On August 10, 2011, she auditioned for Aiza Seguerra at SM City, Cagayan de Oro. Seguerra chose Neri, Mark Gregory King and Zibrille Pepito as potential protégés. Neri won a face-off competition by singing "No One" to become Seguerra's official protégé. Neri was the first grand winner of Protégé: The Battle for the Big Break even though she had been twice in the bottom two.
When she was declared as the grand winner of the show, she willingly shared her condo unit with Lovely Embuscado, the protégé of Jaya.
2012–present: Krizza
After winning Protégé: The Battle For The Big Break, Krizza was welcomed in the Sunday musical variety show, Party Pilipinas. She became a regular performer until the show's cancellation. Neri released her self-titled debut studio album on June 19, 2012. Her debut single, "Ba't 'Di Ko Ba Nasabi?" was used as an original soundtrack for GMA's afternoon program The Good Daughter, top-billed by Kylie Padilla and Rocco Nacino. Krizza is produced by Blackbird Music and distributed under Universal Records.[4][5]