Allyzza Kay Trinidad

Carmelle Collado gets real about fame, love, and bashers

Article (news)

Carmelle Collado reveals manifested dreams that finally come true, reflects on humble beginnings

Mary Ann Bardinas

<p>More than a year into her showbiz career, and Carmelle Collado just keeps on growing, shining, and thriving!  </p><p>From dominating &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2025/1/20/winning-moments-carmelle-collado-emerges-as-tawag-ng-tanghalan-school-showdown-grand-champion-1242" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Tawag ng Tanghalan: The School Showdown</u></strong></a>&quot; as its grand champion, she went on to surprise everyone when she joined &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/pinoy-big-brother-collab-v2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u><em>Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0</em></u></strong></a>&quot; several months later, where she was known as the &quot;Riles Diva ng Camarines Sur.&quot; She may have fallen short in at least making it at least to the &quot;Ultimate 8&quot; after getting evicted on the seventh and final eviction night alongside Kapuso ex-housemate Marco Masa, yet Carmelle has been blessed in so many ways, especially when it comes to her singing career. </p><p>As we continue to follow her progress in the local entertainment scene, Carmelle&#x27;s fellow PBB alumni Bianca Gonzalez and Esnyr Ranollo—the hosts of ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube&#x27;s newest video podcast &quot;Hello Outside World&quot; that features former housemates of the reality show as they reveal behind-the-scenes stories, personal struggles, and their journey of adjusting to life after their stints inside Bahay ni Kuya—had her revisit her humble beginnings and funny moments from their early days in Manila. They were joined by Kolette Madelo, who was the 3rd Big Placer of the “<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/pbbgen112024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u><em>PBB Gen 11</em></u></strong></a>” season. </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="916" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LUFZi6jthYE" title="Kolette Madelo and Carmelle Collado: PAPATOL NA?! | Hello Outside World Ep. 2" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><p>Since she&#x27;s been playfully tagged as the &quot;Kutsinta Girly&quot; for her astonishing ability to mimic the iconic sound of the horn being used by roving kutsinta vendors, the hosts didn&#x27;t pass up the chance to hear it in person and challenge her to do it in four different styles—which she impressively nailed. </p><div> </div><div><strong>Childhood in CamSur</strong></div><p>Having lived most of her life along the riles in Camarines Sur, since their house was located next to the railroad tracks and was part of the PNR Compound, Carmelle shared that most of her unforgettable childhood memories happened there.  </p><p>Just like other kids, her parents imposed a curfew on her, which meant that she needed to be at home by 6PM. That&#x27;s why, even though she was already very thirsty, she wouldn&#x27;t go back home because she knew that she wouldn&#x27;t be allowed to go outside again. She also gave a special shoutout to her grandmother, who used to hide the keys to their house for her and her cousins not to be able to go out.  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>On her unforgettable moment as a kontesera </strong></div><p>While she only first came to public consciousness through her victorious stint in &quot;Tawag ng Tanghalan,&quot; it was actually not her first-ever foray in singing competitions. In fact, she&#x27;d joined an international singing contest where she represented The Philippines prior to shooting her shot on singing competitions on TV. </p><p>Since he was just a minor then and had to be accompanied by her mother, they had to shell out half a million pesos to cover both of their expenses abroad. Thus, they had to figure out how to save up money, which they eventually managed to do by having Carmelle sing at various events and the payment they had received from each was being set aside by her mom, until they were able to finally reach their target. And all their efforts paid off as she won seven gold medals, seven plaques, and cash prizes after the competition.  </p><p>She also reminisced about her reaction on her first time setting her foot in Manila, since she had to undergo intensive vocal trainings under Jed Madela as a preparation for the upcoming contest.  </p><p>While Kolette got here in Manila by riding an airplane, Carmelle had to endure a roughly 12-hour bus ride back and forth Manila and Camarines Sur. Although she was still a young girl back then, but she already knows how to have her main character moment. She recounted listening to different songs on her phone through her earphones while staring out the window and the wind blowing on her face, telling herself, &quot;So, this is Manila. Oh my God, this is my dream!&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>On her life in showbiz so far </strong></div><p>As Bianca quizzed them if they manifested the things they&#x27;ve been working hard for and enjoying at present, Carmelle confessed about being a huge fan of Popstar Royalty Sarah Geronimo, so she was really hoping to be part of her team when she joined &quot;The Voice Kids Philippines Season 4&quot; in 2019. However, she ended up at Kamp Kawayan since it was only Coach Bamboo who turned his chair at her performance, which made her think that God had other plans for her back then. True enough, she made it until the grand finals and became the runner-up.  </p><p>Moreover, Carmelle imparted that she also dreamt of performing on “<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/asap" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em><strong><u>ASAP</u></strong></em></a>” since she and her family had been watching the show ever since she was a kid. Thus, she couldn&#x27;t be any grateful and proud that from simply anticipating and mimicking the performances of her favorite artists, she&#x27;s now sharing the stage with icons like Asia&#x27;s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid. </p><p>Despite her career&#x27;s steady rise, she revealed that nothing has really changed about her—she&#x27;s simply been blessed with more.  </p><p>&quot;Ako, as a person po—kasi parang iniiba ko &#x27;yong sarili ko as an artist and as a person. Ako po, me as a person, hindi talaga nawawala sa akin &#x27;yong relationship ko po sa family ko,&quot; she related. &quot;Actually, madami pong nagtatanong sa akin, &#x27;Ano ang nagbago sa&#x27;yo?&#x27; Sabi ko, wala naman pong nagbago, pero may nadagdag po. Kasi ako pa rin naman po &#x27;yon. Pero &#x27;yong mga nadagdag po, mas nakilala na po ako ng mga tao and madami na pong opportunities na dumating sa buhay ko.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>On Anton and her red and green flags </strong></div><p>Speaking of opportunities, Esnyr didn&#x27;t miss the chance to ask Carmelle about the real score between her and fellow &quot;PBB Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0&quot; housemate and Kapuso actor Anton Vinzon, whom she has been romantically linked to. Referring to Anton&#x27;s appearance at her concert last May that had fans very kilig, Carmelle was quick to clarify that they are just friends. After all, her strict parents don&#x27;t want her to have a boyfriend yet.  </p><p>She added that her parents continue to impose a curfew and never allow her to stay overnight with friends unless she asks for their permission at least a week in advance. This reminded Carmelle of a childhood memory from her elementary school days, when her mother accompanied her on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Although she initially found it embarrassing, she eventually appreciated having her mom there because they got to sleep together. </p><p>As their conversation shifted to the qualities they consider red and green flags in a potential partner, Carmelle shared that her biggest red flags are someone who gives her mixed signals, lies to her, flirts or talks to other women while they&#x27;re dating, and acts arrogantly. Meanwhile, when it comes to her huge green flag, she initially answered, &quot;him,&quot; to leave everyone confused. But she revealed afterwards that she was actually referring to none other than her father, whom she apparently considers the standard for a good man. </p><p>The second episode concluded with Bianca asking the gorgeous guests to share the most important lesson they&#x27;ve learned about the power of manifestation.</p><p>Carmelle answered, &quot;Ang natutunan ko po is just be humble po. Pray, hope, and don&#x27;t worry. And i-surrender lang po everything kay God kasi Siya po talaga &#x27;yong makakasama [ko], lalo na po ngayon sa showbiz na mahirap po talaga...So, surrender everything to God.&quot; </p><p>Catch &quot;Hello Outside World,&quot; hosted by Bianca and Esnyr, with fresh episodes every Wednesday, on ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel. </p><div> </div><div><strong>More on this story: </strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/8/9/funny-and-savage-kolette-and-carmelle-respond-to-bashers-with-pagpapakatotoo-0029" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Funny and savage! Kolette and Carmelle respond to bashers with &#x27;pagpapakatotoo&#x27;</u></strong></a></div><div><strong></strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/6/12/carmelle-spills-backstage-secrets-performance-rituals-and-dream-collaborations-0017" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u></u></strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/6/12/carmelle-spills-backstage-secrets-performance-rituals-and-dream-collaborations-0017" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Carmelle spills backstage secrets, performance rituals, and dream collaborations</u></strong></a><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2025/10/25/from-riles-to-pbb-house-fun-facts-and-the-many-talents-of-carmelle-collado-0826" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>From ‘riles’ to PBB house: Fun facts and the many talents of Carmelle Collado</u></strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/2/25/carmelle-collado-reveals-big-winner-picks-dishes-on-her-trending-moments-in-pbb-collab-2-0-0039" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Carmelle Collado reveals Big Winner picks, dishes on her trending moments in “PBB Collab 2.0”</u></strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2025/1/18/tawag-ng-tanghalan-crowns-carmelle-collado-as-the-school-showdown-grand-champion-1953" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Tawag ng Tanghalan crowns Carmelle Collado as “The School Showdown” grand champion</u></strong></a></div>

<p>Carmelle Collado reminisces about her fun and memorable life before showbiz, as well as open up about her career journey on "Hello Outside World."</p>

Carmelle Collado reminisces about her fun and memorable life before showbiz, as well as open up about her career journey on "Hello Outside World."