Nathaniel Porcalla (born June 26, 2003), known professionally as Nate Porcalla, is an American-born Filipino singer-songwriter, rapper and a member of the Filipino boy group

BGYO BGYO (formerly Star Hunt Academy Boys or SHA Boys) is a Filipino boy band formed in 2018 through ABS-CBN's ''Star Hunt Academy (SHA)''. The group is composed of five members: Akira, Gelo, JL, Mikki, and Nate. BGYO debuted on January 29, 20 ...

. Porcalla has co-written several tracks released by BGYO: " The Light" (2021), " Runnin'" (2021) and "Rocketman" (2021). Prior to his music career, Porcalla was a staple competitor and performer around the United States and have joined dance reality competitions in the Philippines:

Dance Kids ''Dance Kids'' is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Hosted by Robi Domingo and Alex Gonzaga, it aired on the network's Yes Weekend! line up from November 14, 2015 to February 7, 2016, replacing '' Pinoy Big B ...

(2015) and World of Dance Philippines (2019).

Early life

Nathaniel Porcalla was born on the 26th of June 2003, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States of America where he spent most of his childhood. He began showing his interest in dancing at the age of 6 and trained at Xtreme Dance Center in

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 149,540, making it the state's ...

Career

2015–2018: ''Career Beginnings and Dance Kids''

In 2015, Porcalla went back and forth to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

to compete with

. On 22 April 2016, Porcalla, as a 7th grade student at Cowherd Middle School in Aurora, was selected and performed the dance routine of

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

's track "Children" as part of the

Purpose World Tour The Purpose World Tour was the third concert tour by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, in support of his fourth studio album ''Purpose (Justin Bieber album), Purpose'' (2015). The tour started on March 9, 2016, in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, and ...

. On 30 October 2016, he was able to perform Z and

Fetty Wap Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage name Fetty Wap, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He quickly rose to mainstream prominence after his 2014 song " Trap Queen" peaked at number two on the ''Bil ...

's "Nobody's Better" on

Darren Espanto Darren Lyndon Espanto (born May 24, 2001) is a Filipino singer, actor, and television personality. He made his first television appearance on YTV (Canadian TV channel), YTV's reality TV competition, ''The Next Star,'' in 2012 and rose to pro ...

's digital concert "The Other Side of DARREN".

2018–Present: ''Star Hunt Academy, World Of Dance PH and debut with BGYO''

Porcalla was part of the original trainees of the Star Hunt Academy program, along with Akira Morishita, in 2018 and became part of "SHA Boys". He and his four co-members were trained for two years under Filipino and South Korean mentors from MU Doctor Academy; vocal coach Kitchy Molina; and dance coach Mickey Perz. Porcalla discovered his rapping skills inside the camp. They were officially announced in the pre-show of PBB Otso Big Night as Star Hunt trainees on 3 August 2019 and debuted as a member of BGYO on 29 January 2021.

Artistry

Porcalla have cited

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

Exo Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

, GOT7,

Wanna One Wanna One () was a South Korean boy band formed by CJ E&M through the second season of '' Produce 101''. The group was composed of eleven members: Kang Daniel, Park Ji-hoon, Lee Dae-hwi, Kim Jae-hwan, Ong Seong-wu, Park Woo-jin, Lai Kuan-li ...

, Seventeen, NCT,

WayV WayV ( zh, s=威神V, hp=WēiShén V; ; an acronym for We are your Vision) is a Chinese boy band and the fourth overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT, managed by SM Entertainment, SM's Chinese sub-label, Label V. The gr ...

Stray Kids Stray Kids (often abbreviated to SKZ; ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han (musician), Han, Felix (rapper), Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. For un ...

, TXT,

Treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

, and

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

as musical inspirations. In an interview with Myx Global, Porcalla have also cited

Jabbawockeez The Jabbawockeez is an American hip-hop dance crew that rose to prominence as the winner of the first season of '' America's Best Dance Crew'' in 2008. The group was established in 2003 in San Diego, California, by dancers Kevin "KB" Brewe ...

as an influence, saying "the Jabbawockeez inspired me to get into music, and would even copy how they would dance".For citations that Nate Porcalla considers Jabbawockeez as an influence. * * * *

Impact and influence

Porcalla was the youngest member of BGYO and was considered as one of the seasoned dancers of the group that made him called as the "Dance Machine" on stage.

Personal life

Porcalla's mom greatly influenced him on his interest in music and as an idol. He was used to being a fan of fashion brands and hypes like

Rick Owens Richard Saturnino Owens (born November 18, 1961) is an American fashion designer from Porterville, California. In addition to his main line, Owens has a furniture line and a number of diffusion lines. Early life and education Richard Saturnino ...

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995, or 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern Hip hop music, hip hop a ...

and Jordans.

Discography

Production credits

All song credits are adapted from the Tidal, unless otherwise noted.

Concerts

Special performances

Filmography

Series

Television

Webcast

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porcalla, Nathaniel BGYO BGYO members Living people 2003 births Rappers from Chicago American rappers of Filipino descent American expatriates in the Philippines Star Music artists ABS-CBN people Male models from Illinois American male pop singers Singers from Chicago