‘Lodi’ schoolgirl stages concert
SINGING as her passion since she was six years old, Janah Zaplan burst into the entertainment scene via talent search “Music Hero: The Vocal Battle” of long-time running noontime variety show, “Eat Bulaga.”
An 11th grader of OB Montessori Center and a volleyball varsity player at that, the teener had “Scared To Be Lonely” by Dua Lipa as her entry piece, and sang Yeng Constantino’s “Time In” in the quarterfinals.
Signed up by Ivory Records, she became known for the single “Di Ko Na Kaya” released in March. Her next single “Mahal Na Kita” will soon hit the airwaves. She is a good dancer as well, having trained under teacher Goercelle of G Force.
In answer to her debut song’s lyrics, Zaplan is staging a concert titled “Kaya Ko ‘ To” at the Music Museum on January 30 at 8 p.m. with her special guests that include boyband Upgrade, ‘90s group Jeremiah and “It’s Showtime” Hashtag member Bugoy Cariño.
The youngest in a brood of four girls, she has her feet planted on the ground, asking no preferential treatment, and gets amused by occasional shouts of “lodi” from well-meaning friends and schoolmates, especially when she performs Beyonce, Moira and Dua Lipa songs.
Besides singing and dancing, the teener also dreams of becoming a pilot but has a heart for the underprivileged.
Recently, she joined her family in hosting a small program for cancer patients where she sang for them and distributed simple gifts. She was also with other artists in visiting the Mangyans in Mindoro to distribute television sets used for interactive school programs as well as toys and clothes for the indigenous tribe.
Her father’s colleague in the construction business who’s also into show production saw the 15-year-old’s potential and decided to produce her concert.
“I’m excited for this concert. I have appeared in many shows but it’s different when I’m the one headlining it. I hope they’d come and watch it,” Zaplan said during the press launch early this month.
She has performed as guest artist in Jaya’s “No Boundaries” concert at the Music Museum with Kyla, KZ Tandingan and Eric Santos in May last year; in Ylonna Garcia’s “The Arrival” concert also at the Music Museum in October with Iñigo Pascual, Yeng Constantino, Alexa Ilacad and Jake Zyrus.