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Juan Karlos on His Creative Process and What Motivates His Artistry

“With everything else, I tend to be selfless, so it’s the only thing I can be selfish with—my art,” says the singer-songwriter who will hold his first major concert

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Metro.Style Team

<p>        An artist’s creative process is precious. It varies in style and inspiration, but when it produces record-breaking hits that seem to alter career trajectories, it’s probably worth looking into. This appears to be the case for <strong>Juan Karlos</strong>, whose heartbreaking song “<strong>Ere</strong>” went viral just last year. He’s since been prepping for his first concert that’s set to take place on <strong>November 29 </strong>at the <strong>Mall of Asia Arena</strong>. In an exclusive interview with <strong>Metro.Style</strong>, the singer gave an inside look at the musical aspect of the anticipated show as well as his own artistic process. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/a304432e-b528-4345-9ddc-1b91900f1fad_metro_jk_3.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Juan Karlos"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Juan Karlos<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Photography by Pat Buenaobra  </em></span></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>On “Ere” and giving people what they want	</strong></div><p>Having built a fanbase since his <strong><em>The Voice Kids</em></strong> days, Juan Karlos has definitely given a lot of thought to connecting with those who’ve been following his career. This does require extra care, especially when dealing with “Ere.” “We’re kind of thinking, what do people want?” said the singer, sharing whether or not he wanted to put twists on the song for his first concert. “Do people want something different, or do people want the same thing?”	</p><div><br/></div><p>It’s still a matter of figuring things out musically, he explains. The musician also shared that while keeping people’s opinions is important, it’s also not realistic to know exactly what everyone wants. At the end of the day, as long as it feels right for him and his team, it’s worth pursuing. 	</p><div><br/></div><p>“I feel like [no matter what you do],” says Juan Karlos, “if you love it and people see the passion you have for it, people will appreciate that. So <em>parang andun kami ngayon sa parang</em>… okay, let’s see where this whole thing will take us.” The singer seems to adopt a more go-with-the-flow attitude when it comes to creating music, which his team gladly moves with.	He also compared his own music process to surfing. When anyone starts to surf, he says that the instructor starts teaching on land before going to the water. “We’re all collaboratively figuring out how to ride the waves so we can enjoy it,” he says. “<em>Mas ganu’n siya</em>.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/6644878f-8bec-499d-8f8f-63c96d404202_metro_jk_2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Juan Karlos - Metro interview about his creative process"/></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>On how his creative process evolved	</strong></div><p>When someone has had a career for over a decade, any sort of evolution is inevitable. An artist’s creative process is almost untouchable. “It’s like a never-ending thing, you know,” says Juan Karlos of how often his creative process has changed. “Whatever outcome happens externally doesn’t affect whatever process is built internally,” he reflects. 	</p><div><br/></div><p>Juan Karlos also reveals that he finds inspiration from many different kinds of music. “I listen to like, you know, 300 songs in like a short amount of time,” he says. “Every artist and every kind of music I listen to varies every day. I don’t stick to one thing. And that aspect, it also kind of makes me create so many different things.”	</p><div><br/></div><p>Perhaps it is because of this that he doesn’t appear to believe he actually has his own sound. He expressed how he felt when he realized he had a recognizable “JK sound,” even mimicking air quotes to point back to when he’d heard it from someone else. 	</p><div><br/></div><p>Given the ever-evolving nature of his own process, though, he believes it’s also just a matter of perspective. “Some people see it as a problem. <em>Ako</em>, I see it as a natural thing,” he says with a laid-back shrug. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/c35bcb95-8917-4f4a-b6c7-e08e46fd4131_metro_jk_4.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Juan Karlos and his creative process"/></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>On what motivates his artistry 	</strong></div><p>Interestingly enough, with the confident persona that Juan Karlos exudes, you’d think he’d be used to getting compliments on his art. But apparently, it doesn’t drive the “Ere” singer. “I don’t really know,” he says, suddenly seeming shy when asked what the best compliment he received was. “I don’t really listen to compliments. Or I don’t know how to take compliments. I subconsciously built this, like, wall where I don’t get affected by the bad things that people say.” </p><div><br/></div><p>Juan Karlos, who’s dedicated to his craft, explains that his main focus is truly the constructive comments he hears. 	But if he’s not motivated by praise or compliments, what actually drives him? His answer was pretty quick. “Whatever my brain decides,” he says with a smile. “With everything else, I tend to be selfless, so it’s the only thing I can be selfish with—my art. So as much as possible… there’s no inherent external influence, you know?”	</p><div><br/></div><p>This isn’t to say, though, that Juan Karlos’ art is completely closed off from everyone else’s opinion. In fact, the musician has a very collaborative process. He starts off doing something he simply feels like doing, and then when it turns into “something bigger than what it’s supposed to be,” he turns to the people he trusts creatively. 	“<em>Buti nalang andito ’yung mga tao na tinutulungan ako</em>,” he says with a genuine smile as he gratefully gestures to his team. “I’m more focused on just making songs and working with these people with making these songs. <em>Doon ako masaya</em>.”</p><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAnvga7tHoT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"> <a 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style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid 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0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAnvga7tHoT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by juan karlos (@juankarlos)</a></div></div></blockquote></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><em>You can catch Juan Karlos live at his first major concert on November 29, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Tickets are on sale at SM ticket outlets. </em></strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Text and interview by <strong>Tim Marasigan</strong><br/></p><p>Lead photos by <strong>Pat Buenaobra</strong><br/></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/people/celebrities/juan-karlos-labajo-on-ere-and-first-major-concert/39083" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Juan Karlos on “Ere” and His First Major Concert</a></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

“With everything else, I tend to be selfless, so it’s the only thing I can be selfish with—my art,” says the singer-songwriter who will hold his first major concert this November