Juan Karlos Labajo

Juan Karlos Labajo (born February 5, 2001), also known as JK or Karlos, is a Filipino Singer and actor. He is an artist of ABS-CBN's Star Magic and also a part of MCA Records.

He auditioned for ABS-CBN's reality singing competition The Voice Kids (Philippines season 1) shown from June to July 2014. Labajo was a finalist, finishing in third place.

After his stint at The Voice Kids, he debuted his acting career in the drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya playing himself for his own life story. He also played the role of Charles Kenneth "CK" Rodriguez in Hawak-Kamay in 2014 and as Vincent "Amboy" Mobido in Pangako Sa 'Yo from 2015 up to 2016.

Early life

Juan Karlos Labajo was born on February 5, 2001 and raised in Consolacion, Cebu, Philippines to Maylinda Labajo and German father, Oliver Stolz. His father left them when he was still a baby^[2] His mother died when he was twelve years old, on November 17, 2013.^[3] He now lives with his Uncle Jovanni and Grandmother Linda in Manila.^[4][5]

Career

2014:The Voice Kids, Star Magic, Hawak Kamay, MMK

Labajo performed his own rendition of Adam Sandler's song, "Grow Old With You", for ABS-CBN's The Voice Kids season 1 blind auditions, which was broadcast on June 7, 2014.^[6] Coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo Mañalac both pressed their buttons to choose him for their teams. Geronimo praised his storytelling.^[7] The double selection gave Labajo the choice of coaches.Although Geronimo invited him to be a guest star at her upcoming concert, he picked Mañalac. His new coach called him "the funniest kid I have ever met".^[7]

Labajo advanced to the four-person finals after singing "Sway" during the live semi-finals held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.^[4] From the public votes, he received the third-highest total of the semi-finalists, after Lyca Gairanod and Darren Espanto.^[8] During the first and second rounds of the finals, Labajo performed "Yesterday"^[9] and "Runaway Baby"^[10] by The Beatles and Bruno Mars respectively. Coach Lea Salonga said, "You have the looks, the charm, and the heart. With those three, you're guaranteed a future in this business."^[11] Mañalac gave him a similar comment: "I see a singer, an artist, and possibly an actor. I see someone who has the charisma to do it all."^[11] For the final round in the finals, Labajo sang a duet with Gary Valenciano, the upbeat song "Eto Na Naman".^[12] At the end of the competition, he once again came in third from the voting.^[13]

After the season of The Voice Kids Philippines Labajo, along with his other three co-finalists in The Voice Kids, officially became a part of Star Magic, ABS-CBN's training and management center.^[14]

Labajo's first project as part of Star Magic was in ABS-CBN's family drama series Hawak-Kamay. A preview on August 15, 2014, showed him with the show's cast.^[15] His fellow The Voice Kids finalist, Lyca Gairanod, joined him in the cast on August 22.^[16] He has also appeared in the Philippine drama anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya.

2015: Ipaglaban Mo, Pangako Sa 'Yo, Debut Album

To continue Labajo's acting career he played as Nico in ABS-CBN's TV Series Ipaglaban Mo: Sa Dulo ng Daan episode last May 9, 2015. Labajo was also cast in "Pangako Sa 'Yo" and plays the role of "Amboy Mobido", one of Yna's friends and is the brother of "Egoy"/Jonathan Mobido (Grae Fernandez ) At auditions for a church play "Josephine the Dreamer" Amboy is filled with awe as he sees the beautiful Lia Buenavista daughter of Governor Buenavista known to Amboy as "Lia B". At the auditions when it is time for Lia to tryout Amboy love struck as usual interrupts constantly to tell the judges to give the part. Although Amboy thinks Lia sings beautifully but she does not get the part. Later on Lia tries again in a second time and both Amboy and Egoy are there. As they watch the auditions Egoy innocently falls in love but tries to resist knowing how much his brother loves her. Egoy and Amboy's contributions to the story line of the show will start to intertwine as the series continues.

In August 2015, Labajo released his debut album, "JK". It has a total of 8 songs, including a special band version of "Para Sa 'Yo," and an acoustic version of "This Gravity". "Di Ka Man Lang Nagpaalam" is a special song on the album, because JK dedicates it to his late mother.^[17]

He was revealed to be the 3rd celebrity housemate in the latest season of Pinoy Big Brother, titled Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7.

Influences

Labajo stated that he wanted to have a career in the entertainment industry since he was very young because he wanted to leave a mark in the world. He was also influenced by his late mother, who hoped he would win a television singing contest.

Fans Club

Labajo's official fans club, "Juan Karlos United Families Club (JKUFC) was established during The Voice Kids Philippines. JKUFC was originally founded on August 16, 2014 but anniversary is being celebrated on the 7th of June, since JK's first TVK appearance is on June 7, 2014. JKUFC was founded due to JK's request to unite all the fans club that were established during TVK days. JK never treated his fans as fans, he calls them family(JKFam).

Personal life

Education

Before he joined The Voice Kids, Labajo experienced bullying, especially in school.^[18] The bullies, who usually acted in groups, teased and punched him because of his looks.^[18] Although his Caucasian looks gave the impression that his family was well-off, they were, in fact, in debt and were forced to move often. To help out, Labajo collected and sold junk.^{[Note 1][2]} He later revealed that at the time he made the semi-finals of The Voice Kids, his grandmother Erlinda asked for financial support from Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III.^[3] Although the amount was only P100, he was still grateful for the governor's support.^[19]

Labajo was awarded a one-year scholarship to ETON International School, a Manila-based school, as part of his prize from "The Voice Kids." He graduated last August 2015.^[20]

Physical Measurements

Height = 5'11"

Eye Color = Brown

Hair Color = Dark Ash Blonde

Shoe size = 10

Favorite Underwear = Boxer Brief^[21]

Filmography

TV drama series

Reality and variety shows

Discography

Album

Singles

Concert

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

• Official website

1. ↑ "Juan Karlos Labajo Bio". ABS-CBN. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
2. 1 2 "Darren at Juan Karlos, baon sa utang?". ABS-CBN. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
3. 1 2 "Davide apologizes to Voice contestant for small cash aid". Cebu Daily News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
4. 1 2 Dumaual, Miguel (July 18, 2014). "Meet 'The Voice Kids' semifinalists". abs-cbnnews.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014. 
5. ↑ "Juan Karlos admits family struggling with debt". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
6. ↑ "The Voice Kids Philippines Blind Audition "Grow Old With You" by Juan Karlos" YouTube. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
7. 1 2 "13-year-old Cebuano charms coaches, netizens". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
8. ↑ "'Voice Kids' reveals top 4 finalists". abs-cbnnews.com. July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014. 
9. ↑ "The Voice Kids Philippines Finale "Yesterday" by Juan Karlos". YouTube. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
10. ↑ "The Voice Kids Philippines Finale "Runaway Baby" by Juan Karlos". YouTube. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
11. 1 2 Alexa Villano (July 27, 2014). "FULL RECAP: 'The Voice Kids' grand finale weekend". Rappler. Retrieved July 29, 2014. 
12. ↑ "The Voice Kids Philippines Finale "Eto Na Naman" by Juan Karlos & Gary Valenciano". YouTube. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
13. ↑ "Lyca is 'The Voice Kids' champion". abs-cbnnews.com. July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014. 
14. ↑ "The Voice Kids Top 4 Joins Star Magic". ABS-CBN. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
15. ↑ "Juan Karlos Labajo To Join Hawak Kamay Casts". PhilNews. Retrieved August 21, 20141.
16. ↑ "Lyca Gairanod to Join the Cast of Hawak Kamay". PhilNews. August 20, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014. 
17. ↑ http://myxph.com/features/24840/myxclusive-jk-labajo-unveils-debut-album/
18. 1 2 "Juan Karlos: I was bullied in school". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
19. ↑ "Gov says P1100 he gave Juan Karlos was his ‘last money’". Cebu Daily News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
20. ↑ http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/08/18/15/juan-karlos-hogwarts-after-graduating
21. ↑ https://twitter.com/hottie_ph/status/756152329410228224
22. ↑ . ABSCBN .Retrieved June 22, 2016.
23. ↑ . ABSCBN. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
24. ↑ . PEP. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
25. ↑ . ABSCBNNews. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
26. ↑ Juan Karlos Labajo To Join "Hawak Kamay" Casts. philnews.ph. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
27. ↑ Here’s the final ranking of The Voice Kids Grand Finale. philnews.ph. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
28. ↑ . ABS-CBN News. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
29. ↑ "Boses ng Bulilit... Kami Ulit" concert featuring "The Voice Kids" artists airs this Saturday". ABS-CBN.com. August 1, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014. 
30. ↑ "The Voice Kids All In: The Concert". Manila Concert Scene. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014. 
31. ↑ 28th Star Awards for Television nominees revealed. Pep.
32. ↑ Juan Karlos nominated as your favorite promising TV star at the StarCinema.com.ph Awards 2015. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
33. ↑ Wish 107.5 Music Awards WINNERS 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
34. ↑ Here Are The MYX Music Awards 2016 Nominees!. MYX PH. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
35. ↑ FULL LIST: Winners, Myx Music Awards 2016. Rappler. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
36. ↑ Fandoms to Stage Wishclusive Collaborations with OPM Artists at Ultimate Fandom Challenge Finale. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
37. ↑ . Retrieved 2016-11-3.