Niana Guerrero on her KCA nom, pros and cons of social media

Niana (left) with sister Natalia (center) and brother Ranz Kyle

Like many people these days, Niana Guerrero often turns to social media for entertainment. When we asked her last week what kind of content catches her attention, she said, “There really are so many that are relatable to me. I love social media. So you’ll see comedy videos on my feed, and I like watching skits. There’s also a lot of dancing videos.”

But the gifted 17-year-old dancer, who was an “A.S.A.P.” fixture some years back, isn’t your usual teenager just eager to get some clicks here and a hundred likes there.

In fact, Niana has 38 million followers on TikTok, 24 million on Facebook, 15 million on YouTube, 14 million on Instagram and 554,000 on Twitter—and those numbers continue to grow every day.

And while many of her contemporaries bank on inane antics or self-deprecating humor to generate considerable online traffic, Niana’s surging popularity is anchored on time-honed terpsichorean prowess—complicated moves and grooves that the pretty youngster executes with catchy fun, flair and toe-tapping gusto.

Four years after she was declared Favorite Pinoy Internet Star at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards (KCA) in 2019, the Filipino TikTok sensation is upping the cachet-boosting ante with another coveted nomination at this year’s KCA, this time in the Favorite Asian Creator category.

For the award, Niana will be slugging it out with her counterparts in Japan (Hikakin), Malaysia (Aqil Zulkiflee) and Indonesia (Gen Halilintar). Voting for this category is now open till March 4 at kca.nickelodeon.tv/vote.

“I jumped, screamed and talked about the nomination with my family (laughs). It’s unbelievable,” said Niana when asked what her reaction was the first time she learned about her latest KCA feat. “I tell you—that was a cool and crazy moment! I’m not just competing with other Filipino content creators, it’s Asia-wide this time.”

A star-studded lineup

KCA 2023, which celebrates fan favorites from across the worlds of film, television, music and sports, will take place on March 4 at the Microsoft Theater. Viewers in Southeast Asia can catch the show in the Philippines on March 8 at 6:30 p.m. on the Nickelodeon channel.

Cohosted by Nate Burleson and digital superstar Charli D’Amelio, with singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha set to perform, the show will feature appearances from a star-studded lineup that includes Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Awkwafina, Melissa McCarthy, Lil Baby, Halle Bailey, Pete Davidson, MrBeast, Anthony Ramos and Seth Rogen.

While Niana loves how social media makes information and entertainment easily accessible to anyone, she also acknowledges that it’s a double-edged sword that could potentially hurt others when used injudiciously or with malice.

Niana Guerrero

“When false information is being spread online, it could lead to many things or affect a person in a bad way,” she said, musing on the pros and cons of social media. “Sometimes, the cons come in the form of misleading information about you that gets spread out of nowhere. It can hit me, you or anyone, really.

“In my case, it’s just minor information about me, although it isn’t really the trending sort. But that’s what I’ve noticed in social media—not just for me, but for everyone. Some people tend to believe everything they see online in an instant. They should think first before taking what they see seriously. So maybe, I’ll end my answer with this plea: Don’t believe everything you see on the internet!”

Our Q&A with Niana:

Can you talk about your recent collaborations, including those with Jay B of the K-pop group Got7 and P-pop sensation SB19?

I’ve collaborated with a lot of creators here in the Philippines who are so much fun to be with, like Esnyr and Ate Zeinab Harake—we just kept on laughing [during the shoot].

But one collaboration on top of my mind is the crosswalk concert that I did with SB19—that really stands out to me. It was the craziest idea we’ve ever produced as a team, and that was literally in public!

I consider it a big achievement because SB19 is a talented boy group and they’re all over the place. We did those three stops at BGC. But we asked permission naman, so everything was safe.

Then, there’s my collaboration with Jay B (of Got7). Oh my gosh, he’s one of the funniest persons ever! When I met him, he was like, “How old are you?” And he was like, “What?!” Then, he said he felt so old (he’s 29)—it was hilarious (laughs)!

You make dancing look fun, easy and doable. Which dancers do you look up to?

I look up to a lot of dancers, but Chachi Gonzales immediately comes to mind. (Chachi is a dancer-choreographer who was a member of the dance crew I.aM.mE, which won Season 6 of “America’s Best Dance Crew” in 2011.)

Dati pa s’yang dancer, but ever since I was little, I’ve always looked up to her and would say to myself, “I want to be like her!”

Your YouTube account is marking its 10th year this year—and you’re only 17! What do you remember about the very first video that you made and posted online?

Yeah. I started with my brother (Ranz Kyle)—it never started with me. My brother started everything that we’re doing right now, so shoutout to him.

To answer your question, I honestly can’t remember the actual first video that we did together, but I’m sure it was either a dance video or a skit. Because at the time, Dubsmash was very popular. It came before TikTok.

We didn’t have any intention for it to go viral, we were just doing it for fun, literally—until people started asking for more. So, that’s why we started doing more of it.

You used to be very shy as a kid, but you look very comfortable in front of the cameras now. When did you realize that you were on the right track?

When we started doing our videos, I would read the comments. And people were like, “You guys made my day” or “I had a really rough day today, but thank you for making me smile!” That was the moment when I was like, “Oh my gosh, I think this is what I want to pursue.” I like it… and I like what I’m doing.

How have your videos with Ranz Kyle and your little sis Natalia evolved through the years?

I was 9 when we started. It was just me and my brother. There really are no major changes to what we’re doing right these days. But the difference is that, we also do long-form content now—or we mix it up. And now, we’re with Natalia. I find it very interesting to play around with [different concepts for our] content.

What advice would you give to young people who are just starting their foray into social media?

First, just have fun. Don’t think about the views or the earnings and all of that. Make sure you like what you’re doing, because if you like it, it’ll actually be easier to do it. If you don’t like it, it’s just going to be hard on your end.

So, yeah, just have fun, be authentic, be consistent, catch up with other trends—and you’ll get there. INQ