Profile

From your average guy to one of Asia’s hottest singing sensations today—this is what has now become of Asia’s Pop Idol and Romantic Balladeer, Christian Bautista.

The start of Christian’s career goes way back to ABS-CBN’s reality singing contest, Star in a Million, where he placed 4th among 10 finalists. In the end, however, he need not win the coveted title to become a famous singer, catapulting himself to certified stardom with hit albums, TV series, and a movie up his sleeve.

Upon ending his Star in a Million stint, Christian signed a contract under Warner Records Philippines where it all began. Upon releasing his self-titled debut album, Christian created a phenomenal hit in Andrew Fromm and Keith Follese’s “The Way You Look at Me,” bringing his album to triple platinum status in no time.

The same song crossed borders and reached international airwaves. Christian became an instant star in Indonesia, so popular that Warner Music Indonesia brought him to their local music scene where he was instantly accepted by his growing number of fans. But his international popularity did not just end there. His music pierced through other Asian countries and invaded the radio charts of Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

In the Philippines, Christian’s instant success led him to become part of a group called the “Champions,” talented singers who have gained their break in showbiz by joining various reality singing contests on television. Christian, along with his co-champions, are mainstays of the hit Sunday variety show of ABS-CBN entitled ASAP. He was also one of the hosts of the Search for the Star in a Million (Season 1) with Sarah Geronimo, Erik Santos, and Mark Bautista.

Soon after, Christian launched his second album entitled “Completely,” with different packages for the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore respectively. The album attained platinum status in the Philippines and Indonesia.

With Christian’s multitude of fans in Indonesia, he was given his first-ever Indonesian TV special by RCTI, the country’s largest broadcasting station based in Jakarta. The show, entitled “Completely: Christian Bautista,” allowed the young balladeer the opportunity to perform with such big names in the Indonesian music scene as the famous 40-piece Magenta Orchestra, songwriter Andi Rianto, and two of the country’s divas, Krisdayanti and Titi DJ.

Aside from his singing career, Christian has also delved into acting when he bagged the role of Lorenzo in ABS-CBN’s recreation of Pablo S. Gomez’s “Kampanerang Kuba” starring Anne Curtis. Christian also appeared in the silver screen when he was chosen to star as Timothy (a.k.a. Felix Yan) in Regal Films’ Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry, “Mano Po 5: Gua Ai Di.” Christian is also a celebrity endorser for Bench, Smart Telecommunications, Skechers, and Swatch, among others.

Christian then launched his fourth studio album from Warner Music Philippines in 2008 entitled “Captured,” and later that year, played the role of Tony in STAGES’ production of the Broadway musical, West Side Story.

In 2009, Christian signed a recording contract under Universal Music Philippines and released a collection of Jose Mari Chan classics entitled “Romance Revisited: The Songs of Jose Mari Chan,” which was certified gold in a matter of two weeks. The album includes collaboration with many of today’s renowned artists including Sarah Geronimo, Regine Velasquez, Lani Misalucha, and Mr. Jose Mari Chan himself.

Apart from Christian’s success in showbiz, he was able to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of the Philippines (U.P.) in Diliman. He was also a member of the table tennis varsity team while in college.