Gary Valenciano
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Edgardo José Martín Santiago Valenciano, better known as simply Gary Valenciano (shortened to Gary V.), is a Filipino musician, composer, actor, producer, and gospel singer who is best known for many songs, especially those that became theme songs for movies. His energetic dance moves also garnered him the nickname "Mr. Pure Energy."
Born in the suburb of Santa Mesa in Manila on August 6, 1964, he is the sixth of Vicente Valenciano and Grimilda Santiago Ortiz’s seven children. Santiago Ortiz is a Puerto Rican woman of Italian descent who became a popular opera singer in Manila during the 1960s, and her love for music passed down to her son, Gary. He took his primary and secondary studies in La Salle Greenhills. It was during his high school days, while being on a brief stint the musical group Kundirana, that he devoted himself to music.
He first appeared as a solo in a television show called The Pilita and Jackie Show in 1982, but he was finally noticed after his performances in the TV shows Germspesyal and Penthouse Live. He had his first solo concert, in April 1984, inside the jam-packed Araneta Coliseum. He was soon to make 21 albums, three of them released internationally, including a Christian inspired album called Out in the Dark.
He is married to María Anna Elizabeth "Angeli" Evangelista, with whom he has three children: Juan Paolo Martín, José Angelo Gabriel, and Kristina María Mikaela.
Contents |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Gary (1984)
- Gary...Next (1985)
- Gary...Inside Out (1985)
- From Gary, Merry Christmas (1986)
- Moving Thoughts (1987)
- Faces of Love (1989)
- Heart and Soul (Live Album)
- Shout for Joy (1991)
- Dancing in the Moonlight (1992) - Internationally by Toshiba-EMI in Japan
- Shout Live (1993)
- Hataw Na (1993)
- Move Live (1995)
- Out of the Dark (1995) - Internationally in the United States
- Outside Looking In (1995) - Internationally by Polygram
- Interactive (1998)
- Revive (2001)
- one 2 one (2002)
- I Will Be Here (2002)
- Beyond Words (2003)
- At the Movies (2003)
- Pure Heart (2005)
- Soul Full
- Relevance (2006)
[edit] Songs
This is a list of some of his most notable songs; until recently, artists in the Philippines never release stand-alone singles.
- Sana Maulit Muli
- Hataw Na
- Natutulog ba ang Diyos
- Sa Yahweh (Ang Sayaw)
- Shout for Joy
- Babalik Ka rin
- The Warrior Is a Child
- ’Di Bale na Lang
- Could You Be Messiah
- That's Why
- We Are the Reason
[edit] Trivia
- The album Interactive was also released as a CD-ROM, which contains his life and his music. It was the first of its kind in Asia.
- As denoted, At the Movies covers songs that became theme songs for movies, especially his version of the well-known Anak by Freddie Aguilar.
- The songs The Warrior Is A Child and Sana Maulit Muli became associated with funerals for deceased young stars. The former was sung by Valenciano during a funeral for actor Rico Yan, while (it was revealed during an interview that) the latter was originally written in English as an apostrophe/rhetorical question to actress Julie Vega.
- He was appointed UNICEF's Ambassador of Goodwill for the Philippines on December 1998.
- He has appeared several commercials, sometimes with best friend Martin Nievera.
- He has also starred in twelve movies, appearing beside Vilma Santos and Lorna Tolentino to name a few. He was even awarded for such roles.
- He was also involved in musical theater, playing the lead role in Joseph the Dreamer.
- He is known to suffer from diabetes mellitus and reports about his diabetes attacks, especially those that occur while on tour, usually worry fans, friends, and family. But his condition is said to have "put things onto perspective".
- He appeared in the 41st Kōhaku Uta Gassen
