The Juans was initially categorized as a boy band, but the management team decided to recategorize them as a conventional band. Jiad Arroyo was a founding member, along with Daniel Grospe. Carl Guevara, Japs Mendoza, and Jason de Mesa joined later.
The band was initially named at a coffee shop shortly after a One Direction concert, where the boys were mulling the British boy band's popularity. They were initially called the D’ Juans, after Juan De La Cruz.[1]
Carl Guevara studied music production at the De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde and was a Top 12 finalist in the musical reality show on GMA Network's Ride To Fame. He worked in theater and appeared in musicals including Kelly Kelly Ang Hit Na Musical, Batang Rizal, Lola Basyang and Peter Pan. He appeared in commercials and hosted shows like the Ignite Gospel Music Festival and Jam on television.
Japs Mendoza, a former painter who had learned guitar, also got started in show business through a talent contest. He joined MACIPRISA, an inter-school singing contest in Bulacan. The experience encouraged him to consider singing as a career, so he uploaded his performance videos to YouTube and watched them in order to find and correct his mistakes. He soon felt confident enough to audition for The Voice of the Philippines and was picked by Lea Salonga.
Jiad Arroyo first appeared in the Gandang Lalake segment on Variety Show It's Showtime. He achieved first runner-up in the competition and earned valuable insights into the intricacies of show business. Arroyo is a self-taught guitarist, studying YouTube tutorials and subsequently learned from his bandmates.[2]
Jason De Mesa was apparently set to be an actor. His father was the late Rico J. Puno, one of the country's greatest singers and entertainers. He could possibly have achieved anything he wanted to with assistance from his father but preferred to pursue success in his own way. His initial experience was in the theater, with roles in the musicals Ibong Adarna and Saranggola Ni Pepe.
Daniel Grospe started as an actor, after winning an acting contest in Eat Bulaga! This gained him entry into acting workshops and a role on GMA's Saang Sulok ng Langit television series. Frustrated over the slow pace of his career, he went back to music, playing the drums, first in church and then later with the pop-jazz group Southwind. Then, as one of the finalists in TV5's Kanta Pilipinas, he got the chance to interpret the song "Kesa" in the first Philpop Music Festival. The opportunity gave Daniel the Awit Award for Best Performance as New Male Artist.[3]
In November 2018, three members announced their departure from the band. Grospe is currently running his own record company to help and handle new artists. De Mesa has his own clothing line called Felipe, and Arroyo is apparently acting on television, while pursuing his passion for motorcycles, custom building units for clients.
Three new members joined the band to replace them: Chael Adriano, Joshua Coronel and RJ Cru