Inigo Pascual is so talented in his own right. He sings, dances, acts, and writes to name a few of his many talents. So what else is Inigo aiming for in his young, but already accomplished career? Right after Bretman Rock's fabulous cover in July, Inigo takes a stab at it and sits with NYLON Manila to chat music and fashion. Inigo talks about his journey as an artist, what's keeping him inspired, and how he pays it forward to others. If you think you know Inigo Pascual, there's more to know!

Inigo's rise started with the OPM hit, "Dahil Sa'yo" back in 2016, but he's been grinding towards his dream long before then. The talkative, hugger shares the struggles of finding his purpose and the beginnings of his career when he was still Stateside. His go-getter personality and contagious energy allowed him to try different things like sports, but music never left him. Music became his safety net or something he kept coming back to. Inigo honed his energy towards performing and realized early on his niche and confidence was in theater arts.

Finding your calling is only half the story, how to get to life's grand plan is another undertaking. As an artist starting out, it was starting to look up and stars were aligning for Inigo until things fell through from not being able to audition for X Factor to passing on a boyband project. However, things always happen for a reason but that doesn't mean you can't be sad about it. Inigo recalls, “after that didn’t work out, I would cry myself every night when I was in Tennessee, I just felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing.” Eventually he found himself back in the Philippines except this time as an actor, but like he said music wasn't going anywhere. While music was already a part of his life, his source of happiness had to take a back seat to carve space for himself in showbiz. 

His musical opportunities grew after the release of "Dahil Sa'yo" which led him to make his first album. Now you see his growth in his 2021 album, "Options" and the latest track "Finding Neverland." He was performing onstage, writing his own music just like he always hoped. “With music…It was always so fun to do it. I didn’t feel like I was scared to do it. I was always in that space of experimenting; in terms of what I can do with my music.” Music has helped him grow up and really find himself.

So how has he been dealing with the pandemic? Creating music of course, but also loads of video calls with friends and family. Inigo shares the journey of creating "Options." “With this album, I mean, we all went through so much. It was two years in the making...but we didn’t stop." Don't stop, won't stop, am I right? Lots of patience went into making this album, but Inigo also realizes he was in a fortunate position to complete the project. To that, he's opened himself up to collaborating with other artists and simply sharing space or advice. “For them to kind of choose me to be able to say, you know, advice to them, it kind of made me feel like okay, I’m doing something right."

It's all a reality now for Inigo. He's performed at the Staples Center for Filipino heritage night, his songs are catching waves on KISS FM, and he's collaborating with some of the best in the game. Would he ever thought it'd happen? Sure, but it still blows this 23-year-old's mind that it did. “It’s a crazy feeling to be honest, to be able to do these things like right now." Inigo takes and enjoys the ride of life. Sky's the limit for him, but Inigo keeps his next project on the down low and leaves readers with, "it's always good to challenge yourself."

Cover Photo Credit: NYLON Manila Facebook