Beginnings (2009–2014) Mortel entered show business in 2009 as a contestant for the 5th season of
GMA Network's talent show
StarStruck. At the time, he used the screen name Marlowe Pamintuan. He became one of the regular teen performers at
German Moreno's
Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman, using the name John Miguel Pamintuan. In 2010, he was cast in the teen-oriented drama
Reel Love Presents: Tween Hearts. There, he played the role of Uno, the best friend of
Barbie Forteza's character (Bambi), who becomes romantically involved with Leslie (
Lexi Fernandez). He later recorded "Wake Me Up" by
Wham!, one of the songs in the soundtrack album of Tween Hearts' movie adaptation,
Tween Academy: Class of 2012, released in 2011. Mortel got his career breakthrough after he auditioned for
The X Factor Philippines in 2012. Shortly after, he was cast as Nicolo Angelo Cortez in the daytime series
Be Careful with My Heart. Since then, a "loveteam" has been formed between Mortel and co-star
Janella Salvador. On February 22, 2014, Mortel and Janella starred in
Maalaala Mo Kayas episode "Card". On March 24, 28, and September 26, he competed in
The Singing Bee. He was the champion of the week in March 24 with 40,000 and champion of the day with 60,000, then he became the defending champion on September 26 with 400,000. But, due to prior commitments with as the filming of
Be Careful with My Heart, and for the upcoming show called
Oh My G!, Mortel, withdrew from the show on October 3, 2014, he also mentioned on Instagram. Because of what happened, Inah de Belen took the place. He was the defending champion for two weeks and six days.
Rising stardom (2015–present) After his success in
Be Careful with My Heart, Marlo was cast as "Gabriel Luna", the male lead of
Janella Salvador's character in
Oh My G!. In a live interview on
Aquino & Abunda Tonight in January 2015, Mortel revealed that he was not supposed to have as much lines in the defunct daytime series
Be Careful with My Heart, but was given a bigger role due to the feedback to his tandem with Janella Salvador. He also said that he only intended to enter showbiz as a singer, and not as an actor, noting he does not consider himself good-looking compared to his contemporaries. In March 2015,
ASAP launched Marlo's newest boy group called
Harana together with his co-members,
Joseph Marco, Bryan Santos and Michael Pangilinan with their carrier single, "Number One". In January 2016, Mortel and co-star
Janella Salvador were chosen as interpreters of "Mananatili," one of the top 15 finalists in the
2016 Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs, composed by Francis Louis Salazar. In 2019, he became one of the contestants in TNT All Star Grand Resbak in
Tawag ng Tanghalan sa "It's Showtime" but was eliminated. In 2020, he released his fourth composition written during enhanced community quarantine "Racing Waters" which he wrote to raise awareness of psychological and mental abuse. Later on the same year, he also released his written new single with Evelyn Cormier of American Idol Top 14 entitled "Bones". The music video was recorded separately in Manila, Philippines and New Hampshire, United States. He also joined the cast for Metro Manila Film Festival 2020 film entry "
Suarez: The Healing Priest" where he played the role of news reporter. In April 2021, Marlo released his debut single “Mahina” under Polyeast Records as well as "Bituin" On his virtual press conference, He said that he wrote the single for his friend who is currently living in Vietnam. ==Personal life==