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MANILA -- After more than two years of not returning to the country, King of R&B Jay-R is back in the Philippines to hold a concert with his perennial vocal partner for two decades now, Kyla.

That he gave his nod to the concert is “super self-explanatory” for Jay-R. “It was easy for me to say yes,” Jay-R told ABS-CBN News. “Even before the question was done, I already said yes. ‘Do you want to do a show…?’ I said, ‘Yes. Let’s go.’

“I’m a big fan of Kyla. We have been friends for 20 years already. Singing together for that long, I think we only fought once before. Ever since then, we’ve been good. Our friendship got even stronger.”

Jay-R and Kyla will mount the stage September 2 at the New Frontier Theater in the one-night concert, “Back in Time,” taken after the ballad he penned back in 2008.

Others might find it unbelievable that Jay-R and Kyla had a misunderstanding when he was still very new in the industry.

“Every so often, there were press people coming to us for interviews,” Jay-R recalled. “I was still new in the business and I didn’t know how to answer the questions in a politically correct way then.

“I was still in a Sunday noontime show then in another network. I was asked who will I date between Kyla or Karylle. That was a long time ago. We are all married now.”

Jay-R’s reply at that time apparently offended Kyla. “I don’t remember what exactly was my answer, but Kyla said it came off in a very mayabang way. I was just dismissing Kyla and Karylle na parang playboy ako.

“So it taught me a lot. I realized you really have to think about your co-workers or whoever is around you when answering, because it could affect other people. You have to respect the people you work with.”

Kyla didn’t talk to Jay-R for a long time. She was so transparent. “That’s what I love about Kyla,” Jay-R said. “She shows you if she’s really angry or she has a problem with you. You can really see it on her face.”

In his effort to say sorry, Jay-R gifted Kyla with a necklace. “After a couple of days, she probably realized I was genuine and I really made a mistake, so she forgave me.”

Jay-R penned “Back in Time,” which will be included in their repertoire on September 2.

“This is the first time we’re going to sing ‘Back in Time’ live,” Jay-R said. “We never made a music video of it. For me, every chance we have to sing this song, I’m very excited. It’s the first song that I wrote in only 30 minutes,

“I’m very biased to the song and it holds a special place in my heart. Aside from that, we will have to memorize a bunch of songs for our repertoire. It will be a lot of reading lyrics, vocal exercises and also physical exercises. You have to have endurance when you’re onstage.

“We’re going to be onstage for like an hour and a half singing. I’m still trying to convince Kyla to do dance rehearsals with me. One preparation we want to do is catch up on our dancing skills. We have not danced for a long time.”

Jay-R couldn’t help but admire Kyla’s voice ever since they started collaborating musically. “Kyla voice, she puts you in a trance when she’s singing onstage. I miss that. Every time she gets onstage and sing, I would be in a trance. That’s nostalgia for me.”

Surprisingly, Jay-R admitted he and Kyla did not exactly have that romantic chemistry for a love team. “We always have that chemistry through singing, music.

“The most awkward for us was to get into a love team and pretend we had that chemistry. We are both not actors.”

But their chemistry while singing is undeniable. “’Yung mga kulot namin, ‘yung harmony namin onstage, we don’t need to talk about it.

“Now the awkwardness is gone. We just know each other so well. Our chemistry while singing is very natural. I think that’s why we became a pair. It resonates to our audience and fans.

“The fans know and can tell that when you put Kyla and I together, our chemistry is magical, not manufactured. She definitely brings out a next level for me to achieve as a singer.

“We have to show our audience how we will take this concert to the next level. That’s where our creativity will show. We want to make the same sound that every one is familiar with. We want to make the show fresh. Make it millennial, Gen-Z.

“I guess that’s the challenge we have to go through. Create new sound for old songs. I’m excited for that. As long as it’s creativity, I’m there. We’re going to do it.”

Ever since he moved here to the Philippines two decades ago, Jay-R has not lost his dream and desire to still make it international.

“I was born in Los Angeles,” he disclosed. “I could see the artists who grew up globally. It’s still my dream and I’m still going for it. The spark, the fire hasn’t ended. It’s still getting bigger. I’m still inspired and I’m still going.”

Jay-R proudly mentioned Fil-Am rapper Ez Mil, Ezekiel Miller in real life, who was recently signed up by Eminem and together, they dropped a new hit, “Realist.”

“That only gives me more inspiration to keep going,” Jay-R admitted. “We can do it. Ez Mil proved it already. I’m still dreaming and I feel I can do it still also. So we’re going to do it and I want to make Filipinos proud.

“I’m going to show them I’m the true king of R&B of the Philippines and I can make it global.”

Jay-R was away for two years. His dad got sick, so in December 2020, even in the middle of the pandemic, he and his wife, Mica Javier, had to fly to the US to check on his father.

“I had to be there with my family,” he said. “I was told my dad only had six months to live back then. But he was able to be with us for more than two years.

“Every day was a blessing. I was able to spend time with my dad before he passed on early this month, just a week ago. He was 92.”

For “Back in Time,” Jay-R and Kyla will sing nearly 30 songs that make up their repertoire. “Some we’ll sing in a medley,” he granted. “If you count everything, that will be about 30 songs.”

After his Philippine show, Jay-R will embark on a four-city US tour – October 7 in Orlando, Florida; November 7 in Virginia; November 15 in Los Angeles, California; Kwai in Hawaii in December.

“I want to take Kyla and produce “Back in Time” in LA, San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco shows. Other producers will hopefully see the shows and we can go to Canada, Dubai [UAE] and Australia.

Jay-R will also release his 20th anniversary album and the first single, “Blessed,” will be launched.

“I’m still here 20 years later, still going 100 miles an hour,” he concluded.