Kris Lawrence: The Heart of R&B

The Heart of R&B is on a roll – and how! That’s exactly how Star in a Million grand winner Kris Lawrence feels about his recent achievement as the country’s hottest singing sensation.

"Life has definitely changed," he says. "After the contest, I thought I was going to get at least a couple of days to rest, but boy, was I wrong! All the more I got busy in terms of work – singing, guesting stints here and there. But hey, I’m enjoying every minute of it."

Gone are the tell-tale signs of previous nervous breakdowns and anxiety attacks that recurred towards the finals. "I just prayed, and everytime I did, I’d always feel this calming presence, as if God was telling me not to worry," Kris adds.

Strangely, Kris had a premonition about his big win. "Ever since I was young, I’ve always had this foresight," he shares. "Not that I see the future, but I’m just so alert for signs around me. At one time, I was falling asleep in the van, and then all of a sudden

I just heard Wyngard’s voice, saying ‘Kris Lawrence!,’ and I woke up and I told Tata and Jimmy about it and they were laughing. I really heard it, loud and clear. But see, how did I know that it was him who would announce it? But as fate would have it, during the finals, it was him who called out the winner’s name. And I was like, "Wow, this was what I dreamt!"

Kristofer Lawrence Cadevida was born in the US on Sept. 1, 1982, and grew up in Los Angeles, California. His dad is from Batangas, while his mom is of mixed Filipina, Chinese and Afro-American lineage. His only younger sister, Laurie Kristy, is playing the lead role in the long-running hit musical Miss Saigon in the US.

He went to St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City, San Fernando Valley, and eventually studied at California State University Northridge, where he pursued his music studies. He also enrolled at College of the Canyon. After two years, he immersed himself in the music biz by working for Posh Entertainment, an established hip-hop/R&B label.

It was in St. Genevieve High where he met Jay-R, who would eventually turn out to be his best friend, mentor and soul brother. Little did they know then that they would soon turn out to be pop superstars in their native homeland. The two honed their singing skills when they became members of the First Impression, an R&B-influenced singing group that was pretty well-known in the San Fernando Valley area.

It was Jay-R who convinced Kris to fly over to Manila to try his luck as a singer.

"When Jay-R made it big here and eventually won the title Prince of R&B, he kept pestering me with calls," Kris recounts. "He’d say, ‘Dude, just come over.’ He said there’s this contest back home I should audition for. That turned out to be Star in a Million."

And the rest is history.

During the finals night, Jay-R was so excited about his friend’s impending victory that he stormed to the ABS-CBN studios, hid in the sidelines and waited for the big moment when he could scream out, pounce on his unsuspecting comrade and engage in some reckless roughhousing – all in the spirit of victory.

He may have had his share of thousands of screaming fans, but for Kris, nobody has won his attention more than the sixty-something lola whom he fondly calls Nanay or Manang.

"Ever since the start of the contest, she has been going to ABS-CBN to watch me," Kris recounts. "She lives in Cubao, and she walks all the way to the ABS studios just to watch me, and everytime, she’d go and sit in front of Starbucks afterwards – hoping that I’d just pass by one day. Imagine that? She’s that age, and yet she goes out of her way to walk just to see me. I have met her a few times, and she means a lot to me."

Aside from the non-stop guesting stints and on-tour provincial sorties, Kris also sings regularly in the Champions segment of ABS-CBN’s A.S.A.P. He has also inked contracts with ABS-CBN and Star Records.

Even with his new-found success, Kris keeps himself firmly grounded by constantly acknowledging his humble beginnings. "Man, I’ve gone through so much," he narrates.

Kris is managed by Arnold Vegafria’s ALV Talent Circuit.