Three years since its inaugural season in 2017, The Voice Teens Philippines is now back to showcase the amazing vocal prowess of our talented Pinoy youngsters. And along with its comeback on our weekend night viewing, is the return of one of its original coaches who we truly missed – Coach Apl de AP.
As the well-loved reality singing competition has finally re-opened last weekend, let’s have a bit of catching up with some of his notable artists and how they have fared in the industry after their respective stints on the show.
Moira Dela Torre
Armed with her guitar and angelic voice, 19-year-old Moira was able to impress us with her soothing rendition of Coach Bamboo’s “Hallelujah” during the Season 1 Blind Auditions. Everyone watching her stint were arguably nervous as none of the judges turned until Coach Apl’s buzzer-beater press on the red button. She advanced to the Battle Rounds where she had a showdown with her two other teammates, but failed to dominate.
She might have fallen short in her The Voice stint, but look who’s Moira right now. She’s the voice behind the heart-wrenching OSTs of our favorite movies, thus her moniker “Queen of Hugot Songs”. She turned out to be one of most in-demand and award-winning recording artist of this generation, became an ASAP mainstay, and was hailed as one of the judges of Search for the Idol Philippines in last year.
Jessica Reynoso
The then-16-year-old Filipina-American stunner from Laguna immediately got coaches Sarah Geronimo, Lea Salonga, and Apl with her impactful rendition of Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’” and mesmerizing beauty during the Season 1 blind auditions. She ultimately picked Coach Apl who led her up to the fourth week of the semifinals.
She might have lost, but her coach didn’t let his promise of guiding her be unfulfilled as she signed a recording contract with the rapper-artist’s very own music label BMBX (Boombox) in 2014, and has already released a number of solo tracks and collaborations with Coach Apl. At present, Jessica’s been touring and working with his globally-popular hiphop group Black Eyed Peas and is known by her screenname J Reysoul.
Alisah Bonaobra
A three-chair turner, Alisah astounded coaches Apl, Sarah, and Lea with her performance of Jessie J’s “Domino” in the second season of The Voice Philippines. She went for Coach Apl and together, they made it to the finals, where they unfortunately lost to Team Sarah’s Jason Dy.
She remained active in singing years after her stint on the show by joining other major competitions in and out of the country. In 2016, she became our bet in the Senior 2 Female 18-24 category of the World Championships of Performing Arts where she went home with an Industry Awards gold medal. A year after, she tried her luck in the 14th Season of X-Factor UK and made it up to the third Live Show, and even joined Tawag ng Tanghalan Season 1 but got eliminated immediately in the Daily Rounds.
Moreover, Alisah recently got recognized in the Philippine LEAF (Live Entertainment, Arts, and Festivals) Awards, which is “an organization created to recognize outstanding live performances in theater, dance, music, and festivals all over the country”. She’s also now into vlogging.
Daryl Ong
He instantly got us swooned with his dashing looks, more so when he sang “Paano” by Freestyle, which made coaches Lea, Sarah, and Apl turn their chairs for him. But in the end, he chose to be mentored by Coach Apl who helped him get through the competition up to the fifth week of the semifinals.
Daryl has succeeded in pursuing his musical career as he became a Star Music recording artist and one of the talented members of the trio BuDaKhel, which is also comprised of Bugoy Drilon and Khel Pangilinan and is famous for their exceptional song covers.
Janice Javier
A Thailand-based Pinay band vocalist, power belter Janice Javier made the four coaches fight against each other in pursuit of persuading her to join their respective teams after hearing her impactful performance of Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” in the Season 1 Blind Auditions. She ultimately picked Coach Apl and together, they battled it out until they made it to the finals, where they snagged the third place.
She still sings up to the present in various gigs here and abroad, such as doing front acts for Filipino artists and performing with Thai artists in Thailand’s biggest concert venues. Besides, she’s also able to represent the Philippines in jazz festivals around the world
Thor Dulay
Fueled by his goal to provide a bright future to his future family and to fulfill his mom’s dream of him of being seen performing television, Gandang Gabi Vice backup vocals and vocal coach Thor Dulay didn’t fail to captivate the coaches with his rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” during his Blind Audition in the first season. He opted to be part of Coach Apl’s team.
He might have fell short in his stint after only making it to the Week 5 of the semifinals, but his defeat did not hinder him from pursuing his passion in music as Thor still showcases his singing talent in various guestings and events.
Thor joined the celebrity edition of It’s Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan last year.
Emmanuelle Vera
Despite already making it to showbiz through her appearances in several programs of ABS-CBN, Emmanuelle accepted the invitation for her to join first season of The Voice, in which her 1DOL (2010) co-star Sarah Geronimo was among the mentor-judges.
She might be despised for being the main antagonist in their show, but she’s able to catch hearts and attention with her rendition of Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”, including Coach Apl’s, who’s the only one to turn his chair. Unfortunately, her stint in the competition got short-lived after getting eliminated in the Battle Rounds.
Her acting career continued since then, as she landed significant roles in different teleseryes of the Kapamilya network and even top-billed two indie films, namely, “Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa” (2015) and its sequel “Tayo Sa Huling Buwan Ng Taon” (2019). She was also a part of the iWant Original Movie “MOMOL Nights.”
Bradley Holmes
Another product of the second season of The Voice , the rocker dad blew our minds with his headbanging take on The Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running” during the blind auditions, especially the three coaches who turned for him that included Coach Apl. He got eliminated in the second week of the semifinals.
He appeared in a number of Kapamilya teleseryes as well and joined a reality singing competition in the rival network last year.
Guji Lorenzana and sister Grace
As they allowed duos to join the contest in the Season 1, seasoned actor Guji Lorenzana took it as an opportunity to accompany his younger sister Grace in showcasing her vocal talent on the well-received show. They performed a duet of Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”, which captured Coach Apl.
Both of them already have families of their own, but it was Guji who remained to be present in the limelight as he appeared in a number of films and series, and even joined the celebrity edition of It’s Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan last year.
While we await on who among Coach Apl’s incoming teen artists are going to follow the paths of these Team Apl members, let’s continue watching The Voice Teens Philippines!