.
Keep up with TJ on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, TikTok, X, and YouTube.