James Wright, 'Anak Ko Yan' Runner Up, Releases His Self-Titled Debut Album

JAMES WRIGHT is just a runner up in GMA-7’s reality show, “Anak Ko Yan”, but he’s now better known than the child star who won in it. The eldest of two kids, he was born on July 23, 1995 in Mooloolaba, Australia. His mom is Pinay and his dad is Aussie. They met inside a plane as his Mommy Gina used to be flight attendant for Cathay. He was three when they all moved to Hongkong, where he grew up and studied. He speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin.

“I’ve been singing since I was 5 and I also know how to play the guitar, piano and drums, but my parents told me to finish high school first before I join showbiz,” he says. “Two years ago, she introduced me to her friend, Vehnee Saturno, who’s co-managing me now with Annabelle Regalado and GMA Artist Center. Tito Vehnee enrolled me in his music studio and I learned so much from him. Sabi nila, sumali ako sa ‘Anak Ko Yan’ and it gave me my initial exposure in showbiz. After that, Tito Vehnee gave me five of his original songs that are now included in my first album. The first song, ‘Sana’y Ikaw’, was used as the theme song of Marian Rivera’s ‘Carmela’. The second one, ‘Kung Hindi Ikaw’, was used in ‘My Destiny’. My third single, ‘Ikaw ‘Yon’, is now heard in ‘Powerhouse’ of Ms. Kara David and will also be used in a new teleserye. It's music video is now also being played.”

He’s also now into acting. “Singing is really my priority, but GMA made me took acting workshops then I was made to play a wedding singer in ‘My Destiny’. They liked me well enough and I was assigned a contravida role to Kim Rodriguez and Kiko Estrada in ‘Strawberry Lane’. Two weeks din akong lumabas doon and I had fun doing a non-singing role.”

It’s good he speaks Tagalog quite well. “When I first came here, hindi ako marunong. GMA made me take up Tagalog lessons. Also, my family is still in Hongkong and I’m just staying here with my tito and tita. Bawal sa kanila ang mag-English, kaya nasasanay ako mag-Tagalog.”

Was he disappointed when he didn’t win in “Anak Ko Yan”? “No, because I believe you have to learn to taste failure in order to succeed. Dahil doon, nag-strive akong mabuti. After the rain, may blessing, may rainbow na kapalit. Now, I’m happy with the pacing of my career. I’m really enjoying my stay here in the Philippines. Hindi ako nagmamadali. They tell me I should go sexy but I don’t want to use my body para sumikat.”

He had a girlfriend in Hongkong but he's been loveless since he moved to Manila. "I want to focus solely on my career. I don't want to be distracted."

His self-titled debut album also contains the song “Ako’y Sa’yo” and “Babe”. It’s now available in record bars and also for download from iTunes and Spotify.