Jay-R: Guilty or innocent?

What makes a man sexy? Some say a sexy man must have a flat, toned abs while others insist that having a smart mind is enough to be considered sexy. But somebody once said that a sexy man is one who is confident about his body and mind.

One best explanation came from Jay-R when he guested on Tonight With Boy Abunda a few nights ago. Considered as one of the sexiest men in showbiz, Jay-R said that a sexy man is a gentleman.

“A sexy man, yes, he has to be very confident but he need not necessarily be good-looking or rich, dapat ‘yung mabait na tao,” emphasized Jay-R who also believes that one can be very sexy even without the abs.

In Jay-R’s case, aside from his being talented, the first thing that comes to mind upon mention of his name is his sexy physique. Does it make him feel good?

“Actually, I have mixed feelings,” he said and continued, “because I don’t find myself sexy and for me, it just feels weird that people actually say that about me, but thank you.”

Having been tagged as sexy started when the R&B singer posed for Cosmo Men in 2004 where he was shown on the cover in his birthday suit with only green apples covering his private parts.

“It’s actually the idea of my old manager Arnold Vegafria. He convinced me to do it, sabi ko ayoko but then he said kailangan ko daw yun for me to get to the next level, it’s for my music. I trusted him and so there.” And Arnold’s idea actually worked given how many people instantly recognized Jay-R not only for delivering good music but also for his male physique.

Of course, his gift of making good music is the foremost reason of his lasting stay in the industry. Now under the guidance of talent manager Erickson Raymundo of Cornerstone Entertainment, Jay-R continues to promote OPM (Original Pilipino Music) with the use of modern technology for the young and the young-at-heart. His latest album, Kamusta Ka, allows music fans to experience his new approach to making music.

“I’m so excited about this album because not many people are buying CDs anymore so I thought of making an MP3 player instead. What’s good here aside from the music is that it comes with headphones, it comes with a USB cable so you can access the exclusive files.

“I have here a music video, an open house video where I take them into my home and give them a tour. I also have welcome video for the fans and there are also eight photos from the photo shoot of the cover. This is a new way for artists to make an album and this is from my record label HomeWorkz Music.”

Jay-R also reminisced on his early days in the music scene with Kyla as partner. He admitted to have had felt that Kyla was his perfect match that time. “When it comes to music, we’re really a perfect match but I respect Kyla so much. I had a girlfriend that time and ayoko naman siya ligawan just for the sake of our love team.”

Fast forward to this day, Jay-R has a smooth-sailing romantic relationship with GirlTrends member Mica Javier. The two just celebrated their five years of togetherness. He shared, “We’ve been both very busy so what we did is naglipat lang ng bahay ko and that day was very nice because at midnight of our anniversary, my parents were with me and Mica, of course. We ate in a little restaurant, sa corner lang and it was very intimate and very family-oriented.”

Jay-R revealed that they’ve been talking about marriage but he is in no rush to marry her and has an absolutely good reason behind it.

“Mica is on the rise now. She’s so much into her acting, into her music that I really want her pursue her dreams first and I don’t wanna be a factor to drag her down. I don’t want her to give any pressure. Gusto ko yung mga pangarap n’ya matupad muna.”

It was so funny when Jay-R initially said matuwad when what he really meant to say was matupad. He laughed out loud when told about the difference between tuwad (to bend down with head low and bottoms up) and tupad (to accomplish or to fulfill one’s objective). After realizing his fault, Jay-R was too thankful to learn the meaning of the two words.

Meanwhile, Jay-R gamely revealed some of his unforgettable moments in Sinong Guilty o Innocent.

Are you innocent or guilty? Napaalis sa isang bar or club.

“Guilty. There was this time in the beginning of my career na parang I was getting a lot of hate. Maraming nagsasabi na ang yabang-yabang ko and we were in a bar one time and there’s this guy na sinusugod ako na ang yabang-yabang ko daw at wala akong ginagawa. Syempre I kinda got tired of it already so I confronted him.”

Nagsinungaling para protektahan ang kaibigan sa girlfriend.

“Whew! I’m not gonna say who but I’m guilty, hahaha.”

Nakipag-date sa ex ng kaibigan.

“Innocent. No way, hindi pwede yun.”

Followed or spied on a girlfriend.

“Yes, I’m guilty. Si Mica, I stalked her.”

Umalis ng bahay ng walang underwear.

“Guilty. I’m not wearing an underwear right now, hahaha. Naglilipat kami at hindi pa tapos yung washer and dryer so…hahaha.”

Nag-send ng nude selfie.

“Guilty. I sent one to Mica, wala lang close na kasi kami so I sent one just to throw a little spice in a relationship so a little pwet right here, hahaha.”

Nakipagtalik sa isang pampublikong lugar.

“Guilty. There was this club at The Fort before and in the dark spot I was making out. The girl was a little bit aggressive that I couldn’t say no. I was single at that time so…”