Darren Espanto
Darren Lyndon Gonzales Espanto is a Filipino-Canadian singer and occasional actor well-known for his cover songs such as Chandelier, originally sung by Sia. He first joined a competition at the age of ten, where he won the Masters Finals of the Pinoy Singing Sensation competition in Edmonton. He made his first television appearance at the same age when he joined YTV's reality television The Next Star in 2012; he became the youngest finalist in the history of the show to be included in the Top 6. However, he rose to prominence after joining the first season of The Voice Kids Philippines. On June 1, 2014, Espanto became a part of ABS-CBN's Star Magic.
Espanto released his first full-length self-titled studio album, Darren in December 2014, under MCA Music Inc., a Universal Music Group company. It debuted at number 1 on the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store and Astro Chart; it is now a certified Double Platinum. In May 2015, Espanto staged a major solo concert at MOA Arena, he set a record for being the youngest artist to perform at the said venue at the age of 14. In May 2016, he released his sophomore album titled Be with Me, also under MCA Music Inc., featuring his carrier single "7 Minutes", that was then followed by "Starlight" and "Parachute", which also became number 1 on the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store after just being released. The said album is now a certified Platinum. In August 2018, he later ventured into acting where he plays Yohan in The Hows Of Us starring Kathryn Bernardo with Daniel Padilla directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina which happens to be one of the highest-grossing Philippine movies of all time to date. In April 2019, Espanto was the only Filipino artist invited as a guest performer in the grand finals of Singer 2019 in China. Espanto, along with Asia's Phoenix Morissette Amon, was also handpicked by Disney to perform the rendition of "A Whole New World" as part of the Philippine promotion of the movie Aladdin in May 2019. In November 2019, the theme song for the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit titled "Side by Side" was launched, where he participated as one of the 11 ASEAN singers representing each member country. The same month, he released his latest single "Sasagipin Kita", also under MCA Music Inc.. The song debuted at number 1 on the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store on the first day of its release. In April 2020, Espanto was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme as its first-ever celebrity Youth Advocate to promote its Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, focusing on climate action, biodiversity conservation and youth empowerment.
Personal life
Espanto was born in Calgary on May 24, 2001. He is the first child of Filipino registered nurses Marinel Gonzales and Lyndon Espanto, who emigrated to Canada from Nueva Vizcaya. His parents taught him Filipino language, particularly Tagalog. Espanto started singing at the age of three. He was interested in singing from a young age, and his parents were supportive of his dreams.
As a toddler, Espanto serenaded to his parents with the tunes of Hakuna Matata from The Lion King, which led to his relatives discovering his singing potential and urging him to pursue and hone his raw talent.
At age 12, Espanto attended Grade 6 at St. Jude Elementary in Calgary, before traveling to the Philippines in 2014 for The Voice Kids. After passing the auditions, he returned to Canada to write his advanced test in St. Cyril School. Afterwards, he returned to the Philippines. Espanto, along with the other The Voice Kids finalists, received a ₱350,000 scholarship from Eton International School. Upon moving to the Philippines, he went to Eton International School and later on took up homeschooling under The Homeschool of Asia Pacific, an affiliate of the Sanston Academy where he completed his senior high school with honors. In Grade 11, he was awarded with second honors. In Grade 12, he graduated with first honors and received two special awards, i.e., the Achiever Award and the Excellence in Music and Arts Award.
Career
At age 10, Espanto won during the Main Edition Finals of the Pinoy Singing Sensation competition in Edmonton on August 20, 2011, singing "Alone" by Celine Dion.2012–2013: ''The Next Star''
In 2012, ten-year-old Espanto auditioned for the fifth season of YTV's reality television The Next Star, singing Bruno Mars' "Grenade". One of the judges, Keshia Chanté, got emotional and told him that his voice was 'unbelievable' and 'controlled'. Judge Mark Spicoluk, on the other hand, stated that he 'lacked stage presence'. Nevertheless, after Chante asked him if he was ready, she and Tara Oram said yes, earning him the 'golden ticket'.He continued to be selected onto its Top 6, singing pop songs such as Rihanna's "Only Girl " and Maroon 5's "Payphone" among others. He also had his own single and music video entitled "Gotta Give A Little Extra", as well as two other singles, "Now" and "Oh Oh Santa" with the other five finalists. Ultimately, he lost to 14-year-old Brooklyn Roebuck, after singing his own single during the finals. He was the youngest finalist in the history of the show to be included in the Top 6.
In 2013, Espanto had his first series as a guest in YTV's Life with Boys.
2014: ''The Voice Kids''
During the auditions of the inaugural season of ABS-CBN's The Voice Kids that aired on June 1, 2014, Espanto performed Jessie J's "Domino", which he formerly sang during The Next Star at age 11. Coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo Mañalac both pressed their buttons for him, vocalizing that he 'can be groomed to be a recording artist, a total package'. Although Espanto revealed that he was Mañalac's front act during one of his concerts in Canada, he still picked Geronimo stating that she could help him a lot in the music industry.Espanto eventually advanced to the finals after singing Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time" during the live semi-finals held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila, Pasay. He was the second one to receive the highest votes, after Lyca Gairanod. Salonga, one of the coaches commented that Espanto is a phenomenal while his mentor Geronimo stated that he was 'a winner and a complete package'. He also sang "Somebody To Love" by Justin Bieber with some back up dancers, and Star Magic artists.
In the finale, during the first round which was a power ballad theme, Espanto performed Basil Valdez's song "Ngayon" where he received a standing ovation including from the three coaches. Lea Salonga left a warning to older performers, saying: "To every person Darren idolized, this is a warning to all of you: this kid will outshine you someday". Once again, Geronimo praised him and said that despite his talent, Espanto never showed superiority and instead listened to his coach. On the final round of the competition, Espanto accompanied himself with a piano during his performance of "You Are My Song" while having a duet with the original singer Martin Nievera, where received another standing ovation. At the end of the competition, he once again came in second after Lyca Gairanod.
2014–present: Post ''The Voice Kids''
In 2014, Espanto said that he will not go back to Calgary, Alberta, and that he was staying in the Philippines to try acting and do a project with his coach and mentor, Sarah Geronimo. In August, Espanto became a part of ABS-CBN's training and management center Star Magic.Espanto's rendition of Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time" topped the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store on September 11, while his rendition of Justin Bieber's "Somebody to Love" placed second. He then staged his first solo concert at the Music Museum; a repeat of the concert was staged on December 19, 2014.
On October 25, he made his Carnegie Hall debut as the headliner at the Fourth The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York Awards, which celebrated Filipino American History Month in New York City. His rendition of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" topped the iTunes chart on November 18, while his rendition of Jessie J's "Domino" placed second. These were the only two local songs to be included on the top 15.
On November 29, 2014, Espanto signed a record and management deal with MCA Music Inc.. A week after, he and the other three finalists of The Voice Kids held a concert at the Philippine International Convention Center. He also released his first solo album, "Darren", with MCA Music Inc.. It debuted at number 1 at the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes Store upon its release on December 8.
In January 2015, Espanto performed Trina Belamide's "Tell The World of His Love" during Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines. On May 29, Darren performed at the Mall of Asia Arena for his birthday concert making him the youngest performer to stage a solo concert in the said venue.
On November 18, Espanto was one of the singers performing at a state dinner for a delegation from Mexico.
In 2016, Espanto released his sophomore album "Be With Me". The album contains 11 songs from the singer, two of which are his original compositions.
On July 31, 2016, Espanto opened for the Philippine leg of Selena Gomez's Revival tour.
On May 4, 2017 during his Twitter party, Espanto surprised his fans with a deluxe edition of his sophomore solo album entitled Be With Me, to be released the following day. Be With Me contains 5 bonus tracks: "I’ll Be There" with Jed Madela, Acoustic versions of "7 Minutes" and "Alam", the viral hit, his cover of Sia's "Chandelier", and a stripped version of Young Hearts with Malaysian pop singer Nik Qistina.
In 2018, Espanto made his acting debut in The Hows of Us. Espanto also became a member of the teen pop group ASAP G! Other members of the group are Isabela Vinzon, Jayda Avanzado, Ylona Garcia, Jeremy Glinoga and Kyle Echarri. The group formed on June 3, 2018 and disbanded in November 2018, when the show was reformatted into ASAP Natin 'To.
In 2019, Espanto was part of The Aces concert with fellow singers Lani Misalucha and Jonalyn Viray. The trio performed in Cebu, Davao, and Manila. Espanto and Viray, so called the Pair of Aces, also conducted a tour in Canada in the latter part of the year. On April 12, he also appeared as the only Filipino guest performer in the grand finals of Singer 2019 in China. This was followed by the release of "A Whole New World" on May 24, wherein he and Morissette Amon collaborated to perform the rendition of the song as part of the Philippine promotion of the movie Aladdin as handpicked by Disney. On November 25, the theme song for the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit titled "Side by Side" was launched, where he participated as one of the 11 ASEAN singers representing each member country. And on November 29, he released his latest single "Sasagipin Kita", also under MCA Music Inc. where it debuted at number 1 on the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store on the first day of its release.
In the early part of 2020, Espanto was set to participate in the Singer 2020 competition in China, but the plan was later on cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak and related travel bans. On April 15, 2020, the United Nations Development Programme launched Espanto as its first-ever celebrity Youth Advocate to promote its SDGs, focusing on climate action, biodiversity conservation and youth empowerment.. On May 24, 2020, Espanto celebrated his 19th birthday through an online benefit concert entitled "D Birthday Concert from Home". The concert was streamed live via Espanto's Facebook page and garnered around 12,000 viewers and 251,000 views. Through this event, he was able to raise P838,206.69 which was donated to his home network, ABS-CBN Pantawid ng Pag-ibig program. On June 12, 2020, Espanto, in his capacity as UNDP Philippines Youth Advocate, became part of United Nations Development Programme's #Mission1Point5 climate action global campaign in coordination with The Good Co. via its social media platforms with millions of followers worldwide.. On July 31, 2020, Espanto and Jayda Avanzado released a collaboration for the track revival "Sana Tayo Na" under Star Music followed by the release of the official music video on the same day.