While the name of the Filipino singer, Jake Zyrus, who rose to fame through YouTube in 2007, may not ring a bell to you at first, his original name Charice Pempengco, which he used until his gender transition to male, may.
Zyrus was first discovered as a talented singer by Ellen Degeneres in 2007, 10 years before his transition. Since then, he’s received a large exposure on various media channels, including TV, where he appeared in the role of a Philippino foreign exchange student called Sunshine Corazon in the second season of the TV series Glee [watch a preview here].
As he officially changed his name to Jake Zyrus this summer, his first ever concert under his new name took place only very recently – on October 6th. Besides a number of his own songs, Jake also performed a cover of Simple Plan’s song ‘Perfect’. As a solo artist, this version of the song is vastly different from what we’re used to – so make sure to check it out below and let us know how you like it: