Angela Ken

Angela Ken Tavares Rojas (born May 16, 2002) is a Filipino singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and influencer. She gained acclaim on social networking service TikTok.^[1][2][3] After releasing her single "Ako Naman Muna", she signed with Star Magic, a talent agency under ABS-CBN Corporation.^[4][5][6] Angela is also a member of the Squad Plus.^[7] In 2022, Angela made her acting debut in the iWantTFC musical series titled Lyric and Beat as Verlyn.^[8]

Angela Ken Rojas was born on May 16, 2002.^[9] She is from Imus, Cavite and also resides in Las Piñas.^[10][9] She attended Josiah Christian Values High School.^[9] She co-owns and operates a cafe in Imus.^[11] She was raised by her mother and grandmother^[12] and is an engineering student.^[13] She is known to keep pet dogs.^[14]

Angela began writing songs at the age of 12,^[15] with her first composition being a worship song.^[16] She began her professional musical career after being discovered by ABS-CBN Music creative director Jonathan Manalo on TikTok,^[17] where she made a draft of what later became her first single "Ako Naman Muna" (Let me first this time) in 2020.^[11] The draft gained more than 1.3 million likes on TikTok^[18] and led to an invitation by Dreamscape Entertainment to join its music group, The Squad Plus, and another offer by Star Music to produce a full version of the song.^[9]

Angela signed a contract with Star Music on March 4.^[19] She debuted with "Ako Naman Muna",^[20] which reached 2.5 million YouTube views^[21] and more than five million Spotify streams. The single was also included in the soundtrack of the television series Huwag Kang Mangamba.^[22] An English version of the said song was released on July 23.^[23]

She also interpreted "Sila Pa Rin" (Sill Them) for the soundtrack of the television series Marry Me, Marry You.^[24]

In December, Angela co-created the soundtrack for the film Saying Goodbye, where she interpreted the single "If We Fall in Love".

Angela released her next single titled "It's Okay Not To Be Okay" on January 14, 2022.^[25] It was made in collaboration with Jonathan Manalo and Boy Abunda, and was inspired by a question asked by Abunda during the Binibining Pilipinas 2021 pageant.^[26]

In August, Angela was one of the artists who were part of the Beyond The Stars tour as part of Star Magic's 30th anniversary. The artists performed in a US Tour at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, The Warfield in San Francisco, and in the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. Prior to the tour, the artists (except SAB) first performed at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Newport World Resorts.^[27] That same month, she was cast in the iWantTFC musical series Lyric and Beat,^[28] which marked her acting debut.^[29]

In November, Ken released her first album, Angela Ken,^[10] which included six previously released songs and two new singles, "Buti Pa Noon" (It's Better Before) and "Payapa Lang" (Just Peaceful).^[17] By the end of the year, she had gained 36 million streams.^[30]

In 2023, a copy of "Ako Naman Muna" was sent to the Moon as part of the Lunar Codex archive by NASA.^[31] In December, she released the single "Alas-Diyes" (Ten o'clock).^[32]

At a songwriting camp by ABS-CBN in Davao City, Angela became one of the creators of the Bini single "Shagidi", which was released in 2025.^[33]

In February, Angela made her first theater performance as Olive Ostrovsky in the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee produced by The Sandbox Collective.^[34] In September, she portrayed Ti Moune in the Broadway musical Once On This Island produced by 9 Works Theatrical, alternating with Thea Astley.^[35]

In March, Angela collaborated with Maki and Nhiko Sabiniano from the group Nameless Kids to produce the single "Sikulo" (Cycle).^[36] In June, she collaborated with Benj Pangilinan for the single "Nandito Na Ako" (I'm Here Now) under Sony Music Entertainment.^[37] That same month, she competed in the women's volleyball competition of the Star Magic All Star Games at the Araneta Coliseum.^[38]

In October, Angela released two new singles under different labels. The first, "Pansinin Mo Naman Ako" (Pay Attention to Me), was her first single under Inspire Music, while "Kulimlim" (Gloom) was released under Tarsier Records.^[39]

For the 2025 Philippine general election in May, Angela was cast with other musicians in a rendition of "Ako Ang Simula" (I Am The Beginning), ABS-CBN's election theme song.^[40] Later that month, she released her single "Pwede Bang Mamaya" (Can It be Later).^[41] She was again announced as a competitor in the women's volleyball competition of the Star Magic All Star Games scheduled at the Araneta Coliseum in July.^[42]

Angela cites Ben&Ben,^[9] Moira dela Torre, The Carpenters, Yeng Constantino, Hannah Montana, Niki, Sabrina Carpenter and Imago as musical influences.^[15][43]