Juan Karlos Labajo

During his stint on 'The Voice Kids', Juan Karlos Labajo revealed in an interview on 'Aquino & Abunda Tonight' that he had been bullied in school. He mentioned that he spent lunch breaks under a tree to avoid confrontation with some of the students who teased and punched him because of his looks, and also made fun of his mixed ancestry.

Juan Karlos Labajo was born on February 5, 2001 in Consolacion, Cebu, Philippines, where he was raised by his single mother Maylinda Labajo. His German father left the family after he was born.

His mother married for a second time, and he has two younger half-brothers from her second marriage. On the show 'Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7' in 2016, he confessed that he was not close with his younger brothers as he was jealous of his mother spending more time with her new family.

On November 17, 2013, he lost his mother at the age of twelve, following which he began living with his Uncle, Jovanni, and Grandmother, Linda, in Metro Manila. His family struggled financially for a long time, and he even had to scavenge junk for a living.

At the age of 13, Juan Karlos Labajo charmed the coaches at the season 1 blind auditions for ABS-CBN's 'The Voice Kids' with his own rendition of the Adam Sandler song, 'Grow Old With You'. Coaches Sarah Geronimo and Bamboo Mañalac both wanted him in their teams, which allowed him the option to choose one, following which he picked Mañalac despite invitation from Geronimo to guest star at her concert.

His performance of 'Sway' during the live semi-finals at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila placed him third after public voting, which advanced him to the four-person finals. In the finals, the coaches praised his performance of 'Yesterday' by The Beatles, 'Runaway Baby' by Bruno Mars and the duet 'Eto Na Naman' with Gary Valenciano, but he again finished third in voting.

After the competition ended, he and the other finalists came to be managed by Star Magic, ABS-CBN's training and management center. He was subsequently cast in the channel's family drama series 'Hawak-Kamay' in 2014, and the same year, appeared in lead role in the Philippine drama anthology series 'Maalaala Mo Kaya'.

In May 2015, he played the lead role of Nico in ABS-CBN's TV Series 'Ipaglaban Mo: Sa Dulo ng Daan'. He also played the supporting role of Amboy Mobido in the romantic melodrama series 'Pangako Sa 'Yo' in 2015-16.

In August 2015, he released his debut album 'JK', which comprised of eight tracks, including the special song, 'Di Ka Man Lang Nagpaalam', dedicated to his late mother. In October that year, he was selected as the MYX Celebrity VJ for the month for the first time.

Juan Karlos Labajo gained worldwide attention for being one of the finalists on the first season of 'The Voice Kids Philippines'.

He considers ABS-CBN's 'A Love to Last' to be his biggest break as an actor as he got the opportunity to learn from experienced actors.