Ylona Garcia

Ylona Jade Garcia (; born February 28, 2002) is a Filipino-Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Garcia made her breakthrough in the Philippines in 2015 when she became part of the television series Pinoy Big Brother, where she finished as first runner-up. She is based in the United States and releases music internationally through 88rising. She is also a content creator for gaming and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves.

Early life Ylona Jade Garcia was born on February 28, 2002, in Sydney, Australia. She is the third of five siblings. Her father is a pathology technician, while her mother is a nurse and medical technologist. She entered the house on the second day alongside Franco Rodriguez, Kyle Secades, and Zonia Mejia. During her time in the house, Garcia composed and recorded two songs: "Win the Fight" (2015), co-written and recorded with fellow housemate Jimboy Martin, and "Magmahal Muli" (2005, lit. To Love Again), recorded with fellow housemate Bailey May. The latter was originally composed and recorded by Sam Milby and Say Alonzo from the first season of Pinoy Big Brother (2005). Both songs were later featured on the extended play PBB 737 (2015), which was released on Spotify on 9 August, 2015.

After surviving four eviction nights as a nominated housemate, Garcia was selected as one of the four finalists after garnering 19.84% of the public vote. She exited the Big Brother house on the fiftieth day to allow the second part of the special season to commence. During an episode of ABS-CBN's noontime variety series It's Showtime! (2009), Garcia and her fellow finalists Jimboy Martin, Bailey May and Franco Rodriguez were instructed to return to the Big Brother house. During her second stay, she participated in the final weekly task, "Short Film Festival," with the remaining housemates and was cast in Pinoy Big Brother'''s romantic comedy film Trending: Love (2015, stylized as TRENDING: LOVE), in which she portrayed the character Sophie Mendoza.

On 14 August 2015, Garcia participated in the Teen Power: The Kabataang Pinoy Concert Party alongside her former Pinoy Big Brother: 737 housemates and finalists from the first part of the second special season, as well as other teenage actors and musicians, including Alexa Ilacad and Gimme 5. On 8 November 2015, Garcia was named first runner-up to Jimboy Martin during the Big Night ceremony at the Albay Astrodome in Legazpi, Albay, after receiving 42.24% of the public vote. Later that month, she was cast alongside Bailey May as part of the extended cast of ABS-CBN's romantic comedy television series On the Wings of Love (2015–16), I which they portrayed the characters Audrey Olivar and Harry Fausto, respectively. At the end of 2015, Star Music named Garcia as its representative for the "#SpotifySpotlight" segment in 2016.

In 2016, Garcia revealed on the musical variety television show ASAP that her debut studio album would be released "very, very, very, very soon." On 21 January 2016, Coca-Cola announced Ylona as one of the ambassadors for their "Taste the Feeling" campaign together with Bailey May, James Reid, Nadine Lustre, Maine Mendoza, Alden Richards, Liza Soberano, Enrique Gil, Janella Salvador, and Enchong Dee. On 31 January 2016, Garcia was announced as the "Celebrity VJ" for the month of February for the music television network Myx. On 4 February 2016, Ylona was signed by Star Music. She eventually announced that her upcoming debut studio album will be released soon, hinting its release sometime during early-mid 2016.

In 2018, Garcia became a member of the teen pop group ASAP G!. Other members of the group are Isabela Vinzon, Jayda Avanzado, Kyle Echarri, Jeremy Glinoga, and Darren Espanto. The group formed on 3 June 2018 and disbanded in November 2018, when the show was reformatted into ASAP Natin 'To.

On 3 December 2020, Garcia performed on 88rising's Double Happiness Winter Festival performing her single "Spilt Milk" and a cover of "Winter Things" by Ariana Grande.

2021–present: 88rising, international endeavors On 24 February, Asian American-oriented US record label 88rising released a mysterious photo of Garcia on Twitter with its caption "sooner than you think". The label later officially announced the addition of Garcia as their new artist and will be handled by "Paradise Rising", a label under 88rising and Globe Telecom that focuses on Filipino artists.

Garcia, on 1 March, announced announced her next single's title ("All That") alongside the release of the song's video teaser on her official social media platforms. On 3 March, Paradise Rising released the official music video for "All That". The song reached more than one million views on YouTube in four days. On November 7, 2021, Garcia performed at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California with her 20-minute spotlight in the Head in the Clouds Music Festival.

In January 2022, Garcia released her new single "Entertain Me", released in partnership with the tactical shooter game VALORANT. The song was used in the game's trailer for its new Agent, Neon, a Manila native who also appears in the music video (and in the cinematic trailer for the agent released by Riot Games). On the 25th, Ylona disclosed that she has since relocated to Los Angeles, California, in the US, and will stay in the country for good to further pursue her career in music.

In August 2022, Garcia became the first Filipino to be featured on the pages of American fashion magazine V for its Fall 2022 edition. On Instagram, V'' referred to Ylona as "the new global voice leading R&B Pop."

In August 2024, Garcia joined gaming and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves as a content creator.

On January 16, 2026, she released the singles "Question Mark" and "Could've Been".

Endorsements In June 2017, Garcia was part of the new set of endorsers by T&J Salon Professionals. In December 2017, Ylona was introduce as the brand ambassador of Café Amazon in the Philippines.

In September 2019, Pond's Philippines launched a campaign which aims to provide women with a platform to share inspiring stories on how they overcame their hesitations to become the best version of themselves, headed by Ylona, Kathryn Bernardo, Heart Evangelista, Nadine Lustre, and Gabbi Garcia.

Discography Extended plays Album Title EP details Certification Ref. My Name Is Ylona Garcia Released: 5 August 2016 Label: Star Music Formats: CD, digital download

Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album KOR NZHot "Dahan Dahan Dahan Lang" 2016 — —My Name Is Ylona Garcia"Fly Tonight" 2017 — —"Maybe a Little Bit" 2019 — — "Pretty Please" — —"Lie So Well" — —"Space" 2020 — —"Walk in My Timbs" — —"Spilt Milk" — —"All That" 2021 — —"Don't Go Changing" — Head in the Clouds"Entertain Me"2022 — 35 Valorant Official Soundtrack"Vibin" — — "Sick of It" 2025 — —"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Collaborative singles Title Year Peak charts position Album PH Hits Chart Pinoy Chart "Win the Fight"2015 — — My Name Is Ylona Garcia "Magmahal Muli" — — PBB 737 (2015) "O Pag-Ibig" 2016 1 1 Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs (2016) "Echoes" 2024 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Soundtrack appearance Title Year Peak charts position Album PH Hits Chart Pinoy Chart "Don't Say Goodbye"2016 — — Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7 OST "O Pag-Ibig" 1 1 Vince and Kath and James OST "Dahan Dahan Dahan Lang" 2019 7 10 Hello, Love, Goodbye OST"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Videography Music videos Title Year Director "O Pag-Ibig" 2016 Jasper Salimbangon "Dahan Dahan Dahan Lang" "Fly Tonight" 2017 Alco Guerrero "Space" 2020 Colby Jackson "Walk in My Timbs" E "All That"2021 Suz Kim "Don't Go Changing" Louis Browne "Entertain Me"2022 Kee Hwang "Vibin'" Matthias Russo-Larsson "Echoes" 2021–present LA Diaries Behind the scenes from Ylona's adventures & daily life.

Hosting Year Title Notes 2017 One Music Popssss Guest Host 2019 Coke Studio Summer Concert with Justin Quirino

Television Year Title Role(s) Type of Role Ref 2015 Pinoy Big Brother: 737 Herself Housemate 2015 It's Showtime Guest / performer 2015–2016 On the Wings of Love Audrey Olivar Extended cast 2015–2020 ASAPHerself Performer/ Member of ASAP BFF's and ASAP G! 2016 Myx Celebrity VJ We Love OPM Member of Oh My Girls 2018 Sana Dalawa ang Puso Tadhana Tabayoyong Supporting cast Alamat ng Ano: Getaway Driver Regina2019 Coke Studio PH: My FeelsHerself Season 3 Host Myx Myx VJ

Concert and tours Concerts Title Date Venue Producer Ref One Music Digital Concert: My Name Is Ylona Garcia July 29, 2016 ABS-CBN (Studio 10) One Music Arrival Ylona Garcia October 21, 2017 Music Museum Star Events

Concert participation Title Date Venue Producer Ref Teen Power: The Kabataang Pinoy Concert PartyAugust 14, 2015 Aliw Theater Star Events Family is Love: The 2018 Christmas ConcertDecember 11, 2018 Araneta Coliseum

Performances on award shows, television shows and specials

Awards and nominations