They say the only permanent thing in the world is change.
This rings true even in the entertainment industry. Constant change happens, and celebrities who evolve stay relevant.
Stars who reinvent themselves usually get more opportunities, and in the process, stay longer in the business.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) lists six local stars who have crossed over from one field to another within the industry, in a move that eventually catapulted them to fame. From modest stars, they are now household names.
HERLENE BUDOL
Herlene Budol’s success story is one for the books.
From being a mere contestant in Willie Revillame’s TV game show, Wowowin, on GMA-7 in 2019, Herlene’s current popularity is something many showbiz aspirants wish for themselves within the same short period of time.
Willie seemed to have stumbled upon a goldmine in Herlene. Her humor, candidness, and masa appeal won over viewers and netizens. In fact, her Wowowin episode went viral.
It was in that episode where she was branded “hipon,” a colloquial term referring to a nice body with an "ugly" face.
The veteran Willie, knowing a good thing when he sees it, then made Herlene a regular co-host in Wowowin. The rest, as they say, is history.
From there, Herlene got and accepted acting jobs from the Kapuso network, initially settling for supporting roles in some TV series and becoming a day-player in the network's long-running drama anthologies.
But she did not stop there. Following this, Herlene fulfilled her dream of becoming a beauty queen by joining Binibining Pilipinas 2022.
Her transformation wowed and intrigued netizens. By this time, she had become a regular hot topic on social media.
She was adjudged first runner-up in the national pageant and won seven minor awards.
She then tried her luck with Miss Grand Philippines 2023, but failed to snatch the crown. She settled for the title Miss Philippines Tourism 2023, which is nothing to be scoffed at.
Read: Herlene Budol, sigurado na ang pagsali sa Miss Grand Philippines 2023
Her foray into beauty pageants only increased her popularity, very likely leading to her being given Magandang Dilag (2023), her launching teleserye in the Kapuso Network.
She is also a recent addition to the ongoing Kapuso prime teleserye, Black Rider.
And in April 2024, Herlene joined the Kapuso morning game show, TiktoClock, as one of its hosts.
Read: Herlene Budol, ipinalit kay Rabiya Mateo sa TiktoClock?
Name: Herlene Nicole Policarpio Budol
Age: 24
Talent Management Company: Sparkle GMA Artist
Most Recent Projects: Black Rider (2023-present), TiktoClock (2022-present)
Discography: “Talikodgenic Man Ako” (2019); "Kain Tayo" (2024)
KYLE ECHARRI
In 2015, Filipino-American Kyle Echarri, then only 11 years old, immediately impressed coach Sarah Geronimo during the blind auditions of ABS-CBN’s singing competition, The Voice Kids Season 2.
Kyle’s soothing rendition of English-Irish pop-band One Direction’s Night Changes, made Sarah turn her chair for Kyle.
The young aspiring singer made it to the Top 6 in the singing contest, but failed to make it to the Final 3.
Even so, some producers saw Kyle’s potential as a budding star. A year after his stint in The Voice Kids, he released his maiden album, It’s Me Kyle, under MCA Music.
In 2018, he joined Star Pop, ABS-CBN music's sublabel for the younger market.
In the same year, he was launched as a member of Star Magic, ABS-CBN’s talent management division, together with Belle Mariano and Jeremiah Lisbo.
Apart from his singing career, Kyle also ventured into acting right after his The Voice Kids stint, mainly taking on minor roles on TV.
His acting breakthrough came when he was paired with Star Magic's young Francine Diaz in the phenomenal afternoon teleserye Kadenang Ginto (2018).
With their fellow co-stars in the series, Andrea Brillantes and Seth Fedelin, the four became known as The Gold Squad and went on to star in TV projects in their home network.
In 2021, Kyle stepped away from loveteams, going solo as an actor in TV projects while continuing with his music career.
This 2024, Kyle is set to star alongside Piolo Pascual in the upcoming Kapamilya prime series, Pamilya Sagrado.
Name: Kyle John Paradillo Echarri
Age: 20
Talent Management Company: Star Magic, Cornerstone Entertainment
Most Recent Projects: Pamilya Sagrado (TBA)
Discography: It’s Me, Kyle (2016), Kyle Echarri (2018), New Views (2021)
JK LABAJO
In 2014, an aspiring singer from Cebu, JK Labajo appeared in the blind auditions, The Voice Kids, and got coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo to turn their chairs.
JK chose Bamboo as his coach and made it to the final three, along with Darren Espanto, plus Lyka Gairanod, who became the grand champion.
JK became a housemate in the Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7 celebrity edition of 2016-2017, but was one of the evictees.
The young singer also ventured into acting and went on to appear in number of TV series of ABS-CBN, notably A Love To Last (2017) with Bea Alonzo and Ian Veneracion, and the edgy 2023 primetime series Senior High, which got a sequel, the ongoing teleserye High Street.
But what may be JK’s claim to fame is his phenomenal hit single “Buwan," which went on to become one of the most played songs of 2018.
It was also awarded Song of the Year at the 2019 Myx Music Awards and People’s Voice Favorite Song at the 2019 Awit Awards.
NAME: Juan Karlos Labajo
Age: 23
Talent Management Company: Star Magic
Most Recent Projects: High Street (TV series, 2024-present)
Discography: JK (2015 album); JKL (2017 album)
DARREN ESPANTO
At a very young age, Darren Espanto was joining singing competitions.
Growing up in Canada, where his parents work as healthcare workers, Darren joined the Canadian reality competition show The Next Star in 2012.
Only 10 at the time, Darren was the youngest contestant to have made it to the show. He made it as far as the Top 6.
But the most notable competition Darren joined was right here in his parent’s country, the Philippines.
He joined The Voice Kids in 2014, making coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo turn their chairs.
Leah Salonga was also a coach at the time, but she did not turn for Darren. Years later, Leah would say in an interview that one of her regrets as coach in the singing competition was not turning for Darren.
Darren chose the very popular Sarah to coach him, and with her he made it to the Top 3 of the grand finals. Lyka Gairanod was declared the winner of the 2014 edition.
But Darren would eventually give notice that, while he did not cop the highest prize, his star would shine brighter than the grand winner's.
What sets Darren apart as a performer—his dance moves match his great vocals, by the way—is that he earns the admiration of fellow singers, young and old.
Great singers like Gary Valenciano, Regine Velasquez, Leah Salonga, Jed Madela, and Sarah Geronimo only have good words for Darren as an artist.
From the time he joined The Voice Kids, Darren has been a constant presence on television and in the concert scene. He regularly exhibits his talent as a performer in the Kapamilya Sunday variety show, ASAP Natin 'To.
Darren would eventually try his hand in acting both in movies and on TV, making his debut in The Hows of Us (2018), a film starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
He also became part of the 2023 Metro Manila Film Fest entry, When I Met You in Tokyo.
Just recently, Darren became a regular co-host of the ABS-CBN noontime show, It’s Showtime.
In June 2024, Darren will celebrate his 10th year in a major concert at the Araneta Coliseum.
Name: Darren Lyndon Espanto
Age: 23
Talent Management Company: Star Magic
Most Recent Projects: It’s Showtime (2009-present), D10 anniversary concert (June 1, 2024)
Discography: The Voice Kids: The Album (2014), Darren (2014), Be With Me (2016), D’s Christmas (2017)
RABIYA MATEO
Ilongga beauty queen Rabiya Mateo represented the country in the Miss Universe 2020 pageant and made it to the Top 21 finalists.
She would later say in an interview that even when she was preparing to fly to Florida, USA, for the international pageant in May 2020, she had already met with GMA top executive Annette Gozon-Valdes.
Annette is GMA's senior vice president for programming and talent management.
Rabiya mentioned that the network boss asked her if she wanted to be an “artista,” to which Rabiya said yes.
In November 2021, Rabiya signed with GMA Network, and has since starred in acting projects in GMA shows like Wish Ko Lang! and Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.
She eventually became a regular host for the Kapuso morning game show, TiktoClock, from 2022 until her contract expired recently.
She also became the leading lady of Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. in Agimat ng Agila Season 2 (2022).
In a recent interview, Rabiya said she plans to continue her hosting stint through pageants.
In February 2024, Rabiya was launched as one of the headliners of Sparkle 10, which is made up of 10 female Sparkle GMA artists who've been tagged as bold, brave, and beautiful.
Name: Rabiya Occeña Mateo
Age: 27
Talent Management Company: Sparkle GMA Artist
Most Recent Projects: TiktoClock (2022-2024), Makiling (2024), Pulang Araw (TBA)
CEDRICk JUAN
Cedrick Juan is arguably the biggest breakthrough star of 2023.
He did so by bagging the Best Actor trophy at the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), beating big-name nominees Piolo Pascual, Dingdong Dantes, Alden Richards, Derek Ramsay, and Christopher de Leon.
Cedrick earned high praise from critics for his portrayal of Padre Jose Burgos in the period film GomBurza.
His foray into acting started even before he joined showbiz. A former member of the Far Eastern University Theatre Clinic, he began his career as a professional theater actor after he joined Dulaang UP at the University of the Philippines.
In an interview with Esquire in April 2024, Cedrick said his learnings in theater are “priceless,” saying theatre molded him as an actor and as a person.
In 2016, he ventured into movies, doing a supporting role in the film Oro, which starred Joem Bascon, Irma Adlawan, and Mercedes Cabral.
For his portrayal, Cedrick was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the 2016 MMFF.
He was also cast in the 2016 ABS-CBN primetime series, Till I Met You, that starred James Reid and Nadine Lustre.
Through all this, he has never forsaken his love for theater. In 2022, he joined the musical, Mula Sa Buwan, a play set in 1940's Manila but based on Edmond Rostand's timeless classic Cyrano de Bergerac.
Around this time, the audition for GomBurZa had started. Cedrick tried his luck. Now we all know what happened next.
Name: Paul Cedrick Gutierrez Juan
Age: 33
Talent Management Company: MQ Artists Agency
Most Recent Projects: GomBurZa (2023), upcoming movies (TBA)
