Last week on "Your Face Sounds Familiar," BGYO’s Akira Morishita took us to the K-pop scene with his transformation as BTS’ Jungkook. But in the October 25 episode, he went full British heartthrob mode as Harry Styles, performing "Sign of the Times." And yes, both Directioners and Aces alike were screaming.
Akira admitted he was pretty shocked when he first found out he’d be taking on a rock song. He’s used to BGYO’s pop sound, after all. And instead of BGYO's usual choreo and upbeat energy, this performance would require pure emotion and control. Basically, Harry-core unlocked.
For Klarisse de Guzman, the show’s resident vocal mentor, there’s one thing Akira has in common with Harry—the handsome face, of course. But in terms of the vocals, she pointed out that this transformation would lean on that raspy, rock-star vibe, pushing Akira to go harder and unleash his voice even more. “Pagpasok pa lang, nag-scoop na siya. Parang lazy singing,” she explained during mentoring session.
And it all paid off! Akira totally served that emotional, goosebumps-inducing rendition of “Sign of the Times” that made everyone listen and stare. After the performance, he admitted to feeling nervous since he’s used to singing with his BGYO groupmates.
But he shook off his nerves when his own cheer squad—his mom and BGYO brothers Gelo and JL—dropped by the studio to support him. JL even joked that this must be the performance Akira had been secretly keeping from them all along.
Harry with BGYO! The crowd went wild when “Harry” danced to “All These Ladies” with Gelo and JL. Even hosts Vhong Navarro and Jhong Hilario joined in on the “All These Ladies” dance craze. Judge Ogie Alcasid, a self-confessed fan of the song, said it’s impossible for him not to dance every time he hears it, though his moves are “senior” style instead of “Harry Styles.”
Kidding aside, Ogie was blown away by Akira’s transformation as the British pop icon. He said he had nothing else to comment on because Akira nailed it so well. He even teased that if Akira ever goes solo, he could totally pull it off, before taking it back when he remembered BGYO was watching.
Movement mentor Nyoy Volante, who sat as part of the jury for the episode, admired how Akira stayed true to Harry’s signature movements, even though it must’ve been tempting to add extra dance flair like he does with BGYO. Meanwhile, judge Klarisse shared that Akira was initially worried about the falsettos but surprised her by making them sound effortless during the actual performance.
Do not miss an episode of “Your Face Sounds Familiar” every weekend night, 7:15PM on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z and iWant. Viewers can also catch it on TV5 every Saturday, at 8:15PM, and Sundays, at 8:30 PM.