Juan Karlos Labajo

Juan Karlos Labajo (born February 5, 2001) is a Filipino singer, musician, and actor.

Labajo was born on February 5, 2001, and raised in Consolacion, Cebu by his mother, Maylinda Labajo.

His German father left them when he was still a baby.

His mother died when he was twelve years old, on November 17, 2013.

He now lives with his uncle Jovanni and grandmother Linda in Metro Manila.

Growing up, Labajo experienced bullying, especially in school.

The bullies, who usually acted in groups, teased and punched him because of his looks.

Although his Caucasian appearance gave the impression that his family was well-off, they were actually in debt and were forced to move often.

To help out, Labajo collected and sold junk.

He later revealed that at the time he made the semi-finals of The Voice Kids, his grandmother asked for financial support from Cebu governor Hilario Davide III.

Although the amount was only ₱100, he was still grateful for the governor's support.

Labajo rose to fame at age 13 when he finished third in the first season (2014) of The Voice Kids.

He is the frontman and primary songwriter of his namesake band Juan Karlos.

He has since released two studio albums as a solo artist and two studio albums with his band.

As an actor, he had supporting roles in the ABS-CBN television series Hawak-Kamay (2014), Pangako Sa 'Yo (2015–16), A Love to Last (2017), and Senior High (2023–24).

Labajo performed his own rendition of Adam Sandler's song, "Grow Old With You", for ABS-CBN's The Voice Kids season 1 blind auditions, which was broadcast on June 7, 2014.

Coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo Mañalac both pressed their buttons to choose him for their teams.

Geronimo praised his storytelling.

The double selection gave Labajo the choice of coaches.

Although Geronimo invited him to be a guest star at her upcoming concert, he picked Mañalac.

His new coach called him "the funniest kid I have ever met".

Labajo advanced to the four-person finals after singing "Sway" during the live semi-finals held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.

From the public votes, he received the third-highest total of the semi-finalists, after Lyca Gairanod and Darren Espanto.

During the first and second rounds of the finals, Labajo performed "Yesterday" and "Runaway Baby" by The Beatles and Bruno Mars respectively.

Coach Lea Salonga said, "You have the looks, the charm, and the heart. With those three, you're guaranteed a future in this business."

Mañalac gave him a similar comment: "I see a singer, an artist, and possibly an actor. I see someone who has the charisma to do it all."

For the final round in the finals, Labajo sang a duet with Gary Valenciano, the upbeat song "Eto Na Naman".

At the end of the competition, he once again came in third from the voting.

After the season of The Voice Kids Philippines Labajo, along with his other three co-finalists in The Voice Kids, officially became a part of Star Magic, ABS-CBN's training and management center.

Labajo's first project as part of Star Magic was in ABS-CBN's family drama series Hawak-Kamay.

A preview on August 15, 2014, showed him with the show's cast.

His fellow The Voice Kids finalist, Lyca Gairanod, joined him in the cast on August 22.

He has also appeared in the drama anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya playing himself for his own life story.

To continue Labajo's acting career he played as Nico in ABS-CBN's TV Series Ipaglaban Mo: Sa Dulo ng Daan episode last May 9, 2015.

Labajo was also cast in "Pangako Sa 'Yo" and plays the role of "Amboy Mobido", one of Yna's friends and is the brother of "Egoy"/Jonathan Mobido (Grae Fernandez ) At auditions for a church play "Josephine the Dreamer" Amboy is filled with awe as he sees the beautiful Lia Buenavista daughter of Governor Buenavista known to Amboy as "Lia B".

At the auditions when it is time for Lia to tryout Amboy love struck as usual interrupts constantly to tell the judges to give the part.

Although Amboy thinks Lia sings beautifully but she does not get the part.

He was also a celebrity housemate in the reality show Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7 (2016).

In film, Labajo was nominated for the Gawad Urian Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Blue Room (2022).

He also portrayed Senator Ninoy Aquino in the musical biopic Ako si Ninoy (2023).