Kenneth Monico

Kenneth Monico
Birth name Kenneth Dominic Monico
Born September 18, 1991 (1991-09-18) (age 20)
Origin Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Genres OPM, RnB, Ballad, Soul, Pop
Occupations Singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2011—present
Labels Universal Records[1] (2011—present)

Kenneth Dominic Monico, or simply known as Kenneth Monico rose to fame as one of the Top 10 finalists of Protégé: The Battle For The Big Break[2] — a singing search of GMA Network

Contents

Early Life

Kenneth grew up in the city of Cabanatuan, province of Nueva Ecija in the Philippines. He is the only child who grew up with his mom as his father is in Kuwait to work.

Monico said in an interview that he started to sing when he was just 2 years old. He was also able to sing a song while playing Lego during the days where he could not read nor write as a child.

Education

He finished his high school at Wesleyan University as one of the most outstanding students. During college, he transferred thrice — from Wesleyan University to College of Immaculate Conception and presently, before he joined Protégé, he's a student of Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology.

Pre Protégé

During his high school days, he was the vocalist of their band Chizkeykz.[3] The said band joined in a battle of the bands held in their city where they won the said contest. To date, Kenneth and company is one of the youngest winners in the said competition.

Kenneth also joined several singing competitions in his hometown representing his school.

Protégé Journey

On July 29, 2011, the audition at NE Pacific Mall was held under Jay-R as the assigned mentor. Monico auditioned in front of Jay-R in the second round and Jay-R chose Kenneth as one of his 3 protégés together with Allen Sta. Maria and the Cercado Sisters.

During the Face Off Round, Kenneth sang "On Bended Knee" and the judges were amazed by his singing ability - earning him a spot in the finals and being the official protege of Jay-R. Because Kenneth has hypokalemia, he at times does not feel well. He was attacked by his condition right after his Face Off Round performance.

As the show progressed, Kenneth became the most controversial protégé as said by the show's 'Journey Host', Mr. Ogie Alcasid during one those gala nights; it was because of his relationship between him and his mentor as the latter according to Monico seldom visits him in the quarters resulting him to be panicked and felt left behind in the competition. During the Top 8 week, Kenneth had an emotional breakdown because of their misunderstanding with his mentor.[4] Jay-R and Kenneth resolved their problems during that week. Soon enough, they had a better protégé-mentor relationship.

Weekly Performance

Week Theme Song Choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition N/A "Ikaw ang Aking Pangarap" Martin Nievera N/A Advanced
Face Off Round N/A "On Bended Knee" Boyz II Men 9 Advanced
Week 1 Protégé's Pick "Go the Distance" Roger Bart 7 Safe[1]
Week 2 Song of my Kababayan "Grenade" Bruno Mars 1 Bottom 4
Week 3 Switch[2] "Can't Keep on Loving You" - Joey Generoso[3] Elliot Yamin 6 Bottom 3
Week 4 My Shining Moment "Open Arms" Journey 2 Safe
Week 5 Duet with My Mentor "Lately" Stevie Wonder 7 Bottom 2
Week 6 My Pinoy Battle Song "Bakit Pa Ba" Jay-R 3 Safe
Week 7[4] Battle for the Wild Card N/A N/A N/A N/A
Week 8 Dance Hits Remixed "The Edge of Glory" Lady Gaga 5 Eliminated[5]
  • ^1 That week was a non elimination showdown.
  • ^2 A mentor chooses a competition piece for a rival protégé.
  • ^3 Joey Generoso of Side A was the assigned rival mentor for Monico.
  • ^4 Only the ex - protégés battled for that week since they were given a second chance to be in the finals.
  • ^5 Due to the wildcard week having 2 protégés coming back, the Top 7 remained intact for the second time, in which there was a double elimination

Post Protégé

Days after his elimination, Kenneth and Jay-R guested in Tonight with Arnold Clavio and in Startalk.

The day after Kenneth's exit in Protégé, Jay-R signed Monico in his own record label — Homeworkz Records.[1]

Homeworkz Records is a recording label created by Jay-R and is one of the local distributed labels under Universal Records

Plans

During their interview, Jay-R told Arnold Clavio that Kenneth will start recording week after his elimination. According to Kenneth's official twitter account, he will be part of GMA Network's Party Pilipinas.[5]

References