Ylona Garcia

2015–2020: Pinoy Big Brother, music and acting debuts

In 2015, Garcia auditioned to become a housemate for the first part of the second special season of ABS-CBN's reality television series Pinoy Big Brother. She was selected after showcasing her abilities in singing, acting, and dancing, as well for her "confidence and candid remarks."^[7] 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,^[8] 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).^[9] 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.^[10][11][12] 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.^{[importance?]}

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.^[13][14] 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.^[15][16] 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.^[17] At the end of 2015, Star Music named Garcia as its representative for the "#SpotifySpotlight" segment in 2016.^[18]

In 2016, Garcia revealed on the musical variety television show ASAP that her debut studio album would be released "very, very, very, very soon."^[19] 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.^[20] On 31 January 2016, Garcia was announced as the "Celebrity VJ" for the month of February for the music television network Myx.^[21] On 4 February 2016, Ylona was signed by Star Music.^[22] She eventually announced that her upcoming debut studio album will be released soon, hinting its release sometime during early-mid 2016.^[22]

In the same year, she joined the reality music competition We Love OPM: The Celebrity Sing-Offs as part of Team Yeng: Oh My Girls. She, together with Alexa Ilacad and GirlTrends member Krissha Viaje, were coached and trained by their mentor Pop Rock Royalty Yeng Constantino. The girls finished the competition as runners-up just behind the grand winner, Team Erik's Tres Kantos.^[23]

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.^[24]

In 2019, Garcia transferred from Star Music to Homeworkz for her recording label.^[24]

On 3 May 2020, Garcia released the music video for her single "Walk In My Timbs" which features R&B artist Jay-R. The song made its official debut performance on 8 May through Philippine morning show Umagang Kay Ganda. Jay-R revealed that Ylona is the actual writer of the song while praising her amazing writing skills at a very young age.^{[25][promotion?]}

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.^[26]

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.^{[27][28][24][29]}

Garcia, on 1 March, announced her next single's title ("All That") alongside the release of the song's video teaser on her official social media platforms.^[30][31] 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.^[32][29]

In an announcement made by 88rising on August 26, Garcia was confirmed to be making a brand new single "Don't Go Changing" for the Head in the Clouds album.^[33][34] 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.^[35][36]

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).^{[37][38][39][40]} 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.^[41]

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."^[42]

In August 2024, Garcia joined gaming and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves as a content creator.^[4]

On February 28, 2025, Garcia released a soft rock single titled "Sick of It", which she wrote in November 2023 about growing up in a "toxic" entertainment industry.^[43][44]

On January 16, 2026, she released the singles "Question Mark" and "Could've Been".^[43]

Endorsements

In June 2017, Garcia was part of the new set of endorsers by T&J Salon Professionals.^[46] In December 2017, Ylona was introduce as the brand ambassador of Café Amazon in the Philippines.^[47]

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.^[48]

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

Series

Hosting

Television

Concerts

Concert participation

Performances on award shows, television shows and specials