Meet JB Naganio, the guy behind the high notes of the latest viral vid
Over the past few days, JB Naganio noticed unusual activity on his Facebook page, which he’s kept largely dormant.
People he didn’t know began adding him and asking probing questions.
He found it “surreal” and “awkward” to have strangers wanting to know more about him.
Simple guy
After all, the 32 year old told Yahoo Philippines in a message, “I am just a simple guy who just likes to sing.”
But then that’s exactly why JB attracted attention in the first place.
Specifically, the high notes he hit on his version of Destiny Child’s “Stand Up for Love,” caught on video by friend Amante Esguerra and duly uploaded to YouTube in early January.
Can you say viral?
Though there are reports claiming the video has had millions of views, the ones we found online vary between nearly 400,000 and 17,000 to date.
Which is significant enough to cause a stir in JB’s life—even if he has returned to the UK where he has worked as a nurse for the last 5 years.
“I just can't believe that people message me to get to know me. I find it funny,” he told Yahoo Philippines in a message.
Vocals don’t match his looks
He is especially amused by the comments on the video.
“Best was when people thought that I was just lip-syncing the whole time. I find those comments the best because I think what they see on the video and what they hear coming from it, do not go hand in hand (with what I look like) and that what baffles them,” he told Yahoo.
“I love invoking that kind of reaction (in) people especially on my live performances.”
More vids online
While the video that’s now going viral was shot by his “best mate,” Amante Esguerra when JB was in the Philippines to visit his mom and siblings last Christmas, there are lots of other videos showing him, say, in a live jam with a band at a restaurant in Greenbelt.
Another one shows him at the O2 Arena in London during the 2010 finals of an open mic contest in the UK, where he did Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”
“It was a proud moment for me as I was the only Asian, (let) alone a Filipino, to make it through the finals,” he told Yahoo.
JB is a pro
In fact, JB was once the vocalist of a number of bands in Baguio, Manila and his hometown of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.
“I also worked as a vocalist in Hong Kong for 6 months (every) year before I came to the UK,” he said.
He began joining bands during his last year in college, unbeknownst to his parents. While he got paid for his gigs, what motivated him was the “rush” he felt every time he would sing in front of a crowd, he said.
What’s next?
Now that his new video has gone viral, JB is ready for whatever happens next.
“That is a path that I think I am willing to take,” he said of opportunities that may come his way.
“I will only be here on earth for so long and my voice will not be forever be the same as it is now and I think I am ready to make sweet music that everyone can relate. Music is a driving force of life. It has the ability to influence anyone any day and anywhere and I wish to be part of it.”
