This Filipino’s got talent

GAB VALENCIANO in the AGT teaser PHOTO from starcinema.abs-cbn.com

For most of his show biz career, Gab Valenciano had to endure being compared to his father, singer Gary Valenciano, especially when it comes to dancing. For the past few years, however, Gab has been slowly emerging from his dad’s shadow by utilizing a different medium to express himself: the Internet.

Combining his dancing skills and proficiency in video and music editing, Gab came up with what he calls “super selfie”—a short video in which he lets loose, dances silly and pulls off random, wacky antics. Gab initially uploaded these clips to his Instagram account, then moved them to YouTube, where he now has over 66,000 subscribers.

Turning point

His most popular videos, “Tune Squad” and “Father and Son” (which features Gary V), have so far registered over 1.9 million and 1.7 million hits, respectively. Gab’s “super selfies” have likewise caught the interest of not a few international news sites and TV shows, including The Huffington Post and CBS’ “Good Morning America.”

One of Gab’s recent “super selfie,” titled “Loose Yourself”—which has the 25-year-old dancing with Sam Concepcion and The Manoeuvres to Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose”—was picked up CBS News Los Angeles.

And in what can now be a turning point in his career as an entertainer, Gab auditioned for the coming ninth season of the reality talent search “America’s Got Talent (AGT),” which premieres on May 27.

“Gab’s ‘super selfies’ were noticed internationally, so AGT suggested that he audition,” Gab’s self-confessed stage mother, Angeli Pangilinan, told the Inquirer.

In AGT’s teaser video released recently online, Gab is briefly shown performing onstage in front of judges Howard Stern, Melanie Brown, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. He sports a red tank top and a pair of brightly-colored tights, as he does in many of his popular “super selfie” videos.

Angeli pointed out that, like Gab, Gary shoots and produces videos for his own shows. “Gab got this gift from his dad, but took it to a different level—YouTube,” Angeli said. “Gab shoots the videos, edits them and remixes the music. He’s a one-man shop.”

Gab has so far been mum on whether or not he hurdled the auditions. But for Angeli, seeing Gab show off his skills on US TV is enough reason to celebrate. “For me, win or lose, Gab’s a winner already,” she said.

Last year, Gab flew to the United States to take up Recording Arts at the Full Sail University in Florida, where he won the school’s annual talent competition, “Full Sail’s Got Talent” with a song-and-dance number that he dedicated to “Yolanda” survivors.

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