Back in 2010, Charice Pempengco was the brightest young starlet to come out of the Philippines, with a starring role in Glee and a US top 10 album. She was first discovered as a teen in 2007 and instantly turned into worldwide fame, appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and singing a stunning Celine Dion cover on The Oprah Winfrey Show that drew praise from even the singer herself.
In 2012, Charice’s appearance began to change, gone were the previous long flowing locks and girlie attire, replaced with short, boyishly cropped hair and more masculine clothes. A year later, after much speculation among fans and the media, Charice came out as a lesbian.
It was in 2014, during a ‘Where Are They Now’ segment with old pal Oprah, Charice went a step further. “I’m not exactly transitioning to a male, but basically my soul is male. I’m not going to change my body — I’ll cut my hair and wear boy clothes, but that’s all,” said Charice.
As of this week, ‘Charice’ is no more, replaced by ‘Jake Zyrus’ across the performer’s official social media accounts. It’s clear Zyrus sees this as a fresh start: All pre-Jake posts have been deleted, as he announces his “first tweet as Jake.”
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 Zyrus (@jakezyrus) June 20, 2017
I won't let anyone ruin this moment. I won't let anyone ruin my happiness. Thank you to all the beautiful write ups about me.
— Jake Zyrus (@jakezyrus) June 20, 2017
forever grateful. let's just love one another. i love you all. I really do. I reaaaaalllyyyy ddddoooo. 😔❤️
— Jake Zyrus (@jakezyrus) June 20, 2017
In case you still can’t figure out who Charice is, here’s our favourite video of the star:
[Source]
