He may be one of the three beautiful and talented children of OPM icon Gary Valenciano, yet Gab Valenciano is able to prove that he can also be a legend in his own right! Since he grew up watching his dad perform, it was indeed inevitable for him not to be influenced, so he turned out to be a multitalented artist and dynamic performer like “Mr. Pure Energy.”
From simply joining his father in some of his production numbers, such as in “ASAP,” Gab had gone on to become an official member of the “ASAP” family in 2007. Those who got to watch him during his stint on the program can probably remember him as one of the Kapamilya main dancers who had consistently brought us energetic performances onstage and popularized some of the dance crazes that became massive hits during the late 2000s.
Although he has been living in the United States for good now, it’s really nice that Gab has never forgotten one of his roots, as he still keeps coming back to the program where it all started for him. Thus, he is among the stellar artists who have taken part in “ASAP”’s year-long 30th anniversary fete, wherein he didn’t just perform and blow our minds again with his world-class dancing flair but also expressed his heartfelt messages to the family he has found here and reminisced on a couple of his fondest memories on the show.
Gab began by thanking “ASAP” for everything that it had taught and done to him during his time there more than a decade ago. He conveyed, “Thank you to ‘ASAP’ because ‘yong time ko sa ‘ASAP’ really taught me how to work hard, professionalism, discipline, patience, perseverance. Lahat ‘yan natutunan ko rito sa ‘ASAP’ because, siyempre, dito you have to be at your best all the time not just as an artist pero as a person as well. So, thank you, ‘ASAP.’ Dahil sa inyo kung saan man ako napadpad sa mundo, I bring that with me all the time.”
As a son of Gary V, it has been quite expected for Gab, his siblings Paolo and Kiana, and/or their mom Angeli Pangilinan to make special appearances on the program every time their patriarch would celebrate a special milestone in his career and life. Thus, Gab recounted that among his first memories on “ASAP” was likely a birthday celebration of his Papa, and all that he could remember was how “super encouraging” the crowd, crew, staff, and artists were for him.
That heartwarming experience made him realize that he wanted to be part of that family, and lo and behold, it happened a couple of years later. “Sobra akong natutuwa that I was able to become part of the ‘ASAP’ family,” he said, adding that being on the show and being surrounded by everyone that comprised it indeed helped build his confidence and personality in many ways.
Meanwhile, when it comes to his most unforgettable experience, Gab imparted that it would be the “ASAP Live in Singapore” in 2012. Aside from the fact that it was his first time to join in an out-of-the-country production of the program, he also couldn’t forget the camaraderie among the “ASAP” family, which seemingly lessened the homesickness that he felt at the time being away from his real family and friends. Their stay there made him feel that he really belonged, as well as brought him closer to Robi Domingo, as they did one number together.
“To my ‘ASAP’ family, thank you so much for welcoming me all these years. Sobra-sobrang blessed ko to be able to be part of all of you—from the artists all the way to the writers, the producers, the director, the choreographers, the dancers, the crowd, lahat. All of you make up what ‘ASAP’ is today, and I’m so grateful to be part of it,” he expressed.
He may have been permanently based in the US, but Gab said that he always makes it a point to take part in at least one cycle and make the most of his time with his beloved “ASAP” family whenever he’s here in the Philippines.