"I remember that very moment as a grand finalist in The Voice Kids because I didn't win. I remember going backstage crying because I was like, 'Oh, well. I guess this is it. It's done, bye.'"
Juan Karlos has now spent close to half of his life in the limelight, and he's not even 24 yet. The musician sat down with Esquire to talk about riding the wave of young superstardom, separating the mass-market celebrity from the artist, his musical process, and more. https://tinyurl.com/ye2au3e8
Juan Karlos has now spent close to half of his life in the limelight, and he's not even 24 yet. The musician sat down with Esquire to talk about riding the wave of young superstardom, separating the mass-market celebrity from the artist, his musical process, and more. https://tinyurl.com/ye2au3e8
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 Nothing special, honestly. I mean, you know, I'm no different from every other songwriter out there.
00:05 I'm just someone who writes as well. That's really just it. I don't know what's the big deal, man.
00:11 Like, okay, these are the songs I've made in all my experiences.
00:16 Alright, it's an album.
00:18 [Music]
00:32 I started out in The Voice Kids. That's where I actually—my whole career started, basically.
00:40 I actually got to sign a contract with ABS and Star Magic and UMG Philippines.
00:46 And after The Voice Kids, I tried out different things. You know, got into acting for TV.
00:54 Teleserye. Started out in, you know, "Malala Mo Kaya," portraying myself with my life story.
01:00 From there, I just found myself being on television up until the point where I was, I guess, 6—15?
01:09 That I started writing songs because Coach Bamboo gave me a Baby Taylor.
01:13 Like, it's a mini acoustic guitar. The Voice Kids, palang.
01:17 So for two years, I didn't touch that thing.
01:21 Inaralo ko yung mga bass chords, and then that's when I started writing songs when I was 15.
01:25 Yeah, so my debut album, they titled it "JK."
01:28 And the second album, they titled it "JKL." So creative.
01:31 Those albums kasi were kind of like a—they're like a traditional album in a way wherein, you know,
01:38 the artist is a vessel for these songs that are created by other people.
01:44 So the artist is the one to perform these songs and then put in an album.
01:47 That's the whole branding and packaging.
01:49 So I did that for one album, but I realized I didn't really like it
01:54 because I didn't really have any direct connection to the song.
02:00 So that's why on my second album, I started putting my own songs.
02:03 I started writing songs, and I put in three songs on the second album.
02:07 And then after that, I just went full-on musician mode.
02:12 I dropped everything.
02:14 I guess these mall shows with so many people,
02:21 I started performing in Sagiho and 19 East and most—
02:26 like, I just wanted to go through what the people that I look up to went through.
02:32 And I guess because as a kid, I wanted to have, like, you know,
02:36 the recognition from my—from other musicians.
02:40 You only really—you don't really grow sitting down on your couch.
02:49 I mean, I guess you do. It depends on what you're doing on the couch.
02:52 I was putting myself in a lot of these uncomfortable situations and scary situations.
02:57 Imagine you're like, um, may mold nakakast sayo,
03:00 and you're trying to break from that mold.
03:02 That's how you can get away from that.
03:05 I guess the whole underground scene, it made me feel more human,
03:10 for lack of a better term.
03:12 It made me feel more connected to everyone around me and everything around me.
03:19 And it made me look at life in a perspective of just, you know, just another normal person.
03:24 You either make stories because of personal experiences or by imagination.
03:30 Or a mix of both.
03:32 So, you know, just like any other songwriter out there, I just had my experiences.
03:38 And I just wrote about it because that's my outlet.
03:40 And that's my way of—the thoughts in my head, you know.
03:44 So, like, you know, I'm nothing special, honestly.
03:48 I mean, you know, I'm no different from every other songwriter out there.
03:51 I'm just someone who writes as well.
03:54 That's really just it.
03:55 I don't know what's the big deal, man.
03:58 [Music]
04:11 Well, I mean, there's really no actual structure into making a song, at least for me.
04:16 But all the songs just come into my head.
04:20 Usually melody first.
04:22 Sometimes lyrics first.
04:23 If I just want to write something down, like a phrase or a thought or a topic.
04:26 And then you start from there.
04:28 That's like a seed that grows eventually, right?
04:31 Most of the time, the song just pops up in my head.
04:34 I'm like, "Okay, that's something."
04:36 And then I grab an instrument and try to translate that in real life into something physical.
04:41 Like, "Okay, I can do this."
04:43 And then start building from there.
04:46 You know those Lego pieces that aren't really built?
04:50 Like, it's just like Lego pieces.
04:52 Like, free for all.
04:52 What do you call those?
04:54 Like, universal Legos.
04:55 Like, it's just a bunch of Legos.
04:57 And then you imagine something and then you use that to create that imagination as close
05:02 as possible to what you imagined.
05:04 It's basically just that.
05:05 So, but yeah, melodies first most of the time.
05:08 That's really the melodies first.
05:10 I don't know.
05:10 My brain loves singing inside.
05:12 [Music]
05:21 Well, honestly, the whole "Sad Songs" album really started out because I went through
05:26 a breakup.
05:26 That's really just the main core of it.
05:29 I mean, shit, you get your heart broken.
05:31 And in my case, I made like 180 songs.
05:34 And then crying every night.
05:36 [Crying]
05:38 Bumalik ka na, tapos the next day, "Takina mo!"
05:40 Diba?
05:41 It's like a rollercoaster of emotions.
05:45 Like, the five stages of grief, right?
05:46 Where you hate this person and then the next day you wish this person would forgive you
05:51 or comes back into your life.
05:53 And then parang the day after, "You know what?
05:55 Fuck everyone.
05:56 I'll move on."
05:56 And then you start crying again the week after.
05:59 It's just really that.
06:00 Capturing the whole album is basically just a photo album full of moments captured or
06:07 throughout that rollercoaster ride of emotions of mine during that moment in time.
06:11 That's literally just it.
06:13 Like, okay, ito yung mga songs na nagawa ako lahat ng pinagdaanan ko na yun.
06:17 All right, it's an album.
06:20 Let's collect all of these things, right?
06:23 And then put it into this one thing, which is an album.
06:28 And hey, that's it.
06:29 And for me kasi, once a song is done, it's really done.
06:33 You know, it's only my baby up until the point it's out.
06:37 And basically, it's not really mine anymore in that sense na parang I let go of the song na.
06:43 And then once it's out, I'm on to the next song, on to the next stories.
06:50 I could literally make a song on a Monday night just because I'm f*cking hungry.
06:53 And I just, you know, use that hunger as either a metaphor or because it's a literal hunger.
06:59 It's really just that.
07:00 It's really about, you know, a lot of people, I guess, tend to get scared with the thought
07:05 of making something because they overthink too much.
07:08 They think that everything is so deep when it's actually not, man.
07:13 It's not deep at all.
07:14 Or maybe I'm just saying that because I'm used to the depth, right?
07:17 For a lot of people, like six feet is not deep because they're used to swimming in six feet.
07:23 So, you know, everyone has a different perspective.
07:28 And that's one of the things I love about music and art in general because there's really
07:32 no rulebook.
07:33 There's no guidebook.
07:33 There's no like, "Hey, that's wrong."
07:36 Or, "Hey, that's right."
07:38 It's just like, "Ah, that's unusual."
07:40 So, I guess that's one of the most beautiful things about it because there's no
07:47 rules, you know?
07:49 How do you make a song?
07:50 Up to you.
07:51 Whatever floats your boat.
07:53 It's closely related to vulnerability and ego and also fear.
08:04 Like, a lot of people are, you know, afraid of being vulnerable.
08:09 And there's nothing wrong with that, you know?
08:11 People are people.
08:12 People are different.
08:13 People are complicated.
08:15 I guess as an artist, you know, how to keep honesty?
08:19 It's really hard to say because, you know, we all think differently.
08:23 It's one of the things that's really hard to separate because music and film are so...
08:35 They're like cousins.
08:37 As much as possible, I really try to separate my music that I make for music from acting.
08:44 And in a way wherein I'm not trying to separate music from my acting work.
08:48 I'm just trying to separate the music I make for music versus music that I make for acting
08:54 or for film.
08:54 Like, in some sort of way, I could be on a movie project and I could write a song specifically
09:02 for that movie project.
09:03 That song that I will make for that movie project, I will never probably sing live as
09:08 a musician.
09:09 I will never...
09:10 I'll just leave it there.
09:11 And then for this movie project, I will not use the songs that I made for an album.
09:14 I try to separate those things because, you know, if you try to do all of these things
09:19 all at once, it tends to get really confusing.
09:22 Persona naman, it's just the mode.
09:24 Like, parang, okay, work mode.
09:26 What are we doing now?
09:27 Music?
09:28 Okay, then I'll wear my musician hat, right?
09:31 Parang...
09:32 And then I'll think like a musician.
09:33 If I'm doing acting, I'll think like an actor.
09:36 But I love both.
09:39 I really love both because they're just really outlets for me.
09:42 It's just really that, you know?
09:44 It's fun to portray a character.
09:46 It's really fun.
09:48 You know, if a character is crazy, then you act crazy.
09:51 You have that license to act crazy and not get judged for it.
09:57 You can even get an award.
09:58 Right?
10:01 So it's a really fun medium to, you know...
10:04 They're all basically playgrounds.
10:07 [Music]