Darren rebrands himself with more mature look and sound

Darren Espanto surprised many with his sexy birthday photos that he recently posted on his social media accounts. The Voice Kids runner-up seems to be telling everyone that he is ready to take on a more mature look and music style in his comeback concert Darren Home Run. The Kapamilya artist also shows that he has learned valuable insights on life and career.

The then Darren was very shy and lacked self-confidence, the singer described himself during the global media conference for his upcoming show. “And, of course, all the songs that I used to sing were, I dunno how to describe them, but mas pambata,” he said. “And now, the songs that I sing are songs that I wanna perform, you know, and I wanna give my own spin on (them). My look, my physical appearance and stuff like that (are) a lot more mature po and my sound as well.”

People would best remember Darren as the 13-year-old, who joined the reality TV singing competition in 2014. And now, the 20-year-old is a lot more sure of what he wants to do in terms of his career path and also his decisions in life, whether as an artist or as a person.

That’s why Darren doesn’t mind the negative comments on his birthday photos that show no traces of a child-performer. “Alam niyo po talaga, isa ako sa mga tao na hindi talaga naaapektuhan sa mga bashers at sinasabi ng haters,” shared he. “Seriously, medyo nawi-weirdohan sa akin ‘yung pamilya ko or people close to me. (They would tell me,) ‘Grabe yung personality mo ‘no? Kaya mong magbasa ng comments mo sa Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.”

“There’s constructive criticism and there’s just criticism,” continued Darren. “You have to find out how you’re going to be able to react to those comments. Ako, kaya ko siyang basahin na walang reaction kasi kung alam mo namang hindi totoo, bakit ka magpapadala doon?”

After all, his “transformation” photos also got the nod of approval from people. “There are a lot of positive reactions,” said Darren. “A lot of people on Twitter are saying na, ‘Yesterday, I swear this kid was just 15, this Darren was just like on The Voice Kids. I just watched his audition a few months ago. And now, I can’t believe this is what he looks like.’ Na-achieve talaga namin ng team ko ang gusto namin ma-achieve in terms of rebranding and growth for myself as an artist.”

After seven years in the industry, the music artist sees this as the perfect time to show everyone that he is all grown-up now. “Nung umalis po ako ng Canada nung March 2020, everyone saw this, like, sa physical appearance itong payatot na Darren. He’s still trying to figure out what he wants sa look niya, also sa music niya. You know, I’m still trying to explore other genres as much as I can po talaga. Ayoko pong i-box (ang) sarili ko sa isa lang (na genre). But my team and I thought that this would be the perfect time po talaga na medyo mag-rebrand and mag-iba ng sound and look kasi isang taon na rin po akong hindi nakita ng mga Kapamilya natin on stage.”

This change marks the new direction Darren wants to pursue in life and music. “I’m out of my teenage years, you know, sa decade na yun sa buhay ko po,” said he. “So, I’m not a teen anymore. It’s part of growing up not just as a person but as an artist din po.”

Darren acknowledged that it was his birthday post that made viewers realize that he is no longer the boy from the reality talent show. “It’s like he’s growing up, he’s transitioning into this adult na talaga.”

When asked about the awkward teenage phase he encountered, Darren gave a detailed account on his voice and height changes. “Siyempre po yung boses ko was one of the more major things talaga. Very awkward for me kasi my transition to being an adult, nung nangyari po ‘yung puberty sa ‘kin, it was kind of late actually. I was 16 turning 17. And then my voice started to kind of changed,” Darren told The STAR.

Darren revealed he lost his falsetto at the time he reached 17. So, he started taking vocal lessons with different coaches who helped him, among other things, in terms of vocal placements.

As for his height, he had this to say: “When I was going through puberty, ‘yung height ko po… bigla akong tumangkad. Ewan ko rin po kung saan nang galing kasi no one’s tall in my family. So, I guess that’s one surprising thing for all of us. Unexpected din, kind of weird. ‘Saan nanggaling yung height mo?’ Yun pong isang comment parati ng pamilya ko.”

As he welcomes adulthood, the Filipino-Canadian pop singer has also come to know the concept of maturity. He knows the importance of listening to others’ opinions, becoming independent and stepping out of his comfort zone.

Meanwhile, his upcoming show Darren Home Run on June 19 will also showcase his latest single Tama Na, a song about one-sided love.

Originally slated last May 30 and 31, the digital concert was moved because he was exposed to a COVID-19 positive person.

“It’s called Darren Home Run because in the past seven years parang naikot ko na po lahat ng bases in the music/concert scene in the Philippines,” said he. “So, it’s kind of like I hit a home run in this show. I just came back from Canada so I’m very excited.”

(Buy tickets to Darren’s concert on June 19 at 8 p.m. with a re-run the next day, June 20, at 10 a.m. via KTX.ph, iWantTFC and TFC IPTV. Listen to his latest single Tama Na on various digital music streaming services.)