This boy can speak and sing in five languages: Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), English, Thai and now, Filipino.
James Wright, who was one of the Top 5 finalists in the GMA 7 reality talent search “Anak Ko ’Yan,” grew up in Hong Kong, where his Australian father and Filipino mother are based.
Learning Filipino
In school, Mandarin and Cantonese were required subjects. Three years ago, he took a Thai language course on a whim. “I got bored and wanted to learn something new,” he explained.
THE SINGER wants to be known as versatile and plans to pursue acting.
When he moved to Manila a year ago, he didn’t speak a word of Filipino. “I took a crash course. My relatives helped me, too.”
Now, this 18-year-old polyglot can sing Filipino ballads, like “Sana’y Ikaw” (the theme song of the concluded soap opera “Carmela”), convincingly.
He wanted to include a Chinese song in his self-titled debut CD under GMA Records. “We’d even do a Filipino version. But the rights to the song were too expensive.”
Apart from singing, he hopes to venture into TV and movie acting, and perhaps share the screen with his crushes, Marian Rivera and Yassi Pressman.
“I recently took acting workshops,” he recalled. “I used to find it hard to express my feelings. But my teachers managed to bring out my emotions. I got good feedback.”
More than the usual teen heartthrob roles, he would like to try all sorts of complex characters and wouldn’t shy away from gay roles à la “My Husband’s Lover.” “I can do that. I’m a risk-taker,” he said.
He can be a daredevil, he admitted: “That’s my edge as a performer: I will do things others won’t even try. I’d like to star in an action movie and do my own stunts.”
Also an athlete
Back in high school in Hong Kong, he was in the rugby team.
“I was not as tall as my classmates, so I was the runner,” he related.
To keep fit, he’s also into football, basketball and swimming.
Music-wise, his tastes lean toward Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé classics, but he’s willing to sample different genres.
“Now, I’m learning how to rap and sing R&B. I want to be known as a versatile artist,” he said.
His “Anak Ko ’Yan” mentor, acclaimed singer Dulce, said of James: “He has a soothing voice à la Bublé …. He’s more suited to standards.”
He’s not just multilinguist; he’s also a multi-instrumentalist. He plays the guitar, piano and drums.
His goals go beyond the Philippines and the Asian region.
Bigger dreams
“I want to make it big in Hollywood,” he asserted.
Given the chance, he wouldn’t think twice about auditioning for US talent shows, like “American Idol” or “The Voice.”
His dream music mentor is Bryan McKnight. “His range is incredible. He can shift from low to high notes effortlessly,” he said.
(E-mail bayanisandiegojr@gmail.com)