The Voice Kids Philippines Alumna: Where Are They Now?
With a new season starting on February 25, let’s see where the previous contestants of the Voice Kids Philippines have been up to.
A new season of The Voice Kids Philippines is coming to television starting on February 25. The season comes with new changes as Robi Domingo and Bianca Gonzalez take on hosting duties.
The show will also feature two new coaches in the persons of Martin Nievera and KZ Tandingan, who will join Bamboo Mañalac for the fifth season.
As we wait for the kids who will be under their mentorship, we check up on the alumna of the show who went on to become famous in their own careers.
Lyca Gairanod, Winner of Season 1
Lyca Gairanod was just 9 years old when she won the first season of Voice Kids Philippines in 2014. Now all grown up at 18, Lyca’s career saw her doing films, TV appearances, and performances before important dignitaries. In 2015, Lyca was one of the singers who performed “Tell The World of His Love” during one of the gatherings hosted in the Philippines for Pope Francis.
In 2021, Lyca signed up with Viva Artist Agency. One of her collaborations was the song “Ily Ily” with the P-Pop group Alamat.
Darren Espanto, 1st runner-up, Season 1
Darren, 21, is one of the most successful singers to come out of the Voice Kids Philippines franchise. After placing 1st runner-up, he performed at the 4th annual Outstanding Filipino-Americans (TOFA) in New York in 2014 and also performed before Pope Francis in 2015 during his visit.
Darren has also lent his voice to popular songs in movies such as “A Whole New World” alongside Morissette Amon for the Philippine promotion of Aladdin and “Dying Inside” for the film English Only Please. Moreover, he was the first among the Voice Kids Philippines graduates to stage his own concert.
Aside from his music career, Darren has become a mentor as well, most recently on the show Dream Maker.
JK Labajo, 2nd runner-up, Season 1
Juan Karlos Labajo or JK starred in a number of teleseryes on ABS-CBN. Some of the shows include Hawak Kamay, Pangako Sa ‘Yo, and A Love to Last.
In addition, JK did films such as Tatlong Bibe alongside Lyca Gairanod and will appear as senator Ninoy Aquino in the film Ako si Ninoy.
One of his hits was the song “Buwan” which he performed alongside his band.
Darlene Vibares, 3rd runner-up, Season 1
Darlene was under Coach Lea Salonga’s team when she took part in the first season of the show. After a few shows, she laid low and resurfaced in 2022 as part of the P-Pop group YGIG, a 7-member girl group under SBTown. However, it was announced that she had to leave the group due to health reasons. She is reportedly set to debut as a solo artist once her health is okay.
Elha Nympha, winner of Season 2
Elha was the winner of season 2 under Bamboo’s team. Prior to becoming a singer, Elha was selling banana cue to help her family.
As part of her prize, Elha released her solo album in 2016. She also performs on ASAP as part of the New Gen DIVAs. Plus, she took part in Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids season 1 and performed in Little Big Shots.
Elha is set to return to the Voice Kids season 5 as host of the online and behind the scenes with Voice Teens runner-up Jeremy Glinoga.
Esang de Torres, 3rd runner-up, Season 2
Esang placed 3rd runner-up in season 2. After her Voice stint, she did her own concert, released an album, and pursued musical theater, where she played the young Cosette in Les Miserables in the Manila and Singapore runs. She took part in Matilda the Musical, too.
Esang took part in season 2 of Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids as well, where she emerged as 3rd runner-up. Currently, she is promoting her song “Heartbeat.”
Joshua Oliveros, winner of Season 3
Joshua Oliveros won the 3rd season of the Voice under Lea Salonga’s mentorship. He did one film called Isa Pa with Feeling in 2019 as Joshua Miguel Oliveros.
Vanjoss Bayaban, winner of Season 4
Vanjoss was the winner of season 4 and was coached by Sarah Geronimo. Following his win, he did several appearances on TV.
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