Will Ashley turns 24 today, September 17. On Sunday, September 20, he launches his debut album, “Liham,” at 7 p.m. at the SM North EDSA Skydome in Quezon City. He’s a Sparkle GMA Artist Center talent, signed to GMA since his teens. “Liham” is releasing under StarPop, the pop imprint of Star Music — the record label owned by ABS-CBN, the network GMA competes with for the same audience.
A Kapuso Artist on a Kapamilya Label
GMA has its own recording arm for this exact situation. GMA Music has signed and launched artists like Betong Sumaya and JC Regino. Will’s debut single, “Paborito,” and now “Liham,” both went to StarPop instead — the label headed by producer Roque “Rox” Santos, who’s also worked on albums for Belle Mariano, Maris Racal, and Kyle Echarri.
Talent crossing network lines for music has happened before in Philippine show business — Kapamilya veteran Janno Gibbs once signed with GMA Records after years at ABS-CBN. It’s less common in this direction, and it’s not the only time this year GMA and ABS-CBN talent have shared space that used to be off-limits: Sparkle artists joined ABS-CBN Events and Star Magic to co-produce the DustBia fan meet back in August.
The Song He Wrote After PBB
Will wrote “Paborito” himself, with singer-songwriter Maki and Rox Santos, who also produced it. He wrote it last year, not long after his run on Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition — the reality competition that’s become, over its more than two decades on air, one of the more reliable pipelines for turning housemates into working talent across both networks.
Maki and OPM band Cup of Joe are the two names Will has pointed to as influences on his own songwriting — a pairing that tracks with “Paborito” itself, a straightforwardly emotional pop song rather than something built for streaming numbers first. Cup of Joe’s connection to Will already runs deeper than influence: their 2024 single “Multo” became the unofficial soundtrack to WillCa, his on-screen pairing with Bianca De Vera, after fans set edits of the two to it and the band’s own vocalist, Gian Bernardino, said online that the fan videos got him kilig too.
Talking to Balitanghali, GMA’s newscast, Will put the song’s significance plainly: “Super excited ako sa song na ‘to kasi very special din siya sa akin since it’s my first na sinulat na kanta.”
From PBB Duo to Solo Concert
Will and his PBB tandem partner, Ralph De Leon, finished as Second Big Placer duo on Celebrity Collab Edition — the same season that earned Will the nicknames Kaldag King, for a signature dance move, and Nation’s Son.
He’d already shown he could carry a full show on his own before this album. On October 18, 2025, he sold out his first solo concert at the New Frontier Theater in Cubao, Quezon City — a two-and-a-half-hour set of songs that mattered to him personally, a surprise appearance from Alden Richards, and a moment where he brought his mother, Mindy, on stage and sang her SB19’s “MAPA.”
The Rest of the Year
Will also won Best Supporting Actor at the Manila Film Critics Circle Awards this year, for his role in “Balota,” and placed second runner-up in Village Pipol Magazine’s PIPOL Face of the Year Male category. He’s set to headline the upcoming GMA Afternoon Prime series “Delivery Boi,” alongside Mika Salamanca, Vince Maristela, Mikoy Morales, and Gio Alvarez.
Field Notes
Where: SM North EDSA Skydome, Quezon City
When: Sunday, September 20, 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: Went on sale August 10; check StarPop and Sparkle GMA Artist Center’s official channels for availability and pricing.
Listen now: “Paborito” is streaming ahead of “Liham.”