Gaudencio Sillona III[fn 1] (born February 1, 1981), known professionally as Jay R, is a Filipino-American[1] singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and model.
[2] The album was certified platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI), and included the single "Bakit Pa Ba," which achieved commercial success.
He made his debut on the network as a contestant on the impersonation competition Your Face Sounds Familiar, marking his first appearance on a reality show.
He speaks fluent Tagalog and cites Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, and Gary Valenciano as musical influences during his youth.
He began performing across southern California and providing backup vocals for artists whose albums were released in the United States, Latin America, the Philippines, and other regions.
The album included two original Tagalog songs—"Kaibigan", written by his sister Jhing Sillona, and "Bakit Pa Ba", composed by Vehnee Saturno.
It included a cover of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" and an alternate version featuring Irish pop singer Samantha Mumba.
While the album received positive reviews, including praise from Titik Pilipino,[10] it did not win any major awards but achieved Gold certification from PARI.
[13] In 2006, Sillona built Homeworkz, a recording studio in his home and established his own label, initially named JAYRS Music.
The album was dedicated to his late uncle Reny and marked Sillona's first independent production, with him overseeing all aspects of the project.
Early in 2008, Sillona released Soul in Love, his second cover album, featuring R&Bs and jazz classics that influenced him.
[18][19][20] Jay R also played a lead role on Dear Friend's episode, "The Three Bachelors", alongside his longtime music partner Kyla.
On January 5, 2010, Sillona released his first ever all-Tagalog album, Jay R Sings OPM Love Classics, under Universal Records.
The album features 13 Tagalog songs, originally recorded by prominent OPM artists in the 1980s and 1990s, carefully selected by Sillona.
[21] On September 2, 2010, Sillona signed a three-year contract with Tarra Group Indonesia in Jakarta, facilitating the release of his album Soul in Love in the country and recording an original song in Bahasa.
Sillona collaborated with Indonesian pop artist Drimi on "Kau Dan Aku," which was released as his first Bahasa single.
The song L-O-V-E written and produced by Jay R's good friend Marcus Davis was part of the Hollywood movie Bounce Back.
The album reached Gold status and was awarded by PARI (Philippine Association of the Recording Industry) on ABS-CBN TV show ASAP channel 2.
In 2018 struck he started to release music videos for songs Kamusta Ka and Kabilang Dako which were shot in New Zealand.
Jay R then released a song with his Soul Brothers Kris Lawrence and Billy Crawford called Habang Buhay.
[9] In 2009, he played Vince, a lead role on Dear Friend's episode, "The Three Bachelors", which featured his opposite longtime music partner Kyla.
In 2008, the song "Kayan Natin Ito", a tribute to the victims of the 2009 Typhoon Ondoy, was recorded in his Homeworkz Studio, together with various OPM artists.
After the disaster, he opted to invest in a Ministop outlet that he bought at Wilson Street in Greenhills Shopping Center, instead of reconstructing his club.
He is also a commercial model for Bench Body, Atlas Shippers International, Techno Marine, Unisilver, Adidas, Skechers, and Calayan Surgicenter.
On March 1, 2020, Jay R married singer-actress Mica Javier in an outdoor ceremony at the Lind in Boracay, Malay, Aklan.