We can all agree that you can always find a Filipino in any parts of the world. Or in any industries or fields somewhere—-somehow excelling. Filipinos are talented and hardworking that some can be so successful after years of working hard. While some have even become instantly a hit without even trying due to their brilliant skills and innate charm.
For many years, the most talented and respected names in Hollywood and global pop music scene are of Filipino descent. We’ve seen the likes of Bruno Mars, Black Eyed Peas’ apl.de.ap and Nicole Scherzinger. We even have homegrown talents like Jake Zyrus (formerly known as Charice Pempengco) and Lea Salonga who have been raved for their musicality. While some of them have been successful with their acting careers in Hollywood with their iconic film and TV roles, like Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) and Darren Criss (Glee, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story).
But guess who are so totally hot in the pop scene right now? Yep, some of the baddest bitches who are proudly Pinoys. Today, we are going to run down three Filipino stars that have made the world obsessed by just being their awesome, talented, cute selves:
BRETMAN ROCK
You must be under the rock if you don’t know Bretman Rock (lol yep I’m smooth like that). This beauty YouTuber turned reality star can make you laugh hysterically without even trying. Aside from being a naturally genius comedian, his makeup skills are on another levellll like why would you think he would be at par with the biggest beauty influencers in the world right now?!
He has worked with the biggest makeup brands in the world (most famously with wet N wild) by launching his own collab collections with them. And the most charming thing about him is he always, always mentions that he’s a person of color and an immigrant from the Philippines before all the fame. Born Bretman Rock Sacayanan, the beauty mogul spent his early years in Ilocos, Philippines and later on moved to Hawaii in the US where he spent most of his time focusing on sports.
Bretman’s career skyrocketed at an early age as he started posting hilarious makeup tutorials on the internet. These days, his YouTube videos also include her equally funny sister Princess Mae and their family. Bretman has over 14 Million followers on Instagram and almost 8.44 million subscribers on YouTube as of this writing. He’s also been starring on MTV with his own reality series titled “MTV’s Following: Bretman Rock”, which follows the star’s life and struggles while living in Hawaii. And just recently, he’s won the Breakthrough Social Star Award at the MTV’s Movie and TV Unscipted Awards for his reality show.
“This is for every bad bitch that looks like me… maybe minus the mullet. But still, thank you for watching this islander boy grow up on the internet! We have a long way to go and I’m excited to see where I go,” the MTV star quipped on Instagram.
Talk about being talented and inspiring.
OLIVIA RODRIGO
You might have first heard of Olivia Rodrigo when pop superstar Taylor Swift totally raved about her music composition “Drivers License”, which talks about a love lost and dealing with teenage heartbreak. But this Filipina has actually been in Hollywood for a while before hitting it big with her debut song. She has been an actress for years, having roles in shows like Grace Stirs Up Success and Zooey Deschanel’s New Girl. Later on, she became a Disney star in the series Bizzaardvark. She’s also been the lead star in the Disney series High School Musical: The Musical Series since 2019.
“Drivers License” with over 208 millions YouTube views as of this writing debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rodrigo her first number one single in the United States. This milestone has also made her the first non-American Idol female artist to ever have their debut single at the number one spot of the charts since Lauryn Hill in 1998. She’s become an instant pop music sensation, and has been also hailed by Billboard as one of the hottest songwriters today.
Born Olivia Isabel Rodrigo, the 18-year-old was born and raised in California, USA by her American mother and Filipino dad. Olivia is set to prove her staying power with the release of her debut album “SOUR” on May 21st. But with some writing credits from Taylor Swift herself on her upcoming album, it’s safe to say that this girl is going to define the international pop music scene in the coming years.
BELLA POARCH
Honestly, who could survive the global pandemic lockdown without TikTok? Bella Poarch’s “M to the B” TikTok video was the total mood in August 2020, making it the most viewed video in the history of the app. It accumulated a whopping 30 million likes, too. Talk about being iconic.
Bella grew up in the Philippines then she later on moved to Hawaii as a teenager. She then moved to Texas and served in the United States Navy. The 24-year-old social media sensation is now starting to make a name for herself in the music industry too. She recently debuted her first song titled “Build A B*tch”, which garnered over 61 Million views in the first five days. Just when you think you can write her off as this TikTok star with interesting facial expressions, she can totally wow you with her singing voice, star presence and sex appeal too. Her debut song is a bop, and we’re not surprised it can make anyone vibe with it.
The dope part? Bretman Rock also made a cameo in the music video. Guess you could say the global pop scene is all about talented Filipinos right now. We’re excited to see these stars go higher and bigger! Filipinos represent!