Matteo Guidicelli reacts to backlash on his 'Cake By The Ocean' cover

Almost a year after it happened, Matteo Guidicelli finally broke his silence over the bashing that he received for his cover of the 2016 hit "Cake By The Ocean" by American dance-rock band DNCE.

While promoting his concert Matteo Made in Cebu almost 10 months ago, the actor-triathlete appeared on the Wish Bus for a few covers including the aforementioned song. However, his rendition of the DNCE hit was met with strong criticisms.

"No, of course. Having something like that, it really demoralizes you," admitted Matteo in an interview during the pocket presscon of his upcoming concert Hey Matteo at the KIA Theater on November 30.

He continued, "I made a big mistake. I messed up the whole number."

He was able to bounce back after the backlash thanks to his solid "support group."

"Like Tito Martin Nievera, he said people make mistakes. He went on to tell me about the mistake of a certain person," he said.

Instead of being derailed by the comments, Matteo took them as an "inspiration" of sorts.

"I think these things just want me to stand up stronger, na talagang to do my own music. That's why I want original music, I want to say my own story," he said.

Matteo confessed that he did undergo several vocal training sessions after the incident.

"Ako aminado talaga ako na what I did for that thing was really horrible. I admit," he said.

According to him, that moment only strengthened his resolve to really improve his singing skills.

"I'm not trying to compete with anybody, that's for sure. I'm trying to come out with my own story, my own sound," Matteo said.

Aside from his concert, Matteo is also set to release his sophomore album Hey Matteo with the carrier single "Hey" soon. The album, according to him, contains 10 original tracks by various composers.