Nathaniel Porcalla (born June 26, 2003), known professionally as Nate Porcalla, is an American-born Filipino singer-songwriter, rapper and a member of the Filipino boy group BGYO. Porcalla has co-written several tracks released by BGYO: "The Light" (2021),[3] "Runnin'" (2021)[A][4] and "Rocketman" (2021).
Prior to his music career, Porcalla was a staple competitor and performer around the United States and have joined dance reality competitions in the Philippines: Dance Kids (2015) and World of Dance Philippines (2019).[1]
Early life
Nathaniel Porcalla was born on the 26th of June 2003, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America where he spent most of his childhood.[1] He began showing his interest in dancing at the age of 6[5] and trained at Xtreme Dance Center in Naperville.[6]
In 2015, Porcalla went back and forth to Manila to compete with Dance Kids.[7] On 22 April 2016, Porcalla, as a 7th grade student at Cowherd Middle School in Aurora, was selected and performed the dance routine of Justin Bieber's track "Children" as part of the Purpose World Tour.[6] On 30 October 2016, he was able to perform Z and Fetty Wap's "Nobody's Better" on Darren Espanto's digital concert "The Other Side of DARREN".[8]
2018–Present: Star Hunt Academy, World Of Dance PH and debut with BGYO
Porcalla was part of the original trainees of the Star Hunt Academy program, along with Akira Morishita, in 2018 and became part of "SHA Boys".[9] He and his four co-members were trained for two years under Filipino and South Korean mentors from MU Doctor Academy;[10] vocal coach Kitchy Molina; and dance coach Mickey Perz.[11] Porcalla discovered his rapping skills inside the camp.[9] They were officially announced in the pre-show of PBB Otso Big Night as Star Hunt trainees on 3 August 2019[12] and debuted as a member of BGYO on 29 January 2021.[13]
Porcalla was the youngest member of BGYO and was considered as one of the seasoned dancers of the group that made him called as the "Dance Machine" on stage.[14]
Personal life
Porcalla's mom greatly influenced him on his interest in music and as an idol.[7] He was used to being a fan of fashion brands and hypes like Rick Owens, Playboi Carti and Jordans.[1][18]
^"뮤닥터아카데미, 대한민국 교육산업대상 수상" [Mu Doctor Academy, Korea Education Industry Award]. News (in Korean). 19 March 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022 – via TechWorld.
