Jayda on her own now

When I saw Jayda performing with the so-called Broadway Boys on Eat, Bulaga! three Saturdays ago, I was convinced that she is fast moving out of the combined shadow of her parents, Dingdong Avanzado and Jessa Zaragoza. She wowed the audience (both in the studio and, I’m sure, in homes) with her terpsichorean and singing talent, add to that her good looks (the sum total of her parents’ best traits), and what do you get? A star about to shine on her own.

A few years ago when she guested in a TV show with her mom, Jayda did her own (nasal) version of Bakit Pa?, the song that helped catapult Jessa to singing stardom, and Jayda did it so well that Jessa could do nothing but, well. “concede.” No doubt she’s what is described as an improvement of the specie.

Although she has been guesting in her parents’ shows, Jayda considers Next Attraction (the concert starring Karylle, Isabella and Robin Nievera, the children of Zsa Zsa Padilla, Kuh Ledesma and Martin Nievera respectively) as the most special because, she said, it opened the door bigger for her.

“But when I was nine years old,” recalled Jayda with a distinct American twang (she spent a good part of her childhood in California), “I guest-performed in my dad’s show, Tatlong Beinte Singko. Since then, I’ve been a regular guest in my parents’ shows, including their anniversary concert in December last year.”

Janelle Amanda Loyola Avanzado is an unica hija who turned 15 on June 1. She’s looking forward to bigger milestones in her life.

On Sunday, June 10, Jayda will curtain-raise for Niall Horan’s show at the Mall Of Asia (MOA) Arena. Niall is the second ex-One Direction member to have a concert in Manila, following Harry Styles last month. (Produced by MMLIVE with PLDT/Smart, Niall Horan’s concert has Philippine STAR as sponsor. Call 470-2222 for tickets or go to smtickets.com.)  

“I’ve been practicing since I got the news that I was opening for his show,” gushed Jayda, understandably so because Niall happens to be her favorite among the 1D guys. “It’s actually super-crazy! I am a big Directioner, that’s why I’m so excited. I love their music. The band greatly influenced me as a singer and composer.”

Photo from Niall Horan's Instagram

She hastened to add, “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I like them all but Niall struck me the most. He’s the cutest! It’s so super-surreal. If you told 12-year-old me that I was gonna meet him, I would probably freak out! I’ve been checking my set list but so sorry I can’t reveal anything. Abangan na lang nila on the concert day itself. You guys will see. It’s a surprise!”

Dad Dingdong (turning 50 on July 7; Jessa is 39) is just as excited. “Darling, what have the One Direction fans been telling you?”

“Yes,” Jayda continued, “since I made the announcement on social media, not just people from the Philippines but all over the world around the world have been tweeting me. 1D has a massive fan base and social media brings them closer together. One 1D fan tweeted me, ‘You’ve gone from being a fan girl to being a 1D co-performer. Now you are performing with Niall’.”

The truth is that Jayda has been a 1D fan from way back.

“I have a lot of 1D merchandise and a scrapbook containing 1D stories that I clipped from magazines. I even have a huge poster of Niall on the wall of my room.”

Would she swoon as soon as she met Niall in the flesh?

“I just might,” Jayda blushed.

Asked if she had a crush on Niall, she blushed even more.

“Well, you can say that, hehehe!!! I will tell him how much I respect him as an artist and how much he has inspired me in my career.”

“Normal naman ‘yung crush, eh,” said the protective dad.

Now in Grade 11, Jayda’s birthday wish is simple.

“I hope my career continues to work out and all my dreams come true. I really want to make my parents proud. I hope to do well in my education.” (She is home-schooled, enrolled at the Asia Pacific College.) 

What Jayda (with Dad Dingdong and Mom Jessa) is most excited about is her guesting in the June 10 MOA Arena concert of ex-One Direction member Niall Horan (above). ‘I’m a big 1D fan. I find Niall the cutest among the 1D guys.’

Two weeks ago, Jayda’s single titled Text was released (Star Music), part of her In My Room EP (Extended Play), accompanied by a music video. Jayda herself wrote the song as well as the five other original tracks on the album which she is co-producing. In My Room was inspired by the small recording studio that her parents have put up for her right at home. She started writing songs when she was 12.

“Text deals with a millennial topic,” she explained. “It’s so relatable among millennials. Everyone around the world is texting now. The song is about being ‘ghosted’…it’s a millennial slang for when you think you have a connection with someone and you are left just hanging there. The song is about being reconnected with that someone.”

As a millennial, Jayda has had her share of being bashed, especially after she posted her picture with an upcoming handsome singer who is now trying his lucky with a group in the US.

“But I just ignored the bashers,” she shrugged. “That’s the best way to treat bashers,?just ignore them!”

Is she ready for showbiz?

“Oh yes, I am!” she said. “Singing has always been my passion.”

It’s in the blood after all.

“Since she was small, even as a baby,” recalled Jessa, “she has been going with us to our shows in the US (where we lived for a few years) and here. Kaya sanay na sanay na siya sa showbiz.”

So who is she more like, her mom or her dad?

“I think I’m a bit of both,” she admitted, looking at her dad and then at her mom. “I think that’s the right answer because they are both here, hehehe!!!”

Any do’s and don’t’s?

“She knows her limitations,” stressed Dingdong. “Siempre, no boyfriend-boyfriend yet. She’s too young pa.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare. or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo. )