Jay R

Gaudencio Sillona III (born February 1, 1981), known professionally as Jay R, is a Filipino-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and model.

Jay R was born on February 1, 1981, in Glendale, California, and raised in U.P. Campus and Daan Tubo.

His father, Gaudencio Sillona Jr., is a pianist, and his mother, Amparo Aquino-Sillona, is a singer.

He is a grandson of the late Gaudencio Sillona, Sr. He is the youngest of four siblings.

On his father's side, he has five brothers, saying "Before my parents got together, my father was married to somebody else."

In 2003, he released his debut album, Gameface, under Universal Records.

The album was certified platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI), receiving numerous awards and earning him the number one single, "Bakit Pa Ba".

Jay R was dubbed as "R&B Prince" in his early career and was often partnered with Kyla (then known as the "R&B Princess").

Collectively known to their fans as "JayLa", they are known in the music industry as the R&B Royalties (R&B King and Queen, respectively).

In 2003, Sillona signed a contract under Universal Records label.

His first album, entitled Gameface, consists of twelve tracks, containing two original Tagalog songs—"Kaibigan", written by his sister Jhing Sillona, and "Bakit Pa Ba", written by Vehnee Saturno.

Most of the other songs on the album are R&B cuts, and were co-written by him.

Ten of the tracks were produced by respected American producers Troy Johnson, Ian Boxhill and Bryson Evans.

His first single, "Design for Luv", is an R&B, hip-hop single, and had its music video filmed and produced in Hollywood with the help of good friend Ray Brown.

Following the first single, he released a Tagalog ballad penned by Vehnee Saturno, entitled "Bakit Pa Ba".

It became the biggest hit not only from the album, but also from the artist.

He made his big screen debut in the 2004 feature film Happy Together, and later, released his self-titled second album in 2005.

As of 2004 he was managed by his aunt, choreographer Geleen Eugenio.

He speaks fluent Tagalog.

Among his musical influences as a young man were Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross and Gary Valenciano.

At the age of sixteen, Sillona already belonged to a group called FI (First Impression).

The group consisted of five members namely—Mike Gabriel, Alex Bacani, Jay R Sillona, Jimmy Martinez (who came with him to Manila and is now Jimmy Muna) and Owen Amurao.

When Mike, Owen and Alex went their separate ways, he and Martinez continued the group by adding another talented singer named Kris Cadevida (later known as Kris Lawrence).

They would do gigs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Michigan.

He was also the lead singer, with his sister Jhing, of another band that was led by his uncle, Robert Sillona, called The Howlers.

Later, Jhing collaborated with him in creating hit songs.

Sillona later started performing gigs all around southern California.

He also did back-up vocals for major artists, whose albums were released in the United States, Latin America, the Philippines, and other territories.

Later, he started co-writing songs with international artists.

He collaborated with Ray Brown, Troy Johnson, Jason Edmonds, 3AM, Steve Singer, Gary Brown, The Triangle, Dutch Cousin, Chuck Cymone and many other talented producers.

In 2006, he built a recording studio inside his mansion, followed by a recording label called JAYRS Music.

He later renamed it as Homeworkz Records.

In the same year, he released a Christmas album, Christmas Away from Home, and dedicated it to his late uncle Reny.

The album was re-released in 2008, where he donated the proceeds from the sales to GMA Kapuso Foundation.

Also in 2008, he released a cover album, Soul in Love, which became his highest-rated and biggest-selling album.

He released an all-Tagalog album early in 2010, Jay R Sings OPM Love Classics, which consists of revivals of Original Pilipino Music love songs.

Later, he recorded a Bahasa song, which is slated for release in Indonesia.

He is part of TV musical variety show Party Pilipinas on GMA, and hosts the Philippine adaptation of dating game show Take Me Out on the same network.

After more than 10 years of being with GMA Network, he transferred to the rival network, ABS-CBN in 2014.

After more than three months, he joined the impersonating competition Your Face Sounds Familiar as his first reality show in the network.