Darren Lyndon Espanto was born on May 24,2001 and is a Filipino-Canadian singer, and actor.
59 Facts About Darren Espanto
2.
Darren Espanto first joined a competition at the age of ten, where he won the Masters Finals of the Pinoy Singing Sensation competition in Edmonton.
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Darren Espanto made his first television appearance at the same age 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.
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On June 1,2014, Espanto became a part of ABS-CBN's Star Magic.
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In May 2015, Darren Espanto staged a major solo concert at MOA Arena, he set a record for being the youngest artist to perform at the said venue at the age of 14.
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In November 2020, Darren Espanto released "Believe in Christmas" under MCA Music Inc which debuted at number 1 of Apple's iTunes store Philippines two hours upon its release.
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In May 2021, Darren Espanto released his latest single, "Tama Na", under MCA Music Inc which climbed to number 3 of Apple's iTunes store Philippines in the first two hours of its release.
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In November 2021, Darren Espanto represented the Philippines in the world renowned Expo 2020 Dubai along with December Avenue.
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In June 2022, Darren Espanto is one of the Southeast Asian artists with whom Calum Scott collaborated for the version of Scott's track, "Heaven".
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In July 2022, it was announced that Darren Espanto is one of the artists included in the newly launched Republic Records Philippines under UMUSIC Philippines.
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Darren Espanto is the first child of Filipino registered nurses Marinel Gonzales and Lyndon Espanto, who emigrated to Canada from Isabela.
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Darren Espanto was interested in singing from a young age, and his parents were supportive of his dreams.
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At age 12, Darren Espanto attended Grade 6 at St Jude Elementary in Calgary, before traveling to the Philippines in 2014 for The Voice Kids.
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At age 10, Darren Espanto won during the Main Edition Finals of the Pinoy Singing Sensation competition in Edmonton on August 20,2011.
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In 2012, ten-year-old Darren Espanto auditioned for the fifth season of YTV's reality television The Next Star, singing Bruno Mars' "Grenade".
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Darren Espanto continued to be selected onto its Top 6, singing pop songs such as Rihanna's "Only Girl " and Maroon 5's "Payphone" among others.
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Darren Espanto was the youngest finalist in the history of the show to be included in the Top 6.
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In 2013, Darren Espanto had his first series as a guest in YTV's Life with Boys.
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Darren Espanto was the second one to receive the highest votes, after Lyca Gairanod.
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Lea Salonga, one of the coaches commented that Darren Espanto is a phenomenal while his mentor Geronimo stated that he was 'a winner and a complete package'.
21.
Darren Espanto sang "Somebody To Love" by Justin Bieber with some back up dancers, and Star Magic artists.
22.
Lea Salonga left a warning to older performers, saying: "To every person Darren Espanto idolized, this is a warning to all of you: this kid will outshine you someday".
23.
Once again, Geronimo praised him and said that despite his talent, Darren Espanto never showed superiority and instead listened to his coach.
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In 2014, Darren Espanto said that he will not go back to Calgary, Alberta, and that he was staying in the Philippines to try acting and do a project with his coach and mentor, Sarah Geronimo.
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Darren Espanto then staged his first solo concert at the Music Museum; a repeat of the concert was staged on December 19,2014.
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Darren Espanto released his first solo album, "Darren", with MCA Music Inc.
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In January 2015, Darren Espanto performed Trina Belamide's "Tell The World of His Love" during Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines.
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Also in November 2015, Darren Espanto was chosen to perform the official theme song for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting titled, "This is Only the Beginning", composed by Mr Ryan Cayabyab.
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In 2016, Darren Espanto released his sophomore album "Be With Me".
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On July 31,2016, Darren Espanto opened for the Philippine leg of Selena Gomez's Revival tour.
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In 2018, Darren Espanto made his acting debut in The Hows of Us.
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In 2019, Darren Espanto was part of The Aces concert with fellow singers Lani Misalucha and Jonalyn Viray.
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On May 24,2020, Darren Espanto celebrated his 19th birthday through an online benefit concert entitled "D Birthday Concert from Home".
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On November 13,2020, Darren Espanto released his Christmas single, "Believe in Christmas", under MCA Music Inc.
35.
On February 13,2021, Darren Espanto released his cover of LANY's song entitled, "If This Is The Last Time", as part of a project with various artists under MCA Music Inc, in coordination with Universal Music Group.
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On May 28,2021, Darren Espanto released his newest single written and produced by Zack Tabudlo with the title, "Tama Na", under MCA Music Inc.
37.
On June 9,2021, Darren Espanto was launched as the main host for the weekly online show for TNT PH called TNT PopShow, along with co-host Adrianna So.
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On June 19,2021, Espanto has successfully held a sold-out digital concert called "Darren: Home Run ".
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On July 11,2021, Darren Espanto was the special guest performer on the 2021 Bb.
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On September 29,2021, Darren Espanto was reappointed as UNDP Philippines' Youth Advocate for the SDGs for a second term, focusing on climate action, biodiversity conservation and youth empowerment.
41.
On November 21,2021, Darren Espanto performed in one of the world's grandest World Expo, the Expo 2020 Dubai, representing the Philippines along with December Avenue.
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On November 26,2021, Darren Espanto appeared as one of the special guests in Maymay Entrata's "MPowered" virtual concert.
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On January 16,2022, Darren Espanto was the featured performer on the "By Request " series launched by ABS-CBN for the victims of Typhoon Odette, where a total of P464,000 donation was raised.
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On January 28,2022, Darren Espanto was the guest performer of Angeline Quinto in her 10Q: Ten Years of Angeline Quinto concert series streamed live via KTX.
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Darren Espanto is part of the EZ Mil: Panalo Homecoming Tour 2022 which kicked off on April 29,2022, at the New Frontier Theater.
46.
On June 9,2022, Darren Espanto is one of the Southeast Asian artists who collaborated with English music sensation, Calum Scott for the version of Scott's track, "Heaven".
47.
On June 11,2022, Darren Espanto is one of Anne Curtis' guest artists in her Luv-Anne: The Comeback Concert held at the Resorts World Manila.
48.
In July 2022, Darren Espanto was part of Vice Ganda's Fully VICE-cinated US Tour 2022 which includes performances in California, Seattle and New Jersey.
49.
On October 1,2022, Darren Espanto joined the line-up of world-class Filipino artists in the first-ever 1MX music festival in London, which showcased the Filipino culture, food and music in one event.
50.
On October 15,2022, Darren Espanto was one of the guest artists in the 20th Anniversary Concert of one of OPM's well-known songwriters and hitmakers, Jonathan Manalo, titled "Mr Music: The Hits of Jonathan Manalo".
51.
On October 20,2022, Darren Espanto was the special guest in Calum Scott's Bridges Asia Tour Live in Manila where the two performed their collaboration "Heaven".
52.
On November 19,2022, Darren Espanto was part of the search for the Next Global Pop Group program, "Dream Maker" which ran until February 2023, as one of its Pinoy Dream Mentors.
53.
On December 3,2023, Darren Espanto was one of the Pinoy pop acts who opened for the K-pop group sensation ENHYPEN in their "Fun Meet in Manila" held at the Araneta Coliseum.
54.
At the early part of 2023, Darren Espanto has already performed in various events such as New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year Countdowns, and national festivities.
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On February 21,2023, Darren Espanto was launched as the newest Hurado in "Tawag ng Tanghalan", a segment of It's Showtime, a daily noontime show airing on Kapamilya Channel and A2Z Channel 11.
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Darren Espanto has accumulated over 70 awards and recognitions including 15 Wish Music Awards, 8 Awit Awards, 8 Myx Music Awards, 8 Push Awards and 7 EdukCricle Awards.
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Darren Espanto performed for Pope Francis during the 2015 Papal Visit in UST.
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Darren Espanto has headlined a gala at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York and performed for presidents and dignitaries during the ASEAN Summits and APEC.
59.
Darren Espanto was recently appointed as the first celebrity Youth Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.