In 2012, ten-year-old Espanto auditioned for the fifth season of YTV's reality television The Next Star, singing Bruno Mars' "Grenade". Cyril School, before returning to the Philippines. He, along with the other The Voice Kids finalists received a ₱350,000 scholarship from Eton International School.Īt age 10, Espanto won during the Main Edition Finals of the Pinoy Singing Sensation competition in Edmonton on August 20, 2011, singing "Alone" by Celine Dion. After passing the auditions, he returned to Canada to write his advanced test in St.
Jude Elementary in Calgary, before traveling to the Philippines in 2014 for The Voice Kids. He was interested in singing from a young age, and his parents were supportive of his dreams.Īs a toddler, Espanto serenaded his parents with the tunes of Hakuna Matata from The Lion King, which led to his relatives to discover his singing potential and urged him to pursue and hone his raw talent.Īt age 12, Darren attended Grade 6 at St. Espanto started singing at the age of three. He is the first child of Filipino registered nurses Marinel Gonzales and Lyndon Espanto, who emigrated to Canada from Nueva Vizcaya. His parents taught him Filipino language, particularly Tagalog. The said album is now a certified Platinum album.Įspanto was born in Calgary on May 24, 2001. (Philippines), featuring his carrier single "7 Minutes", that was then followed by "Starlight" and "Parachute", which also became number 1 on the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store after just being released. In May 2016, he released his sophomore album titled Be with Me, also under MCA Music Inc. It debuted at number 1 on the Philippine charts of Apple's iTunes store and Astro Chart it is now a certified Double Platinum album.In May 2015, Espanto staged a major solo concert at MOA Areana, he set a record for being the youngest artist to perfrom at the said venue at the age of 14. (Philippines), a Universal Music Group company. In June 1, 2014, Espanto became part of ABS-CBN's Star Magic.Įspanto released his first full-length self-titled studio album, Darren, in December 2014, under MCA Music Inc. However, he rose to prominence after joining the first season of The Voice Kids Philippines. He made his first television appearance at the age of ten when he joined YTV's reality television The Next Star in 2012 he became the youngest finalist in the history of the show to be included in the Top 6. He started singing at the age of two, and first joined a competition at the age of ten, he won the Masters Finals of the Pinoy Singing Sensation competition in Edmonton. Darren Lyndon Espanto is a Filipino - Canadian singer.