As the youngest child and only daughter of Gary Valenciano, KIana Valenciano admitted that she has grown up feeling pressure, not just from other people but within herself as well.
“The pressure is because I am still in the same industry, just across the pond. But a lot of times I question if I am gaining achievements because I’m good at what I do or because of who I know or what my last name is. My mental game is that I have to remind myself that I’m putting in the work, I’m doing what I have to do, and hopefully the work is good, etc, etc.
"But I do feel like the pressure is more self-imposed than it is on everyone else because we have been very privileged. We’ve been raised with a lot of knowledge. We’ve been blessed with the experiences that we’ve had like growing up in the production industry, being exposed to everything to understanding a lot of things. So how can I not pressure myself to create good work if I’ve seen all of that? So right now it’s like a healthy amount of pressure, it’s the right amount so that we’re not complacent and mediocre. I think we deserve the pressure because we are very privileged and if there wasn’t any pressure then we wouldn’t be making anything of note with our lives. I think it’s valid naman,” she explained.
As the opening act to the Gary V Pure Energy: One More Time two-night concert on December 20 and 22, Kiana admitted she understands his decision to take a step back from performing in big concert venues after this year.
“I think there are so many avenues for our dad to still express his creativity. This big concert medium is not the only way for him to really show all his sides. In fact, there are so many sides to him that you guys haven’t experienced yet that we have been very lucky to grow up with that side of him. I think it’s just the beginning of a new chapter for him. It’s sad but also don’t think that it’s the last (laughs). Baka in denial lang ako. Kasi yung last time, last time na yun eh. Eto one more time (laughs) so hindi ako naniniwala. Baka in denial lang talaga ako pero I think it’s a good opening, a new chapter for him to express himself in different ways,” she explained.
Since releasing her first album five years ago, the now US-based artist said she does not want to follow in Gary V.’s footsteps in the exact same way.
“I think the hardest part really is just that my version of success, my level of success, whatever that is, will always be compared to theirs. And so if my version of success is to have a happy home, parang other people on the outside will wonder, ‘O, pero she’s Gary V.’s daughter, dapat she should’ve been as big as him!’ But what if that’s not what I want right? And I think that’s where what that comes into play.
"It’s a lot of the outside voices that make it a challenge. But within our home, naturally our parents just want their kids to be happy. I think everyone who wonders about that. I think you have your own dynamics with your parents as well that you can relate to where you just discuss wanting to build your own path and do things that are a little bit different from how they did things,” she shared.
When asked what she thinks is her dad’s biggest legacy to her and her siblings Paolo and Gab, the 31-year-old artist said it is something more important than the success he has had in his career.
“I think that there have been times where because of his work, my parents were absent and all that but I’ve never felt like I couldn’t call him. Just recently I was going through some challenges and I called him and he just happened to be int he middle of a meeting. I felt so embarrassed but he made everyone in his meeting wait just so he could sit there and talk to me for a 15 minutes and I think that’s so rare. Because that actually forced me to reflect on would I do that? Imagine you’re in an important meeting and you get a phone call from either your kid or your mom or your brother, would you say, ‘Sorry, priority is family’?
"So I think that’s the legacy. Also with my new chapter in life getting married and eventually someday maybe having children, that’s something that I’m going to keep in mind and hopefully pass down as well,” she added.