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Gary Valenciano and Juan Karlos. Josh Mercado
MANILA -- Before working with Juan Karlos, Gary Valenciano admitted that he would hear the young hitmaker's songs with bold lyrics that he couldn't possibly sing in front of an audience.
“All I remember was when he lost in ‘The Voice.’ He would always call me Sir Martin. And I’d say, ‘Sir Martin. Oo nga pala, Sir Martin.’ It was such a running joke. But I haven’t seen him since then,” Valenciano told ABS-CBN at the press conference for his latest song, "Blessings."
He added, “I mean, his songs may say things that you probably would never be able to do. You know, call out together. But that is... he's really all right. That's really what he is. What you see is what you get.”
Valenciano went on to say that his son Paolo Valenciano, who directed Juan Karlos' sold-out concert at MOA Arena, had told him how talented he is as an artist.
“And the only time I heard about him more was when he worked with Paolo. Paolo came to me and said, ‘Dad, the guy's been awesome,’” he shared with ABS-CBN News.
When he received the call to be a judge for "Idol Kids Philippines," Valenciano informed his son, saying, “Okay, son, I'm working with him for 'Idol.'”
The concert director replied, “Huh? You guys are working together? Paano?”
“I said, I don't know. Let's see what happens,” Valenciano replied.
The highly anticipated singing competition will premiere on the Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live, and TV5 on Saturdays and Sundays beginning June 28.
On working with Juan Karlos, Valenciano told ABS-CBN News, “Working with him, I don't know who else would have been able to play his role. But I am enjoying every moment. In fact, we keep texting each other. Just the other day, he said, ‘Tito, come to our gig naman.’ ‘Why? What is it about?’ ‘Ah, it's about losers.’ ‘What do you mean it's about losers?’ ‘It's like me, ‘di ba? I lost in ‘The Voice.’ There's another one. I lost in that voice. There's a lot of losers that were coming out of the room performing as winners.’
He added, “He wants to buy some equipment. So he's telling me, ‘Do you know anybody in the States with the best price?’ ‘Ah, sige, I'll look.’ So we're exchanging.”
The OPM icon also commended Juan Karlos' performance of his hit song "Ere" with its strong lyrics.
“When he sang it in the Dolphy Theater, he made people sing it. Only this guy can,” he ended.