Just when his fans and the ACEs—the devoted supporters of BGYO, the Pinoy pop group he has been a part of for years now—perhaps thought that they’ve already seen everything that he could offer as an artist, Akira Morishita has proven them wrong by joining the roster of celebrity performers on “Your Face Sounds Familiar Season 4.”
Over the past eight weeks, he has consistently impressed audiences with his performances that showcased his talent, versatility, and persistence. He had won hearts as global heartthrobs Jungkook of BTS, Harry Styles, Charlie Puth, and Shawn Mendes; wowed us with his rapping skills as Pinoy rap icon Gloc-9; and captivated us with his impersonations of legendary stars Tom Jones and Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys.
For the eighth round of the competition, Akira faced what would become the greatest challenge of his journey as a celebrity performer—the exhilarating gender switch!
It can be recalled that as he and his fellow artists took turns pressing the iconizer to determine the icons they would take on next, he was originally assigned OPM PopRock Royalty Yeng Constantino. But upon learning that she was given another Korean pop star and member of BLACKPINK—Lisa—his fellow celebrity performer Alexa Ilacad decided to give it up and steal Akira’s icon instead, much to his surprise and that of everyone in the studio.
Fast-forward to the January 17 episode, “The Ace Idol” closed out Round 8 with a mesmerizing transformation into Lisa and a powerful performance of her chart-topping hit “Money.” His electrifying stage presence blew the minds of the audience and earned a standing ovation from the jury. In the end, all his hard work and sacrifices paid off as he garnered the highest score of the night and was crowned the eighth weekly winner.
WATCH: Akira Morishita delivers a fierce and unforgettable Lisa “Money” performance
Right after his much-awaited and well-deserved victory, ABS-CBN Studios caught up with Akira as he opened up about his journey into becoming Lisa—and the realizations it brought about to him both as an individual and as an artist.
He began by sharing how great it felt to finally clinch the weekly winner title that was once elusive to him. Despite struggling to fully focus on his preparations due to BGYO’s hectic schedule and his personal commitments, he’s happy to be able to pull off Lisa and even more so to have won.
When asked about his first-ever gender-switch experience, he exclaimed, “Nakakatakot!” It’s mainly because the female movements are very different from male ones, which compelled him to make a conscious effort to change the way he moved. Thus, to fully embody the role, he reminded himself prior to and during his performance that he was Lisa and not Akira, which he related was the most memorable part of this experience.
“Pinaka-memorable ‘yong inalis ko ‘yong utak ko as BGYO Akira. In-enjoy ko na lang ‘yong performance ko na parang I’m portraying a character, I'm portraying Lisa. ‘Yon ang pinaka enjoy at fulfilling sa akin, and na-pull off ko naman,” he said with regard to the most unforgettable part of his latest transformation.
As for the most challenging aspect, he admitted that it was studying his icon—who’s famous as an exceptional dancer, performer, and rapper—as well as absorbing and applying all the advice and feedback he received from the jury and everyone around him in order to fully achieve the Lisa transformation.
Even though he had to make drastic adjustments for this particular transformation, there was one thing that he didn’t have to change—flashing his bright smile almost throughout the performance since Lisa seems to exude the same cheerfulness he naturally carries.
Although he hasn’t seen her perform live yet, watching videos of her various performances of “Money” and listening to the song on loop ever since being assigned the icon helped him so much. On top of that, he underwent mentoring sessions with “Your Face Sounds Familiar” resident coaches Klarisse de Guzman and Nyoy Volante, rehearsed extensively, and practiced in front of a mirror to polish the performance.
Since all the celebrity performers did impressive jobs in their respective transformations—as what they always do in every round—Akira didn’t have any hunch that he would be Week 8 winner. According to him, he simply focused on enjoying his performance, following the advice of the hosts and jury from Day 1 of the celebrity talent show. He may not be certain about what made him stand out, but what he was sure of was that he had already let go of his once ever-present nerves, as he saw that everyone was simply enjoying their performances.
“Nagulat, siyempre. Thankful din ako sa lahat, sa co-artists ko na nagustuhan din nila ‘yong performance ko kaya binigay nila sa akin ‘yong three points nila. Very happy and humbling experience sa lahat ng advice at tips na binigay nila. Nakakatuwa at na-appreciate ko talaga,” he conveyed when asked how he felt upon being hailed as the winner.
While he was already content with the outcome of his seemingly flawless winning performance, Akira admitted that if there was one thing he would redo, it would probably be the intro, as he confessed that he had made a small error with the lyrics.
More than just a memorable experience, his transformation into Lisa has helped him discover something new about himself—that he could actually portray a feminine role.
“Kaya ko palang maging babae,” he said. “Alam kong mahirap maging babae, pero na-realize ko na sobrang hirap maging babae. Sa makeup palang, sa outfit, and everything. So, respect talaga sa mga may everyday ganaps, lalo na ‘yong mga artists na talagang gumugugol sa makeup. Hirap! Ang sakit sa mata no’ng false eyelashes saka ng contact lens, saka ‘yong wig.”
Since it took him eight weeks before he was able to experience being a winner, this writer asked Akira what inspired him to keep going and giving his best despite the results.
He related, “Feeling ko ‘yong mistakes. Importante ‘yong mistakes kasi kung wala ‘yon, makakampante ka eh. If makampante ka, hindi ka na maggro-grow in general sa buhay. So, very important ‘yong mistakes na nangyari at ‘yong mga binigay na tips. Lahat tinry ko i-absorb.”
Will Akira claim another victory as he takes on James Reid in the next round? Let’s all find out by not missing an episode of “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” Saturdays and Sundays, 7:15PM on Kapamilya Channel, ALLTV2, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) and iWant.