Charice Pempengco, 25, is fully committed to her new lifestyle. Nearly three years after opening up to Oprah Winfrey about her male soul, the Filipino singer posted her first tweet under the name Jake Zyrus. “My first tweet as Jake. Overwhelmed,” he began. “Saw all your love comments and I’m so happy. Finally. I love you, everyone and see you soon.” His account has over 900,000 followers already, and his feed is overwhelmed with nothing but love from supportive fans who’ve stuck by Jake through his journey. “Forever grateful,” a second post of Jake’s reads. “Let’s just love one another. I love you all. I really do. I reaaaaalllyyyy ddddoooo.”
But let’s go back to the beginning of this story when Jake (known as Charice back then) first popped up on the scene as a singer. The Glee star was once dubbed the “most talented girl in the world” by Oprah after performing on her former talk-show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He catapulted to success with musical covers of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” “I Will Always Love You,” “I Have Nothing,” and “My Heart Will Go On.” Then, at just 16 years old, Jake performed at Madison Square Garden in NY singing a duet of “Because You Loved Me” with idol Celine Dion.
Many fans will also remember Jake’s time on season two of Glee, when he played exchange student Sunshine Corazon. He worked alongside co-star Lea Michele and performed pop sensations like “Telephone” by Lady Gaga and “Listen” from the movie Dream Girls. In 2013, the television star came out as a lesbian and introduced the world to his girlfriend, Alyssa Quijano.
My first tweet as Jake. Overwhelmed. Saw all your love comments and I'm so happy. Finally. I love you, everyone and see you soon.
— Jake (@jakezyrus) June 20, 2017
HollywoodLifers, how do you feel about Charice’s new name, Jake Zyrus?