Jake Zyrus

Jake Zyrus (known as Charice Pempengco prior to his gender transition) was born in Cabuyao, Philippines. When he was three years old, he witnessed his abusive father point a gun at his mom during an episode of domestic violence. Along with his mother and younger brother Carl, they left their father searching for a better life. Zyrus was very young when his mother noted that his rendition of Happy Birthday was very high-pitched and on-key. When he was four years old, his mother Raquel came home to discover Zyrus standing on top of the kitchen table singing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On. She initially thought the radio was on, and Celine was singing. Zyrus had learned to operate the karaoke machine by observing his mother, who was a singer in a band, practice with her bandmates. It was then that Zyrus' singing talent was discovered. At the age of seven, with money hard to come by and with little food to put on the table, Zyrus urged his mother to teach him how to sing and let him j