Jay R lists ‘very fruitful’ partnership with Kyla as career highlight

Jay R names his partnership with Kyla as one of the top highlights of his 20-year music career. Together, they got dubbed as the Filipino R&B Royalty, with their tandem scoring sold-out concerts, endorsement deals and hit songs such as Let The Love Begin, Undeniable, Say That You Love Me and Back In Time.

“The partnership of Jay-R and Kyla, I would say, was a very fruitful one,” the currently US-based Jay R told The STAR in a one-on-one interview.

What made it special is because they learned a lot from each other.

“We were elevating because we were learning from each other. Yung flavor ko na galing dito sa L.A., parang she picked it up, tapos yung mga technique niya, yung mga range niya, I picked it up naman,” he said.

“Tapos yung mga performances ko, she’s learning from that. Ako naman, yung mga harmonies and vocal exercises and being laging nag-rere-hearse, I got that from Kyla.

“So we were always learning from each other. That is a big part of my career — meeting Kyla for sure and collaborating with her.”

Jay R and Kyla are bringing back their successful tandem through a reunion concert mounted by GNN Pop, a subsidiary of multimedia outfit GNN Entertainment Productions. Titled Back In Time: Kyla and Jay R The Reunion Concert, it will take place tomorrow, Sept. 2, at the New Frontier Theatre in Cubao, Quezon City.

According to GNN, the show is set to bring the “Y2K vibes back to life” with collab and solo vocal performances that celebrate the tandem’s 20th year of creative partnership. The concert is co-presented by Cornerstone Entertainment with tickets available via Ticketnet Online and all Ticketnet outlets nationwide.

Jay R further teased in our interview: “For the concert, you can expect kulutan to the max and belting to the max for sure.”

“I don’t know if you can expect Kyla to dance, but ako, sasayaw for sure,” he added.

He also plans to perform new songs from his upcoming album. “You know, it’s gonna be a testing ground for the audience kung gusto nila or what songs do they want the most,” he said.

Due to fans’ requests, Jay R also offering merchandise he’s been selling in tours in the US and Canada.

“So, merch, singing, dancing and a lot of storytelling — that’s what you can expect in Back in Time.”

With the reunion show, a “reunion” song shouldn’t be far behind.

“I have tracks and songs that I plan to present to Kyla because she always wants new music also, and I’m like that. And hopefully, we will come out with new music because of that,” said Jay R, who is joined by wife, Mica Javier, on his latest homecoming after they relocated to the US over the pandemic.

Earlier, in a statement, Kyla said that after doing many shows together, she’s most excited about Back in Time because of “so much growth and maturity in terms of our musicality.”

“This show will surely give us an opportunity to reflect on where we’re at in our respective careers and personal lives, while allowing us to be more involved in terms of song selection and artistic direction,” she added.