2015–2020: Pinoy Big Brother, music and acting debuts In 2015, Garcia auditioned to become a housemate for the
first part of the
second special season of
ABS-CBN's reality television series
Pinoy Big Brother. She was selected after showcasing her abilities in singing, acting, and dancing, as well for her "confidence and candid remarks." She entered the house on the second day alongside Franco Rodriguez, Kyle Secades, and Zonia Mejia. During her time in the house, Garcia composed and recorded two songs: "Win the Fight" (2015), co-written and recorded with fellow housemate
Jimboy Martin, and "Magmahal Muli" (2005, lit.
To Love Again), recorded with fellow housemate
Bailey May. The latter was originally composed and recorded by
Sam Milby and
Say Alonzo from the
first season of
Pinoy Big Brother (2005). Both songs were later featured on the extended play
PBB 737 (2015), which was released on
Spotify on 9 August, 2015. After surviving four eviction nights as a nominated housemate, Garcia was selected as one of the four finalists after garnering 19.84% of the public vote. She exited the Big Brother house on the fiftieth day to allow the
second part of the special season to commence. During an episode of
ABS-CBN's noontime variety series ''
It's Showtime! (2009), Garcia and her fellow finalists Jimboy Martin, Bailey May and Rodriguez were instructed to return to the Big Brother house. During her second stay, she participated in the final weekly task, "Short Film Festival," with the remaining housemates and was cast in Pinoy Big Brother'
s romantic comedy film Trending: Love
(2015, stylized as TRENDING: LOVE''), in which she portrayed the character Sophie Mendoza. On 14 August 2015, Garcia participated in the
Teen Power: The Kabataang Pinoy Concert Party alongside her former
Pinoy Big Brother: 737 housemates and finalists from the first part of the second special season, as well as other teenage actors and musicians, including
Alexa Ilacad and
Gimme 5. On 8 November 2015, Garcia was named first runner-up to Jimboy Martin during the Big Night ceremony at the Albay Astrodome in
Legazpi, Albay, after receiving 42.24% of the public vote. Later that month, she was cast alongside Bailey May as part of the extended cast of ABS-CBN's romantic comedy television series
On the Wings of Love (2015–16), I which they portrayed the characters Audrey Olivar and Harry Fausto, respectively At the end of 2015,
Star Music named Garcia as its representative for the "#SpotifySpotlight" segment in 2016. In 2016, Garcia revealed on the musical variety television show
ASAP that her debut studio album would be released "very, very, very, very soon." On 21 January 2016,
Coca-Cola announced Ylona as one of the ambassadors for their "Taste the Feeling" campaign together with Bailey May,
James Reid,
Nadine Lustre,
Maine Mendoza,
Alden Richards,
Liza Soberano,
Enrique Gil,
Janella Salvador, and
Enchong Dee. On 31 January 2016, Garcia was announced as the "Celebrity VJ" for the month of February for the music television network
Myx. On 4 February 2016, Ylona was signed by
Star Music. She eventually announced that her upcoming debut studio album will be released soon; hinting possibilities of her debut studio album releasing sometime during early-mid 2016. In 2018, Garcia became a member of the teen pop group ASAP G!. Other members of the group are Isabela Vinzon, Jayda Avanzado,
Kyle Echarri, Jeremy Glinoga and
Darren Espanto. The group formed on 3 June 2018 and disbanded in November 2018, when the show was reformatted into ASAP Natin 'To. On 3 December 2020, Garcia performed on 88rising's Double Happiness Winter Festival performing her single "Spilt Milk" and a cover of "Winter Things" by
Ariana Grande.
2021–present: 88rising, international endeavors On 24 February,
Asian American-oriented US record label
88rising released a mysterious photo of Garcia on Twitter with its caption "sooner than you think". The label later officially announced the addition of Garcia as their new artist and will be handled by "Paradise Rising", a label under 88rising and
Globe Telecom that focuses on Filipino artists. Garcia on 1 March announced that she is gearing up for her next comeback announcing the single's title "All That" alongside the release of the song's video teaser on her official social media platforms. On 3 March,
Paradise Rising released the official music video of Garcia's single "All That". The song garnered attention and reached more than one million views on YouTube in four days. On November 7, Garcia flamed up the
Rose Bowl stadium in
Pasadena, California with her 20-minute spotlight in the Head in the Clouds Music Festival 2021 stage. In January 2022, Garcia released her new single "Entertain Me", released in partnership with the tactical shooter game
VALORANT. The song was used in the game's trailer for its new Agent, Neon, a Manila native who also appears in the music video (and in the cinematic trailer for the agent released by
Riot Games). On the 25th, Ylona disclosed that she has since relocated to Los Angeles, California, in the US and will stay in the country for good to further pursue her career in music. In August 2022, Garcia became the first Filipino to be featured on the pages of American fashion magazine
V for its Fall 2022 edition. On Instagram, V referred to Ylona as "the new global voice leading R&B Pop." In August 2024, Garcia joined
gaming and
lifestyle brand 100 Thieves as a content creator. On January 16, 2026, she released the singles "Question Mark" and "Could've Been". == Public image ==