Gary Valenciano

Edgardo Jose "Gary" Santiago Valenciano (born August 6, 1964), also known Gary V. and Mr. Pure Energy, is a Filipino musician. Valenciano has released 26 albums, and won the Awit Awards for "Best Male Performer" eleven times. In 1998, he became UNICEF Philippines first National Ambassador. His most notable songs include "'Di Bale Na Lang" ("Never mind"), "Eto Na Naman" ("Here we go again"), "Sana Maulit Muli" ("I wish it happens again"), "Natutulog Ba Ang Diyos?" ("Is God sleeping?"), "Gaya ng Dati" ("Just like before"), "Pasko Na, Sinta Ko" ("It's Christmas, my love"), and "Narito" ("Here").

He is currently part of ABS-CBN contract actors, and is frequently tapped to sing theme songs for the network's soap operas and in-house film arm, Star Cinema.

Gary Valenciano was given the ASAP Elite Platinum Circle Award for 2008 for his extraordinary achievements in the local music industry. In his 25 years in the music industry, he has been awarded five Platinum albums, four double Platinum albums, three triple Platinum albums, and two sextuple Platinum albums.

Biography
Gary Valenciano was born in Santa Mesa district of City of Manila on 6 August 1964. He is the sixth of seven children of Vicente Calacas Valenciano, a Bicolano from Camalig, Albay and Grimilda Santiago y Olmo, a Puerto Rican from Arecibo. His parents met in New York, married, and settled in Manila. His father is from Bicol, while 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.

Personal life
Valenciano is married to María Anna Elizabeth "Angeli" Pangilinan, with whom he has three children: Paolo Valenciano (vocalist of the band Salamin, and is married to Samantha Godinez), José Angelo Gabriel Valenciano (singer, keyboardist, dancer, and is married to Tricia Centenera) and Kristiana María Mikaela (model-turned-singer).

He is currently living with type 1 diabetes, and has been an endorser for several wellness products related to the condition.

Career
In 1978, at 14 years old, Valenciano made his first television appearance in an advertisement for local soft-drink, Fress Gusto. He started as a choir singer then launched his career in singing and show business on 13 May 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 for "Best Male Recording" category alone. He has been called "Mr. Pure Energy" due to his high energy dance performances in concerts.

In 1998, he became UNICEF Philippines' first National Ambassador. 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 born again. 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. This was his third GMA Holy Week special since 2006. He also released his 25th full-length album, and his fourth compilation album, "Replay", was recently released with the carrier single, "Did It Ever".