Charice

Jake Zyrus (Tagalog: [ˈsaɪɾus]; born 10 May 1992), formerly known professionally as Charice Pempengco (Tagalog: [t͡ʃɐˌɾis pɛmˈpɛːŋ.ko]) and under the mononym Charice, is a Filipino singer and television personality. In 2007, after competing in many singing competitions and several appearances on Filipino television, Zyrus performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States. The following year, in 2008, he made several international televised appearances, including a special on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which documented his musical ambitions, home life and family, and featured Zyrus singing for Oprah's studio audience. On that appearance, Zyrus was surprised by one of his singing inspirations, Céline Dion (appearing from her tour via Skype), who invited him to sing with her at New York City's Madison Square Garden, during her 2008 world tour. At the concert, the two sang "Because You Loved Me", dedicating the moment to Zyrus' mother. The performance was eventually replayed on another special episode of Oprah's talk show. Zyrus then began performing in concerts with David Foster and Andrea Bocelli, among others, and released an album My Inspiration (2009). Zyrus released the studio album Charice in 2010, which entered the Billboard 200 at number eight, making it the first album of an Asian solo singer ever to land in the top 10. The single "Pyramid" from that album, featuring singer Iyaz, is Zyrus' most successful single to date, charting within the top 40 in a number of countries after its debut live performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Crossing over to acting and television, Zyrus joined the cast of the musical-comedy-drama TV series Glee, later in 2010, as Sunshine Corazon. In 2011, "Before It Explodes", written by Bruno Mars, was released as the lead single from Zyrus' second international studio album, Infinity. Zyrus would release two further albums, Chapter 10 (2013) and Catharsis (2016). Zyrus also made his own concert tours in Asia. Zyrus was one of the four judges of the Philippine version of The X Factor, on ABS-CBN, in 2012. Zyrus identified as a gay woman from 2013 to 2017. When he came out as a transgender male after having male chest reconstruction and beginning testosterone treatment, he adopted the name Jake Zyrus and discontinued the use of the name Charice.