Born Edgardo Jose Santiago Valenciano on August 6, 1964, in Manila, Philippines, the contemporary Christian/Filipino pop vocalist, producer, songwriter and actor is better known by his stage name Gary Valenciano. He began his entertainment career at the age of 12 when he appeared in a television commercial. He took his first steps into the music business in 1982, finally achieving success the following year. He made his live concert debut in 1984, the same year he released his debut album, Gary, and made his film debut in the Filipino movie Hotshots. Over the next 30 years, he released two dozen studio albums -most of them certified platinum – and over a dozen compilation and live albums. Many of his songs have been embraced by his Filipino audience including “You Got Me Working” (1983), “Love of Mine” (1984), “Take Me Out of the Dark” (1988), “Shout for Joy” (1991), “(Everybody) Get Down” (1998), “Did It Ever” (2010), “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” (his 2016 remake of the Dionne Warwick classic), and many more. For his recording career, he’s won the award for Best Male Performer at the Awit Awards (the Philippines’ equivalent to the Grammy Awards) twelve times. He’s also maintained a successful career as an actor, appearing in more than a dozen films and winning awards for his work on television. He became the first National Ambassador for UNICEF Philippines in 1998 and continues to hold that position.
