Darren Espanto is a Canadian pop singer who began his singing career at the age of ten-years-old, appearing as a finalist in two reality television talent shows. His parents are both nurses who emigrated to Canada from Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines. They taught him Filipino in addition to English and encouraged him to sing from the age of three. In 2012, Espanto competed in the fifth season of the reality TV talent show 'The Next Star' on the Canadian channel YTV. As well as singing pop songs by Rihanna, Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars, Espanto performed his own single 'Gotta Give a Little Extra', appearing as the youngest finalist in the show's history. In 2014, he travelled to the Philippines to compete in a second reality TV talent show called 'The Voice Kids', placing second in the final.
After signing a record deal with MCA Music, Espanto released his debut album 'Darren' (2014) featuring the lead single 'In Love Ako Sa 'Yo''. The album reached Double Platinum status. His second album 'Be With Me' was released in 2016, featuring two of Espanto's own compositions: 'Hanggang Hi Hello' and 'Home'. This album reached Platinum status and a deluxe version appeared the following year, containing five bonus tracks. Espanto also released a Christmas album in 2017 called 'D's Christmas'. In addition, he appeared on the soundtrack to the 2017 film 'All of You', singing a cover of the 1990 song 'Dying Inside' by the American R&B singer Timmy Thomas. Espanto's version has over 33 million streams. In 2018, Espanto starred in the Philippine film 'The Hows of Us' and joined the teen pop group ASAP G! for the Filipino TV show 'All-Star Sunday Afternoon Party'.
