One celebrity scion who made a name for herself in 2017 is Kiana Valenciano, daughter of Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano and artist manager Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano.
Kiana has jumped from being a girl with a famous surname to fashion influencer, social media superstar, and recording artist.
She released “Circles,” a song she wrote late last year, which opened doors for her to perform in TV shows and live concerts, among them “ASAP” and the Manila X festival. She also recorded “Does She Know” with rapper Curtismith.
Kiana Valenciano was also invited as one of the social media superstar guests for “It’s a Girl Thing,” a festival meant to inspire young women. The event was presented by Branded, the co-producers of YouTube FanFest and Globe Live.
Of course, as a celebrity, one’s personal life becomes the object of public curiosity. Kiana Valenciano’s seemingly perfect relationship with Sam Concepcion and friendship with high-profile showbiz personalities such as Nadine Lustre and James Reid have been a source of envy for netizens.
In an interview with InterAksyon, Kiana admitted that she was initially hesitant to walk into the limelight at first, since she was enjoying her time in fashion.
Angeli’s peers kept wondering why Kiana hadn’t followed her father’s footsteps yet. Angeli would defend her daughter saying, “Wait, she’s gonna come around.” Angeli used to call Kiana her “reluctant star.”
When Kiana finally wrote a song and decided to get into music, however, Angeli was both pleased and excited. “Finally, we can work,” she said. Not surprisingly, Angeli is Kiana’s momager.
According to Kiana, her dad has been supportive of her right from the start. “Just let me know what you wanna do, and I’ll help you,” Gary would tell Kiana.
While Kiana is enjoying her status as a rising star in the underground music scene, she does admit that being a Valenciano has both perks and pressures.
“The pressure comes from everyone else,” she explains. “The pressure is there because everyone expects me to be my dad — or to surpass him. But I think right now, I’m a little bit too busy to let everyone know who I really am, outside the Valenciano name. ”
“You know, like, ‘Yeah, I’m Gary Valenciano’s daughter, but I’m also Kiana. And that’s a completely person from just being a celebrity’s daughter.’”
If there is one thing she inherited from her father apart from her dusky beauty and singing talent, it’s her groove. Kiana emits her own kind of energy when she dances.
Kiana also learned valuable life lessons from her dad. One such lesson is to always be herself, whether while performing or when she’s interacting with others, because, as Gary pointed out, it would show if she isn’t.
“One thing I always keep in mind is to remember who I am and to stick by that. And the other is to strive for excellence, not perfection. ‘Cause nobody’s perfect and if you keep seeking perfection, you’re never gonna be happy. And if something’s excellent and you accept it for what it is, you’ll feel happy.”
Although she is a social media star, Kiana believes that she would never let bashers affect the way she does things or pursues her craft.
“The thing is I don’t think I would because as much as there are people saying, ‘oh we don’t like this’ about something or ‘you should not have done this,’ there are still people who are 100 percent supportive.”
“If there would be a change, it would probably because I’m changing, not because of negative…” Kiana shared, trailing off.
At the time of the interview, Kiana said that she was working on yet another single which, like “Circles” and “Does She Know,” would eventually be part of an EP.
The EP hasn’t come out yet, and fans are probably wondering when it will be released, and if Kiana has made concrete plans for it.
“I have my goals, but at the same time I’m taking things a day at a time. I don’t want to pressure myself and think of how far I have to go. I’m just providing myself with how far I’ve already come,” she said.
Kiana, who just turned 25 last December 21, is pleased with what she accomplished in 2017.
She explains, “Last year [2016] I couldn’t even get on; I, mean I had such a hard time getting on stage by myself. And now I’m here. I have my goals and I will get there, but right now I’m enjoying things as they come.”