Pride: Meet Jake Zyrus, formerly Charice

Jake Zyrus

IT'S FITTING that during Pride Week celebrations around the world, the singer formerly known as Charice Pepengco announced a name change to Jake Zyrus.
In his first posting under his new monicker, Zyrus wrote: "From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love and respect. I love you back and I'm sending peace to everyone," the singer wrote in the caption.

Zyrus, shot to international fame after Oprah Winfrey took him under her wing. Then introduced as Charice, the Filipina singer was noted for her powerful voice comparing her prowess to diva Celine Dion. Winfrey brought the two together and Celine Dion invited the Filipina to sing a duet with her at Madison Square Garden. The video of that performance went viral.

In 2013, the singer came out as a lesbian. The following year, she revealed to Winfrey, "Basically, my soul is like male," he said. "But I'm not going to go through that stage where I change everything."

He cut of his long hair and changed his appearance completely. The transformation didn't hurt his career.

Her newfound fame led to a recording contract and a singing career. The diminutive singer starred in several episodes of the TV hit Glee in 2014 as Sunshine Corazon, a rival singer to star Lea Michele.

His fans remain loyal to the singer.