JMKO
To say you were one of the people behind one of the largest trends on TikTok is something few can do; but, count Miko Manguba in. Since his debut video in March, a video on washing your hands during the quarantine, Manguba (JMKO) has fine tuned his content, creating a whole host of videos that show off his impressive voice. Though his talent shines through no matter what he does, it was one type of singing video in particular that gave him the platform so many desire to have: popcorn karaoke, a duet style in which each singer sings every other word. Remember those? They dominated your for you page this summer. Between popcorn covers of “Dark Horse,” “Electric Love,” and “...Baby One More Time,” Manguba’s account, @jmko_music, blew up, giving his other videos the attention they rightfully deserve as well. With 1.3 million followers and 16.1 million likes, Miko Manguba continues to dominate the music side of TikTok. We recently spoke with @jmko_music about his experiences with TikTok fame, his music preferences, and more!
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name’s Miko Manguba and I go by the stage name ‘JMKO’ (came from my full first name ‘Jamiko’). I’m a 26-year-old music producer, songwriter, and recording artist under a top music label in the Philippines — ABS-CBN Star Music. I’m also a recent graduate of AB Music Production in De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde in Manila. I’ve always loved creating and listening to music ever since I was a kid and in everything that I do, music’s got to be there and I’m glad I get to share my craft to the world through TikTok.
How did you start making music?
I’ve always had interest in music creation ever since, so I started posting covers on Youtube roughly 10 years ago. Fast forward to today, I’m glad that I’m still able to do so but with a wider reach through my music label and social media. It’s that feeling of transforming a small idea into a fully-produced song that excites me every time I make music.
Did you have any specific plans or ideas when you joined TikTok?
I honestly did not, I started posting on TikTok around April of this year out of boredom from quarantine (probably just like everybody else) and actually posted dance videos at first, for fun. Although yes I knew I would eventually post singing videos on it, I just didn’t have a concrete plan with my content at the time.
Congrats on surpassing the one million followers mark! Did you ever imagine that your content would become so popular?
Thanks so much! Of course it was all a surprise to me. I remember staring at my phone surprised how much engagement my popcorn duets were getting, literally almost at 100k views per second, it was crazy. I guess I’m shocked until now because my goal when I started wasn’t really to be TikTok famous and I was just having fun posting singing content for my followers.
What has been the biggest perk of your TikTok fame?
Not to be cheesy or anything, but the biggest perk is realizing my potential in music — how global it could get, or how people get inspired by my videos. I really never imagined my videos would reach almost every country and I receive tons of messages everyday thanking me for inspiring them to either get back to singing or even gain back their confidence in music.
Who are you teaming up with in a dream TikTok collab?
I’ve always been a fan of the acapella group Pentatonix and there’s this group of talented Tiktok singers called Ear Candy that I’d love to collaborate with! I’m sure it’d be great to sing with them.
Describe your music in 3 words.
Unexpected, emotional, vibey.
Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
John Legend, AJ Rafael, Usher, Tori Kelly, Pentatonix.
What is your favorite song out right now?
Can’t choose between “2 Places” by Tori Kelly (probably when I'm feeling emotional) or “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles (when I just want to chill lol).
Anything special planned for the future?
It’s perfect timing having some global attention through TikTok because I’m finally releasing my original songs that were recorded in LA by very talented LA-based music producers sometime within the last quarter of 2020, so I’m excited for that!
