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There is this mistaken notion that success was handed to Jason Fernandez on a silver platter. Upon winning the reality TV show, Bagong Liwanag, he was pushed from obscurity to the limelight when he became the new lead singer for the band Rivermaya in 2007. It may seem like a Cinderella success story, but what many don’t realize is what Jason had to undergo to get where he is.
It all began in March 5, 1989 when Jason gave his first shout out at the former Manila Lying Hospital along Taft Avenue in Manila. His parents were Juvy Fernandez, an OFW and George Cristodolous a Greek national living in Cyprus. Growing up in his mother and grandmother’s care, life was difficult. At one point they had to move to Bicol just to make ends meet. But even if they didn’t have a lot, they would still find ways of entertaining themselves. Like when Jason was five years old, he would pretend to hold concerts by turning his bed into a stage and arranging chairs around it. It must have been these pretend play performance that his mother must have seen glimpses of Jason’s talent. But it wasn’t until he was seven that she entered Jason in his first singing contest. His interpretation of Gary V.’s “Natutulog ba ang Diyos” won over the judges and he walk away as the winner.
From then on, he continued to join more singing contest in schools and fiestas. He remembers one time he was just at home watching TV. His mother came in to the room and told him to get dress quickly. It turns out she entered him into a contest at the last minute. Without any rehearsal he joined the contest and won! It was through these contests though, that Jason managed to gain experience in performing and hone his natural talent in singing.
Upon reaching high school, he started learning how to play the guitar and drums. It was also during the same time that he started forming and joining different bands. While he would still sing ballads in contest, he began exploring different musical genre such as rock and acoustic pop. His style would be influence by 90′s rock and roll. It was also during this time that he began joining different bands and would enter different band competitions. But often he and his band mates would always lose. That is until he joined the heavy metal band that he finally made it as a rockstar.
It was in 2007 that someone told him that the band Rivermaya was looking for a new lead singer. What made it interesting is that the audition would be done in the form of a reality TV show. At first Jason hesitated whether he should join or not, but he eventually did at the last moment. The odds were daunting as the audition attracted 500 aspiring rockstars all wanting to be the band’s new front man. The number of applicants was then cut down to 82 and then the final twelve final contestants. Funny thing was, Jason was not even part of the final twelve. But the show producers decided to make it thirteen rather than twelve finalists in the final elimination rounds. Because of this, Jason was able to make it in to the show.
After weeks of grueling elimination trials, it boiled down to only to Jason and Hans Dimayuga in the final round. But in the end it was Jason who emerged victorious. However it is one thing to win a reality TV show contest and another to win over the music fans. What didn’t make it easier is that the previous lead singer for Rivermaya set the bar really high. But Jason proved to his detractors that he was a mere flash in the pan. He toured with the group around the country as well as around Asia. They did everything from intimate club gigs to TV shows to concerts in stadiums. When Jason performed the hits that made Riverymaya popular, he made them his own with a dose of his youthful energy. When interpreting new materials for their studio albums, he tried to give the band a stronger and harder edge in terms of sound.
Aside from honing his singing, being with Rivermaya also help opened up other areas of his musical talents, such as musical arrangement and song writing. Even though Jason was already writing songs prior to joining Rivermaya, being with the band gave him the opportunity not only to polish it further, but also to co-write some of the band’s new songs.
Indeed being with the Rivermaya has help opened up a whole new world of opportunity for Jason. But he has not forgotten his roots, particularly the times when he was growing up and did not have a lot. With a group of like-minded friends, they have formed “Waterwalkers”. Their aim is to help out underprivileged kids in rural areas by pooling their resources and donating much needed school supplies and other essentials. They do everything themselves from sourcing the goods to actually delivering it to remote rural areas. The group is now actively helping out kids in the Bicol region, particularly Camarines Norte, where Jason spent part of his growing up years.
