Radha Cuadrado

Last updated

Radha Cuadrado
Born (1976-12-13) December 13, 1976 (age 48)
Manila, Philippines
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active1986–present
Known forBeing the lead vocalist of Kulay
Musical career
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Formerly of
  • 14-K
  • Kulay
  • Dye Vest

Radha Cuadrado (born December 13, 1976) is a Filipino singer and actress best known as an original member of the Filipino-Canadian hip-hop group Kulay. Prior to that, she was part of the group 14-K. After leaving Kulay, Cuadrado pursued a solo career and performed in theater and lounge shows. She later starred in the TV series Diva on GMA 7. She also took part in the first season of The Voice of the Philippines and the second season of Masked Singer Pilipinas .

Contents

Career

Early work

Cuadrado began performing at a young age. [1] She sang in church, in family gatherings, and at school in St. Theresa's College in Quezon City. [2] [1] By age ten, she was performing professionally, singing "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie for the revue The Great White Way. She learned to play the guitar at 13 years and joined the group 14-K, formed by Ryan Cayabyab with Jolina Magdangal, Arnee Hidalgo, and Tenten Muñoz, for two years. [3] [1] [4]

Kulay

Her big break came at the age of 15, when she became the lead singer of the hip-hop group Kulay, which also included her cousin Boom Dayupay and his girlfriend Jennie Oakman. [1] [5] They released their debut album, 100,000 Pesos Worth of Karma, in 1995. In 1997, they were signed internationally by Sony Music Entertainment. [6] [7] Cuadrado left the group in 2000. [7] That year, she performed two songs live with the rock band Wolfgang, which were later included on their album Acoustica . [8]

Solo musical career

In 2001, she embarked on a solo career, signing with Ronnie Henares' agency Primeline. [3] She took part in the Himig Handog song contest JAM: Himig Handog sa Makabagong Kabataan, performing the song "You Can Make It Happen", written by Dodjie Simon and Ellis Simon. [3] This won her the Best Pop Female Vocal Performance award at the 8th Katha Awards in 2002. [9] She then recorded a duet with Martin Nievera, "Why Can't We?" [10] She also performed in theaters as well as putting on lounge shows. [7] She additionally performed with Jed Madela and Aliya Parcs in the band Dye Vest at night clubs for a brief period in the early 2000s. [1] [11]

Other activities

Cuadrado went on to make several appearances on television, beginning with the series Diva in 2010. In 2013, she successfully auditioned for the first season of The Voice of the Philippines and eventually advanced to the live shows, managing to reach the semi-finals. [7] She held several concerts, including one with Bituin Escalante and Frenchie Dy in 2016, [12] a revue with Basti Artadi in 2017, [13] and a benefit concert for the Antipolo City Special Education Center in 2018. [14] She also dabbled in modeling. [15] In 2019, she performed at the ASOP Music Festival. [2]

In 2022, Cuadrado competed in season two of Masked Singer Pilipinas as "Cara-bow". [16] In 2025, she featured in a TEDx Talk held in Bonifacio Global City. [17] She also appeared in the Philippine productions of the musicals Once on This Island and The Bodyguard: The Musical . [18] [19]

Artistry

Cuadrado's influences include Aretha Franklin, [20] Mary J. Blige, [13] Stevie Wonder, [13] Whitney Houston, [13] Chaka Khan, [13] Prince, [21] and Otis Redding. [20] She has a dramatic coloratura mezzo-soprano vocal range. [7]

Personal life

Cuadrado's grandmother is actress Lolita Rodriguez, and her grandfather is actor Eddie Arenas (whose real name was Eddie Cuadrado). [22] [1] As a plus-size performer since her departure from Kulay, she has become an advocate for body positivity. [14]

Discography

with Kulay

AlbumYear
100,000 Pesos Worth of Karma1995
Flavour of da Moment1996
Vibestation1997
Chapter What?1999
Kulay Remixes1999
Kulay: OPM Timeless Collection Gold Series 42000

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleRef.
1999 Virtual Sexuality Herself [5]

Television

YearTitleRoleRef.
1995Music BureauHost [23]
2010 Diva Maria [7]
2013 The Voice of the Philippines Herself [7]
2022 Masked Singer Pilipinas Cara-bow / herself [16]

Theater

YearTitleRoleRef.
2005, 2024 Once on This Island Asaka [24] [18]
2025 The Bodyguard: The Musical Ensemble [19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Salterio, Leah (August 2, 2001). "She has only just begun". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Policarpio, Allan (November 9, 2019). "Asop not a competition for Gerald and Radha". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Valle, Jocelyn (October 27, 2001). "Radha's voice is the window to her soul". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Philippines Music Registry". Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Caruncho, Eric S. (August 6, 2000). "True Colors". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "A Colorful Life: Boom Dayupay". canadianinquirer.net. November 15, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Diaz, Benjo (August 5, 2022). "'Kulay' and the color of their music". POP!. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Wolfgang Unplugs the Amps". philmusic.com. Maurice Yap. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ Cruz, Marinel R. (November 19, 2002). "Unexpected victories at the 8th Katha Awards". Philippine Daily Inquirer . p. A25. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Martin: Katrina is a 'wife material'". philstar.com. February 18, 2002. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Iloilo's top band in music series". Philippine Daily Inquirer . May 23, 2001. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  12. ↑ Tatad, Gabbie (December 3, 2016). "Feature: Larger than life". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Radha + Basti A Rock & Soul Revue". POP!. July 19, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Policarpio, Allan (September 6, 2018). "How singers find empowerment in adversity, diversity". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  15. ↑ Arcache, Maurice (April 18, 2018). "Voluptuous women rule the SM Runway". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Radha Cuadrado, eliminated na sa Masked Singer Pilipinas" [Radha Cuadrado eliminated from Masked Singer Pilipinas]. PEP.ph (in Tagalog). Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  17. ↑ "TEDxBritishSchoolManila | TED". ted.com. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  18. 1 2 TheaterFansManila.com (July 16, 2024). "'Once on this Island' by 9 Works Theatrical Full Cast Announced". TheaterFansManila.com. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  19. 1 2 Jesus, Totel V. De (August 18, 2025). "Tim Yap, hip-hop singer Radha, more actors, dancers join 'The Bodyguard: The Musical'". GMA News Online. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  20. 1 2 Burpee, Geoff (June 6, 1998). "Kulay Dives Into Dance Pool". Billboard .
  21. ↑ Inquirer, Philippine Daily (September 13, 2017). "Basti, Radha reveal their musical influences". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  22. ↑ INQUIRER.net (November 30, 2016). "Veteran actress Lolita Rodriguez; 81". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  23. ↑ King, Joey Mead (January 19, 2022). Runaway Model. Summit Publishing Company Inc. p. 33.
  24. ↑ "Once on This Island". Philippine Daily Inquirer . May 14, 2005. Retrieved October 5, 2005.
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