Gary Valenciano

Early life and education

Edgardo Jose Santiago Valenciano was born in the Santa Mesa district of the City of Manila on August 6, 1964. He is the sixth of the seven children of Vicente Calacas Valenciano, a Bicolano from Camalig, Albay, and Grimilda Santiago y Olmo (1934–2019) from Arecibo, Puerto Rico. His parents met in New York City, married, and settled in Manila. His mother is a Puerto Rican of Italian descent who sang opera in Manila during the 1960s. Valenciano attended primary and secondary school in La Salle Green Hills, and was a part of the Kundirana.

Career

In 1978, at 14 years old, Valenciano made his first television appearance in an advertisement for Fress Gusto, a now-discontinued soft drink sold by San Miguel Corporation.

He started as a choir singer, then launched his career in singing and show business on May 13, 1983. He first appeared as a solo artist in 1982 in the television programme The Pilita and Jackie Show, and later in Germspesyal and Penthouse Live.

He had his first solo concert in April 1984 at the Araneta Coliseum, followed by a number of albums. Three of his albums were released internationally, including the Christian-inspired album Out of the Dark. He won the Awit Award twelve times in the "Best Male Recording" category alone. He has been called "Mr. Pure Energy" due to his high energy dance performances in concerts.

As an actor, he won the "Best Single Performance by an Actor" trophy when he performed in a drama television movie for GMA Network in the '90s. He has appeared in 14 full-length films as the lead actor for some of the top movie companies like Viva Films, Regal Films, Seiko Films, and Star Cinema, with leading ladies like Vilma Santos, Maricel Soriano, Lorna Tolentino, Kris Aquino, Sharon Cuneta, Gretchen Barretto, Princess Punzalan, and Ms. Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres.

As an inspirational artist, he recorded a number of Christian albums and was chosen to do a music video for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) for a song he co-wrote, "Could You Be Messiah," in 1994. He was then tapped for Global Mission in Puerto Rico in 1994 where he performed with Michael W. Smith and Steve Green. BGEA tapped him as well as in Amsterdam 2000 where he performed for over 10,500 evangelists. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Christian Broadcasting Network, producers of The 700 Club. He performed at the 50th anniversary of CBN in Virginia Beach and has guested on The 700 Club USA many times.

As a performing artist, Valenciano has performed all over the world, including in North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and elsewhere. In the '80s and '90s he was dubbed "the Michael Jackson of the Philippines", and continues to hold concerts all over the world in major venues.

In 1998, he became UNICEF Philippines' first National Ambassador. In 2006, the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee has named Gary Valenciano the official performer of the Asian Games' theme song, "Side By Side". In 2008, he marked his tenth year as a UNICEF Ambassador with a visit to Sitio Avocado, a former war zone in Negros Oriental.

Valenciano returned to acting in 2008 by appearing in the drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya, where he portrayed a prisoner who finds religion and becomes a born again Christian. That same year, he was nominated for "Best Single Performance by an Actor" in the 22nd PMPC Star Awards for TV.

In 2009, Valenciano released a collaborative album with Martin Nievera called As 1, with the carrier single of the same title.

In 2010, Valenciano was in a Holy Week drama special, Gulong ("Wheel"), a CBN Asia production shown on GMA.

For his 25th anniversary in 2008, STAR RECORDS, the music arm of ABS-CBN, released GV 25, a compilation of songs he composed and recorded sung by music stars of the Philippines like Sharon Cuneta, Rachel Ann Go, Martin Nievera, Piolo Pascual, Jed Madela, Erik Santos, and Christian Bautista.

For his 30th anniversary in 2013, his concert ARISE, which was originally staged at the Araneta Coliseum for two nights and restaged at the MOA ARENA to a jam-packed audience, won as PMPC's Best Concert of the Year. His album With You won the Best Inspirational Album for the same year at the Catholic Mass Media Awards.

Philanthropy

Valenciano formed the Shining Light Foundation in 1989, focusing on supporting diabetics and a scholarship program that has produced many multi-awarded scholars and students.

Personal life

Valenciano married Maria Anna Elizabeth "Angeli" Pangilinan, the sister of senator Francis Pangilinan, on August 6, 1984. Together, they have three children: Paolo Valenciano, a director and the vocalist of the band Salamin; Gabriel Valenciano, a singer, keyboardist, dancer, and director; and Kiana Valenciano, a model and singer-songwriter. The family resides in Antipolo.

He is currently living with type 1 diabetes, and has been an endorser for several wellness products related to the condition. In May 2018, Valenciano started feeling ill after a performance with his son Gabriel for the celebration of his 35th anniversary in showbiz on ABS-CBN's Sunday afternoon show ASAP, and had to undergo open heart surgery due to blockage of his left anterior descending artery caused by his diabetes. The procedure was successfully performed on May 6, 2018, and he was released from the hospital by May 12.

On April 17, 2019, Valenciano's mother died in Orlando, Florida, after battling pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and H1N1 flu.

Discography

Main article: Gary Valenciano discography

Concerts

Valenciano dubbed as Philippines "Mr. Pure Energy" has performed over 100 concerts worldwide throughout his career in the music industry.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Music

Film and television

FAMAS

|- ||1988|| Ibulong mo sa Diyos ||Best Theme Song|| |- ||1995|| Sana Maulit Muli ||Best Theme Song|| |- ||2000|| || Dr. Ciriaco Santiago Memorial Award || |- ||2006|| "Ikaw Lamang" for the movie Dubai ||Best Theme Song|| |}

Golden Screen TV Awards

|- ||2006|| Ikaw Lamang || Best Theme Song|| |- ||2011|| ASAP Rocks || Outstanding Male Host in a Musical or Variety Program|| |- ||2013|| I Do Bidoo Bidoo: Heto nAPO Sila! || Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role-Musical or Comedy|| |}

Other accolades

• First artist in the world to have a Sennheiser Special Edition microphone named after him – Sennheiser Evolution Series 2001
• First and current UNICEF National Ambassador of Goodwill in the Philippines, 1998–present
• Stargate People Asia 2024 Men Who Matter - Legacy Awardee

References

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