Push Admin

How former “Philippine Idol” champ Mau Marcelo battled with depression

Article (news)

Joan Leary

<div> </div>2006 must have been Mau Marcelo’s lucky year because that was when she was hailed the grand winner of the reality talent-search program Philippine Idol but it was also the year when she faced one of her life&#x27;s big challenges.Mau’s musical career didn’t go as planned and she noticed that her fame was slowly fading too; that was when she started battling with depression.&quot;Nawalan ako ng gana, nawalan ng pag-asa. Pag may problema, pag may iniisip ako, mas gusto kong uminom, ta&#x27;s matutulog na lang ako. Gano&#x27;n &#x27;yung pakiramdam. Actually, everyday,” she told <a href="https://push-data.abs-cbn.com/push/push/media/2018/022418/022418-maumarcelo_push.jpg">ABS-CBN News.</a>Despite what happened to her career in the Philippines, her passion for music never wavered. She thought of going abroad to start all over again.&quot;Sa pagbagsak ng career ko, nag-iisip lang ako lagi kung ano pang puwede gawin, ano puwede mangyari habang kaya ko pang kumanta,” she added.That was when she became a bar singer in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It took a while for Mau to recover from her depression but she bounced back 12 years later through <a href="http://entertainment.abs-cbn.com/tv/shows/itshowtime/main/">It’s Showtime</a>’s segment “<a href="http://entertainment.abs-cbn.com/tv/shows/tawagngtanghalan/main/">Tawag ng Tanghalan.</a>”&quot;Naisip ko, kaya ko pa naman. Dito sa &#x27;Tawag ng Tanghalan,&#x27; back to zero siya pag sumali ka. Walang problema sa kanila kahit nanalo ka na,” she said.She won that day with her rendition of “Neither One of Us” and just when she thought nobody could remember her anymore, judge Gary Valenciano remembered her and gave Mau some words of encouragement.&quot;Your season of being a champion, it may have disappeared. But the seasons always come back,” he said.Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to defend the ‘golden microphone’ in “Tawag ng Tanghalan” during the Friday episode, February 23. Nonetheless, she remains positive.&quot;Ang expectation ko: may kumuha ulit sa akin, may mag-manage ulit sa akin somehow na naniniwala pa sa akin. Hindi naman porke&#x27;t talo ka... &#x27;Di ba nga minsan, kung sino pa &#x27;yung talo, siya pa &#x27;yung mas na-e-expose. Kahit natalo ako ngayon, ang akin, maisip nila, nandito pa ako,&quot; she said.