Penshot - DenJen: CoLove is What They Make It

Loving Couple

Dennis Trillo and Jennylyn Mercado surprisingly pop out of the You Tube channel, singing a Paul McCartney classic. To this initial gift to viewers, they continue to give more with their versions of well-loved pieces such as After All, Almost Paradise, Finally Found Someone, and Starting Over Again.

The sight and sound of DenJen, as fondly called by their fans, easily catch attention and gradually mesmerize an audience the way a shooting star visits the sleepy on a regular night sky. Back dropped against a wall of classic music icon vinyl covers, DenJen and a credible band of musicians create a sound that not only pleases the ears but touches the heart, like a wake-up call in moments of mediocrity and even sadness, most especially in these days of ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) to fight off the world pestilence called CoViD19.

Recently, Dennis and Jennylyn joined an on-line musical concert #BayanihanMusikahan spearheaded by national artist Ryan Cayabyab as a fundraiser to help urban poor communities during this Enhanced Community Quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Premiered in this online concert is the most recent CoLOve video where musical director Adonis Tabanda of the Third Avenue band showcased another McCartney classic “Silly Love Songs” where Jennylyn is seen playing the bass guitar while providing backup singing and Dennis singing solo while playing the drums.

The sincerity and simplicity in the way Dennis and Jennylyn express their songs and share their multiple talents mixed with their natural good looks have become a treat their 468,000 subscribers (and counting) always look forward to on a regular basis.

There’s an obvious reason to this as one goes through their material – DenJen exude love that makes happiness real. This is the truth that DenJen illustrate and share through their CoLove – a “collaboration with the one I love”, Jen quipped in their introductory video. Inevitably, in addition to their long list of awards and recognition as movie and television actors, DenJen is currently one of the most interesting and well-loved couples in local show business.

Photo from Jennylyn Mercado FB page
Dennis and Jennylyn produced and performed in their sold-out concert “CoLove Live!” at the New Frontier Theater on 15 February 2020.

Natural Artists

Music

Born in families where music is a spice of life, Dennis and Jennylyn grew up loving the art. Naturally gifted with singing voices and adaptability in learning artistic skills, they also had the intelligence to put these traits into practice.

Early in her teen years, Jen learned to play the guitar and sing with it. Pretty soon, chaperoned by her loving adoptive mother, Jen held weekend gigs in night spots as her way of earning money to pay her private school tuition fee, and unknowingly, start honing the singing voice that will become part of her artistic charm that won her the title Ultimate Survivor in the television reality show Starstruck.

Similarly, Dennis, learned how to play the guitar, sing mostly rock pieces, and eventually learned how to play the drums quite well. He was a band member for some time and finished his college degree in International Studies before being recruited fulltime into the showbiz world.

Both Jennylyn and Dennis hold a track record of well-awarded music albums and singles, with Kahit Sandali by Jen and Kailanman by Dennis among their popular pieces.

Movie and Television

Dennis was catapulted to the stature of a real performer in the 2004 movie Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita where he, at 23, won multiple acting awards as Best Supporting Actor (FAMAS, Metro Manila Film Festival, Gawad Tanglaw ) and Best Actor (Filipino Academy of the Philippines, Gawad Pasado, PMPC Star Awards for Movies). This stellar beginning has not waned and Dennis is now recognized as one among the best actors of his generation.

Jennylyn caught public as well as critics’ attention in her first major role in the 2006 movie Blue Moon where she, at 19, won the awards Best Supporting Actress (Gawad Tanglaw), Texters’ Choice Best Actress, nominations as Best Actress (Star Awards for Movies, Luna Awards, Enpress Awards). Since then, her awards and nominations list just grew longer through the years and she now is dubbed as the Ultimate Star.

Dennis and Jennylyn worked together in three memorable television series, in the 2007 Super Twins, 2010 Gumapang Ka Sa Lusak and in the 2015 My Faithful Husband. Dennis received the Asian Star Prize in Seoul, Korea for his performance in My Faithful Husband, a first for a Filipino actor; while Jen was awarded Drama Actress of the Year 2015 by the PMPC Star Awards for Television for her acting skills in the same television series.

Natural Learners

There is no denying that one major factor to DenJen’s success is their being themselves – pretty and handsome yet not conscious and bragging, intelligent and careful in going through the ramifications of being in the public eye while shielding their personal lives.

There’s an evident explanation to this: both have learned their life lessons very well, indeed. After one and a half or so decades of being artists, these two consistently jumped over the hurdles and moved forward to become (as fans consistently express in social media) better people and better artists through the years, just like vintage wines.

(Author's Note: Penshot is a new section meant for entertainment, social trivia and other buzz-worthy folk thoughts as Filipinos love to rest and recreate. Articles are mostly written from an observer’s take.)