Global singing sensation, Jake Zyrus, made his appearance on All Out on a Riot Wednesday to catch up with Rico, Karla and his fans from all over! What has Jake been up to during this whole quarantine period (besides releasing an awesome new song!)? He gave us a run-thru of his no-work lockdown routine which consists of trying to wake up early, setting their fur babies', a Pug and a Shih-Tzu, eating schedule at around 9 to 10 in the morning, have brunch, spend time with his partner by re-watch Friends, do yoga/meditation and playing a lot of Call Of Duty Mobile along with their "squad". Jake is a major homebody, especially when he doesn't have a busy day ahead and really prefers to just stay at home and chill. In terms of his work schedule, he wakes up extra early and starts his day by listening to meditating music for his anxiety. Then he starts by dressing up and leaving his bedtime bottoms on since most of the work is done thru online and video chats, so the bottoms doesn't really matter, just like the majority of us! Haha! He even shared how he had a guesting where he did a live performance where he was so well dressed while wearing his boxers!
Rico congratulated the singer for winning the Gold Camera Award in the US International Film And Video Festival for his documentary, "Jake And Charice" in Japan last November 2019! The documentary focused on Jake's everyday life while tackling on issues such as his identity, sexuality and his musical transition. He was honestly surprised and didn't expect his film to win at a film festival! His documentary was even shown in Japan 3 times due to public demand! It was really heart-warming for Jake because his Japanese fans are truly amazing. Every time he would go and perform in Japan, his fans show so much love and appreciation for him which really touches his heart. He even shared that his Japanese fans really sing along to his songs despite not understanding the lyrics! Jake was also full of appreciation for the team behind his documentary for exerting so much effeort in researching and being careful in tackling heavy topics/issues to get the recognition it deserved! Jake also added the representation of the Philippines is also part of the documentary and he's proud that it was executed well!
Jake was actually hesitant to show his vulnerability in his documentary, talking about how it's hard to show weakness in showbiz because of the notion that they're supposed to look strong, happy and perfect just because they're deemed as "public figures". Jake admitted he was scared due to what people might say or be told to just get over it, especially while he's battling mental illness. Despite that, Jake was happy that he got to share and tackle about mental illness/health in his documentary. He got to share about depression and bullying which is a big part in his life. These topics are what Jake likes talking about because of the logic regarding these issues that he wants to change, not just here in the Philippines but all over the world. Jake emphasizes that public figures are still human, the only thing that differentiates us are our labels and job descriptions but at the same time we're all the same. Jake wants to send a message that whatever it is people are going thru, he goes thru it as well. Jake really kept his documentary raw by not going too much into positivity, but also into dealing with the struggle that he went and is still going thru. Empathy is what Jake thinks lacks in a lot of us nowadays. "Bakit mas madali nang mang hate ngayon kesa mag mahal ng kapwa?" Jake sends out a message that before you say something, think about what happens if it was said or done to you. He believes that by practicing more of empathy, it will truly dispel the hate people give out.
Regarding the messages and comments, Jake still gets affected by bashers and negative comments towards him because he's human, his emotions are still emotions regardless of what they might be. Karla commended Jake for balancing and maintining his peace in terms of all the comments Jake has and asked him concrete steps to give out as advice for the people who are also dealing with the same situation, famous or not. Jake admitted that he feels the pain when he reads negative comments and prefers to face it rather than ignore it, because the more he ignores the effect, the more it stays on his mind. For Jake, the line "It's okay not to be okay" works for him. When Jake sees a comment that triggers him, he spends time alon and just be in touch with whatever he's feeling, may it be sadness, anger, pain whatever it is he doesn't fake his emotions. Then the strength and overcome does happen later on, after feeling the down side of it. Jake stands by the statement that before you end up strong, you have to fall down first. Jake advises that it's okay to feel hurt, to cry, to be angry, to be sad because that's what makes you strong. At the end of the day, we are all human. Jake had to fall down, to give up to realize that he wants to stand up and be strong enough to get through pain. It's incredible and enlightening how Jake really stripped down the extent of his vulnerability just to send a message across and we all should really stand by his words, because his words are real and he speaks the truth.
Jake has an amazing support system behind him comprising of his loving and supportive partner who takes care of him emotionally and physically, and his friends who gives out non-stop support for him. Even with a strong support system, Jake's number 1 support does come from himself. He is the only one who can really pick himself up thru all the struggles he face. The moment we ask help from others, we still have doubt in our head but when we start to realize that we can overcome the struggle, then that's when we know that the down side is over - and that's what Jake wants everyone to know and learn.
In terms of Jake's music, he talked about how his vocals transitioned. At first it was really hard for him, even joking about going thru "puberty"! He went thru voice cracks, not being able to reach a falsetto, pitch changes and experimenting with genres & artists that would fit his changing voice. He even shared a time where he really got frustrated because he can't find the perfect song that's comfortable with his singing voice but realizes those were really all a part of transitioning. A year later, Jake finally felt that his voice is settling down. Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole were Jake's main inspirations during his vocal transitions, saying that these were the artists that he was really listening to during that time. When his voice started to settle down, Jake tried to sing songs by the artists mentioned and that when he found his genre that would fit him comfortably! He shared that last year was the first time he performed cover songs of this genre and realized he was more comfortable performing on stage. He didn't feel any pressure or nerves, and just truly enjoyed what he loves doing most.
How has Jake been doing in regards to music during this quarantine? Well, Jake got better at arranging and editing music! Jake shared how performing live online is harder than actually doing it live because of how meticulous the music has to be! But because of the whole situation, Jake really had to make an effort in which he eventually got better at editing music on his own which is definitely an up-side for him. He relied a lot on Youtube to help him figure out how to arrange his music. He still prefers performing live because of the connection to his audience but, like of all us, he can't do anything about it but work on his available resources. "Mahirap but at the same time I'm really happy. Work is work and it is my passion."
Does Jake see himself directing his own show one day? Yes! He has imagined it. He wants to become a producer. He shared that he did a song with KZ Tandingan, a Kelly Clarkson song in which it was his first time to produce a music piece by piece. He was the one who edited the vocals and mixed the song a la Sound Engineer, he thought to himself that he can do this someday if the time comes that he retire from singing. Jake also loves to take photos! Maybe we'll see Jake produce and direct his own creation in the future?
Jake talks about his new song "Miss You In The Moonlight" a fusion of jazz-pop to give it a standard sound yet modern feel. The meaning of the song according to Jake is very open to interpretation, but the main theme of the song is about missing someone due to distance or missing someone due to heartbreak. Definitely a song to let you dive in your feels!
Watch Jake Zyrus' full interview on All Out here: