Jan Nieto
Encyclopedia
Jan Kurt Anthony Pasion Nieto, popularly known as Jan Nieto (born June 13, 1981), is a Filipino
male singer who rose to prominence as one of the runners-up of Philippine Idol
in 2006. With the height of 5' 10½" (179 cm) and weighing 165 pounds (74 kg), he was dubbed as the "Hunky Idol" during the competition. He is currently a talent of GMA Network
.
. His parents named all of their children with the initials "J" and "K", as his siblings are named Joseph Kenneth, Johnielle Keith, James Kenrick, Judy Kristine, and Janelle Kathleen. When he was born at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Manila's
Santa Mesa district, his sisters insisted on adding the name "Anthony" because he was born on the Feast of San Antonio de Padua
. He was often teased as a child for his dark skin, calling him "Nognog".
He studied in Ateneo de Manila University
from Preparatory
until he graduated with a degree in Management Engineering. The first song he learned to sing is "My Love Will See You Through" by Marco Sison when he was 7 years old. When his father heard him sing while singing Christmas carols in their home, he would make him sing in front of house guests during parties, although he considered himself as the shy type in the family.
Nieto started singing in public when he was in second year high school as part of a class Christmas
caroling and had no formal vocal training, except being a member of a church choir and receiving criticisms from his father and informal training from his older brother Johnielle Keith who works as a lawyer. He also tried to join his college glee club, but only stayed for several weeks because of the difficulty of catching up with his co-members.
Nieto considered himself as a nerd in school. He preferred studying for examinations a week before because cramming
does not work for him. He admitted being a "teacher's pet
" in school, even until college. Aside from studying, Nieto also has interest in sports such as tennis
(his favorite), judo
(which he excels), table tennis
, badminton
, and basketball
(which in another interview he said he dislikes).
Before auditioning for Philippine Idol, he worked as a Customer Marketing Manager for Unilever
Philippines where he worked since February 2003. However, he never told anyone that he actually wanted to become a singer.
Main Auditions held in Philippine International Convention Center
in Pasay City
. It was his first time to have tried out in any singing contest. He sang "Limang Dipang Tao" (A Five-Dipa-Long Queue
of People), a composition of Idol judge Ryan Cayabyab
. His audition was not shown until the show's tenth week, which featured special segments about the Final 3.
Several people who knew Nieto were surprised that he tried out for Idol, including actor Alfred Vargas
, who was once his classmate.
He landed on the Top 4 during the Men's Semi-Final Round and became one of the 12 Finalists.
During the competition, he offered fellow finalist Ken Dingle—who at the time was based in Baguio City
--a place to stay at his house. Dingle, who taught Nieto how to sing in R&B style, resided in the Nieto household even after his elimination. He also volunteered, with the help of his mother, in helping fellow finalist Pow Chavez recover from her asthma
during the Women's Semi-Finals.
The judges often compared Nieto (who studied in Ateneo de Manila University) with fellow finalist Gian Magdangal
(who studied in a De La Salle school), calling it "the new Ateneo-La Salle rivalry". They are also compared to the rivalry between Filipino singers Martin Nievera
and Gary Valenciano
during the 1980s. Entertainment writers even predicted that Nieto and Magdangal would vie for the title.
One of his performance highlights was his rendition of Nievera's "You Are My Song" during the Final 6 Round wherein the songs were chosen by another finalist. In Nieto's case, it was Magdangal who picked the song. Nieto admitted that it was a difficult song because of its wide range and some of its high notes were beyond his normal range. Eventually, he was surprised with the judges' positive reactions.
Nieto landed at the Bottom 3 twice and on the Hot Spot once, when there was no official Bottom 3 or 2 announced. This happened for three consecutive weeks before the Finale.
He was often criticized during the competition that his performances were stiff, inorganic, or not note-perfect. However, the judges noted that he showed improvement as weeks passed, with Cayabyab calling it "from 0 to 100". Nieto was also criticized that he breezed through every round, and eventually into the Final 3, because of his family's riches. He said that every contestant's family is supporting their own, but the vote of the whole country would overpower his family's votes.
He considered himself as the underdog in the Finale, compared to fellow finalists Magdangal and Mau Marcelo
who had been the favorites of both the judges and the audience.
During the Finale, he proved his critics that he deserved to be in the competition with his performances that the judges praised, which were described as musically flawless and exuding of masculine appeal. However, he settled for the runner-up position along with Magdangal as Marcelo was proclaimed winner.
He was managed by Sandra Chavez of i-Asia Management Company, which is appointed by Fremantle Media (owner of all Idol franchises) to handle the careers of all finalists.
Nieto and fellow Idol finalist Miguel Mendoza has also appeared on the ABS-CBN show ASAP '07
alongside Piolo Pascual
, Sam Milby
, Jay-R Siaboc
, and Ronnie Liang
. Moreover, Nieto was also interviewed in "TV Patrol World
" about his appearance on ASAP '07. Along with Idol finalist Jelli Mateo, Nieto also sang a food condiment jingle that was rearranged by Cayabyab.
He also appeared in various mall shows and corporate events.
It took nine and a half months after the competition before Nieto got his major break when he signed for GMA Network
as part of its musical variety show SOP Rules. He joined Magdangal, who became part of GMA Network a month after Philippine Idol, in the show. Nieto said that it was only then when he felt the effect of his participation in Idol. Beginning the year 2008, he began being managed by Leo Dominguez (who also manages the careers of Ogie Alcasid and Lovi Poe) and Paolo Bustamante (manager of Brad Turvey and one of the writers of Philippine Idol).
. It is part of Philippine Idol: The Final 12 CD
, a compilation of songs performed by Philippine Idol finalists during the OPM Week.
After months of preparations and recordings, his self-titled debut album was released March 2009 under IndiMusic (label owned by, among others, Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez). Ogie serves as the album Producer, which includes two of his compositions entitled "Sa Puso Ko" and the album's carrier, "Bakit Kailangan Pang Lumayo". Initially thought of as a CD lite (contains 6 songs), Ogie suggested to make it a full album of 10 cuts. Jan co-wrote (with his manager) the lyrics of one of the songs, "Together", which co-Philippine Idol finalist Miguel Mendoza doing the music.
Jan sang theme songs of two GMA 7 evening soaps - Kamandag
and Ang Babaeng Hinugot Sa Aking Tadyang
. He also performed theme songs of two Independent films - Sangandaan from the movie Paupahan and Bakit Kailangan Pang Lumayo from the soon to be released film Marino.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
male singer who rose to prominence as one of the runners-up of Philippine Idol
Philippine Idol
Philippine Idol was the first franchise of Idol series in the Philippines, the 35th country in the world to air a national Idol franchise and the sixth in Asia. The franchise was first awarded by FremantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and CKX, Inc. to Associated Broadcasting Company in 2006 and then to...
in 2006. With the height of 5' 10½" (179 cm) and weighing 165 pounds (74 kg), he was dubbed as the "Hunky Idol" during the competition. He is currently a talent of GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...
.
Early life and career
Nieto is the youngest son of Rolando Nieto and Etherlyn Pasion (both medical doctors) in a brood of six. His mother is also an undersecretary of the Department of HealthDepartment of Health (Philippines)
The Philippines’ Department of Health is the principal health agency in the Philippines. It is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for ensuring access to basic public health services to all Filipinos through the provision of quality health care and the regulation of...
. His parents named all of their children with the initials "J" and "K", as his siblings are named Joseph Kenneth, Johnielle Keith, James Kenrick, Judy Kristine, and Janelle Kathleen. When he was born at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Manila's
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
Santa Mesa district, his sisters insisted on adding the name "Anthony" because he was born on the Feast of San Antonio de Padua
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
. He was often teased as a child for his dark skin, calling him "Nognog".
He studied in Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
from Preparatory
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
until he graduated with a degree in Management Engineering. The first song he learned to sing is "My Love Will See You Through" by Marco Sison when he was 7 years old. When his father heard him sing while singing Christmas carols in their home, he would make him sing in front of house guests during parties, although he considered himself as the shy type in the family.
Nieto started singing in public when he was in second year high school as part of a class Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
caroling and had no formal vocal training, except being a member of a church choir and receiving criticisms from his father and informal training from his older brother Johnielle Keith who works as a lawyer. He also tried to join his college glee club, but only stayed for several weeks because of the difficulty of catching up with his co-members.
Nieto considered himself as a nerd in school. He preferred studying for examinations a week before because cramming
Cramming (memorization)
In education, cramming is the practice of working intensively to absorb large volumes of informational material in short amounts of time. It is often done by students in preparation for upcoming exams...
does not work for him. He admitted being a "teacher's pet
Teacher's Pet
-Film:* Teacher's Pet , a 2004 animated musical based 2000 TV series* Teacher's Pet , a 1958 romantic comedy film* Teacher's Pet , a 1930 two-reel comedy short-Television:...
" in school, even until college. Aside from studying, Nieto also has interest in sports such as tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(his favorite), judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
(which he excels), table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(which in another interview he said he dislikes).
Before auditioning for Philippine Idol, he worked as a Customer Marketing Manager for Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
Philippines where he worked since February 2003. However, he never told anyone that he actually wanted to become a singer.
Philippine Idol
Following his dream of becoming a professional singer, and through encouragement of his friends, Nieto auditioned in the LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
Main Auditions held in Philippine International Convention Center
Philippine International Convention Center
The Philippine International Convention Center is a convention center located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines...
in Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
. It was his first time to have tried out in any singing contest. He sang "Limang Dipang Tao" (A Five-Dipa-Long Queue
Queue area
Queue areas are places in which people queue for goods or services. Examples include checking out groceries or other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in a taxi stand.Queueing is a phenomenon in a...
of People), a composition of Idol judge Ryan Cayabyab
Ryan Cayabyab
Ryan Cayabyab is a Filipino musician and was the Executive and Artistic Director of the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts...
. His audition was not shown until the show's tenth week, which featured special segments about the Final 3.
Several people who knew Nieto were surprised that he tried out for Idol, including actor Alfred Vargas
Alfred Vargas
Alfredo Paolo Dumlao Vargas III is a Filipino actor and model. He was elected councilor in the 2nd District of Quezon City in 2010.-Biography and Career:...
, who was once his classmate.
He landed on the Top 4 during the Men's Semi-Final Round and became one of the 12 Finalists.
During the competition, he offered fellow finalist Ken Dingle—who at the time was based in Baguio City
Baguio City
The City of Baguio is a highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway...
--a place to stay at his house. Dingle, who taught Nieto how to sing in R&B style, resided in the Nieto household even after his elimination. He also volunteered, with the help of his mother, in helping fellow finalist Pow Chavez recover from her asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
during the Women's Semi-Finals.
The judges often compared Nieto (who studied in Ateneo de Manila University) with fellow finalist Gian Magdangal
Gian Magdangal
Giancarlo "Gian" Alzate Magdangal , is a Filipino singer, performer, and theater actor currently signed to GMA Network. A former boy band member of 17:28, he rose to prominence as one of the runners-up of Philippine Idol in 2006...
(who studied in a De La Salle school), calling it "the new Ateneo-La Salle rivalry". They are also compared to the rivalry between Filipino singers Martin Nievera
Martin Nievera
Martin Ramon Razon Nievera is a singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the main hosts of musical variety show ASAP on ABS-CBN-Early life:...
and Gary Valenciano
Gary Valenciano
Edgardo Jose Martin Santiago Valenciano , better known as Gary Valenciano or Gary V., is a Filipino musician. He is also dubbed as Mr. Pure Energy. He has released 26 albums, and won the Awit Awards for "Best Male Performer" 11 times. In 1998, he became UNICEF Philippines first national Ambassador...
during the 1980s. Entertainment writers even predicted that Nieto and Magdangal would vie for the title.
One of his performance highlights was his rendition of Nievera's "You Are My Song" during the Final 6 Round wherein the songs were chosen by another finalist. In Nieto's case, it was Magdangal who picked the song. Nieto admitted that it was a difficult song because of its wide range and some of its high notes were beyond his normal range. Eventually, he was surprised with the judges' positive reactions.
Nieto landed at the Bottom 3 twice and on the Hot Spot once, when there was no official Bottom 3 or 2 announced. This happened for three consecutive weeks before the Finale.
He was often criticized during the competition that his performances were stiff, inorganic, or not note-perfect. However, the judges noted that he showed improvement as weeks passed, with Cayabyab calling it "from 0 to 100". Nieto was also criticized that he breezed through every round, and eventually into the Final 3, because of his family's riches. He said that every contestant's family is supporting their own, but the vote of the whole country would overpower his family's votes.
He considered himself as the underdog in the Finale, compared to fellow finalists Magdangal and Mau Marcelo
Mau Marcelo
Maureen "Mau" Flores Marcelo is a Filipina Puertorican R&B soul singer who rose to prominence as the first winner of Philippine Idol in 2006. She was dubbed as the "Soul Idol" and "The Black Belter" at the competition for her R&B-style vocals...
who had been the favorites of both the judges and the audience.
During the Finale, he proved his critics that he deserved to be in the competition with his performances that the judges praised, which were described as musically flawless and exuding of masculine appeal. However, he settled for the runner-up position along with Magdangal as Marcelo was proclaimed winner.
Post-Idol
Nieto immediately resigned from Unilever after Philippine Idol to fully pursue a singing career. This decision worried some of the people close to him because a career in music is uncertain unlike his stint in the corporate world.He was managed by Sandra Chavez of i-Asia Management Company, which is appointed by Fremantle Media (owner of all Idol franchises) to handle the careers of all finalists.
Nieto and fellow Idol finalist Miguel Mendoza has also appeared on the ABS-CBN show ASAP '07
ASAP (variety show)
ASAP Rocks is a musical variety show in the Philippines broadcast by ABS-CBN in the Philippines. The show is presented by its main hosts Zsa Zsa Padilla, Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera. The show first premiered on February 5, 1995, and airs live Sundays...
alongside Piolo Pascual
Piolo Pascual
Piolo Jose Pascual is a Filipino film and television actor, musician, model, and producer.-Biography:...
, Sam Milby
Sam Milby
Samuel Lloyd "Sam" Lacia Milby , is a Filipino-American who joined Pinoy Big Brother as a housemate...
, Jay-R Siaboc
Jay-R Siaboc
Jay-R Siaboc , is a Filipino TV actor and singer. He started as a student of Pinoy Dream Academy and became a first runner-up next to the grand star dreamer Yeng Constantino....
, and Ronnie Liang
Ronnie Liang
Ronnie Liang is a Filipino singer. He is the former finalist of the popular reality-talent search franchise in the Philippines, Pinoy Dream Academy. He was the second runner-up next to Jay-R Siaboc, who is one of his closest friends from the said contest, and grand star dreamer Yeng Constantino...
. Moreover, Nieto was also interviewed in "TV Patrol World
TV Patrol World
TV Patrol is the flagship national network news broadcast of ABS-CBN in the Philippines. It is aired Monday to Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., Saturdays from 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sundays from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m....
" about his appearance on ASAP '07. Along with Idol finalist Jelli Mateo, Nieto also sang a food condiment jingle that was rearranged by Cayabyab.
He also appeared in various mall shows and corporate events.
It took nine and a half months after the competition before Nieto got his major break when he signed for GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...
as part of its musical variety show SOP Rules. He joined Magdangal, who became part of GMA Network a month after Philippine Idol, in the show. Nieto said that it was only then when he felt the effect of his participation in Idol. Beginning the year 2008, he began being managed by Leo Dominguez (who also manages the careers of Ogie Alcasid and Lovi Poe) and Paolo Bustamante (manager of Brad Turvey and one of the writers of Philippine Idol).
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
| 2006–2010 | SOP Rules | Performer | GMA Network |
| 2010 | P05 (party on 5) | Performer | TV5 Associated Broadcasting Company The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal... |
Recordings
His first recorded single is "Tuwing Umuulan At Kapiling Ka" (Every Time It Rains And I'm With You), which was originally sung by Basil ValdezBasil Valdez
Basil Valdez is a Filipino balladeer.He has received several Tinig Awards and the 1991 Tanglaw ng Lahi Award from Ateneo de Manila University-Biography:...
. It is part of Philippine Idol: The Final 12 CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, a compilation of songs performed by Philippine Idol finalists during the OPM Week.
After months of preparations and recordings, his self-titled debut album was released March 2009 under IndiMusic (label owned by, among others, Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez). Ogie serves as the album Producer, which includes two of his compositions entitled "Sa Puso Ko" and the album's carrier, "Bakit Kailangan Pang Lumayo". Initially thought of as a CD lite (contains 6 songs), Ogie suggested to make it a full album of 10 cuts. Jan co-wrote (with his manager) the lyrics of one of the songs, "Together", which co-Philippine Idol finalist Miguel Mendoza doing the music.
Jan sang theme songs of two GMA 7 evening soaps - Kamandag
Kamandag
Kamandag, also known as Venom in English, is a fantasy Philippine drama that aired on GMA Network from November 19, 2007 to April 25, 2008. Based from the graphic novel of Carlo J. Caparas, it starred Richard Gutierrez.-Origin:...
and Ang Babaeng Hinugot Sa Aking Tadyang
Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang
Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang or Dangerous Love is an adaptation of Carlo J. Caparas' celebrated graphic novel, which in turn produced a film version in the 1980s starring Vivian Velez and Eddie Rodriguez. In the TV version, Joyce E. Bernal, with Topel Lee, directs Dingdong Dantes and...
. He also performed theme songs of two Independent films - Sangandaan from the movie Paupahan and Bakit Kailangan Pang Lumayo from the soon to be released film Marino.
Singles
- Ikaw ang Pag-Ibig (Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking TadyangAng Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking TadyangAng Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang or Dangerous Love is an adaptation of Carlo J. Caparas' celebrated graphic novel, which in turn produced a film version in the 1980s starring Vivian Velez and Eddie Rodriguez. In the TV version, Joyce E. Bernal, with Topel Lee, directs Dingdong Dantes and...
Theme Song) - Ngayon at KailanmanNgayon at KailanmanSine Novela Presents: Ngayon at Kailanman is a Philippine Thriller on GMA Network. The original movie was released back in 1992. The series stars Heart Evangelista and JC De Vera...
(Originally performed by Basil ValdezBasil ValdezBasil Valdez is a Filipino balladeer.He has received several Tinig Awards and the 1991 Tanglaw ng Lahi Award from Ateneo de Manila University-Biography:...
) - Bakit Kailangan Pang Lumayo (first Carrier Single of his Debut Album)
See also
- Philippine IdolPhilippine Idol finalistsThe Philippine Idol Finalists consisted of 12 aspiring singers who competed for Philippine Idol. They were selected after several stages of audition and theater eliminations, and succeeded in earning a spot in the Finals by popular votes from the viewers.The Final Round started on September 30,...
- for the list of Nieto's songs performances during the competition.