Gary V's 28th anniversary + Jay R cuts ties with Arnold Vegafria

In line with his 28th anniversary in the business, as well as the 25th anniversary of his management company, Manila Genesis Entertainment & Management, Inc., Gary Valenciano, with support from ABS-CBN, Star Cinema, ASAP Rocks and Star Records opens the last four months of the year with two highly-anticipated and much-awaited projects.

Gary V just released a full-length compilation album project entitled "With Love, Gary Valenciano." The CD is a compilation of the successful and well-loved film and television theme songs performed by one of the most respected musical icons, Gary V, for ABS-CBN and Star Cinema, the latest of which are "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin" from the recently concluded hit teleserye and "Where Do I Begin (Love Story)" from the movie In The Name Of Love which is the album’s carrier single. The music video of "Where Do I Begin (Love Story)" is directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, currently airing on Myx and is rapidly climbing its hit and most requested charts.

Other tracks are "Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo" (from the teleserye Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo), "Tayong Dalawa" (from the teleserye Tayong Dalawa), "Sana Maulit Muli" (from the teleserye Sana Maulit Muli), "And I Love You So" (from the movie And I Love You So), "Because of You" (from the movie B’cuz Of U), "Ikaw Lamang" (from the movie Dubai), "Kailangan Kita" (from the movie Kailangan Kita), "How Did You Know" (from the movie All My Life), "Anak" (from the movie Anak), and "One Hello" (from the movie When Love Begins).

•To further spice up the album project and his anniversary, Mr. Pure Energy is also gearing up for his upcoming television special which airs on September 4 (Sunday) at 10:45 p.m. on ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best. Inspired by the title of his latest CD, the special is also titled "With Love, Gary Valenciano."

•"With Love, Gary Valenciano" is directed by Johnny Manahan with musical direction by Marvin Querido and choreography by Georcelle Dapat of the G-Force. Arrangements were done by Mon Faustino, Gabriel Valenciano, Marvin Querido, and Gary V himself. According to the staff and crew of ABS-CBN, "We have never seen Mr. M so inspired to direct a TV special in a while." "Mr.M" and Gary collaborated in many numbers, meeting and sharing ideas and concepts to come up with a great special. "I'm so excited as I haven't worked this much with Mr. M in so many years! I am so honored that he spent so much time for every segment to make it a great production number," Gary V relates.

The phenomenal success of "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin," the most recent teleserye wherein Gary V sang the theme song, inspired ABS-CBN, Star Records, ASAP Rocks and Manila Genesis to conceptualize and produce "With Love, Gary Valenciano" the TV special. Gary even made a cameo appearance as himself in the final episode of "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin" which is reported to have one of the highest ratings in recent television history!

In films, Aga Muhlach is known to always request for Gary to sing the theme songs of his movies under Star Cinema. Five songs in the album were used in his films.

The special chronicles the colorful and prolific career of Gary V which spans 28 years. Gary V, who is one of the most awarded and commercially successful singers/songwriters in the entertainment industry, has produced countless hit songs that have brought joy and inspiration throughout the years, many of which he wrote, produced, and arranged himself such as "Take Me Out of the Dark," "Sana Maulit Muli," "Di Bale Na Lang," "When I Hear You Call," "Shout For Joy," among others released by his home recording company for 25 years, Universal Records which are likewise included in the special.

Paying tribute to Gary V on the TV special are some of his colleagues and friends in the industry as well as personal friends including Ryan Cayabyab, Kuh Ledesma, Martin Nievera, Zsa Zsa Padilla, German Moreno, Lorna Tolentino, Ogie Alcasid, Iya Villania, Donita Rose, Jed Madela, Carla Martinez, Piolo Pascual, Roselle Monteverde, Annabelle Regalado-Borja, Erik Santos, Sam Concepcion, Freddie Santos, and Jericho Rosales among many others. The Dance community like Manolet Santos, John Pratts, Rayver Cruz, Jon Supan, Nel Gomez, the Manoeuvres are also some of the guests in the special.

UNICEF's Angela Travis and Michelle Borromeo share insights on their Ambassador of 13 years. Also joining him are his children Paolo who is the current lead vocalist of the rock band Salamin and a session lead vocalist for Rivermaya; singer, dancer, and musical arranger/producer Gabriel, who also arranged several of the numbers on the special; and his beautiful and talented daughter, Kiana, in a very moving number arranged musically and vocally by Gary himself.

The special also features some of the Kapamilya Network’s brightest stars such as Billy Crawford, Sam Milby, Yeng Constantino, Jovit Baldovino, Robin Nievera, as well as the new discoveries, Angeline Quinto, Marcelino Pomoy, and Maria Aragon. Gary V has been one of the major hosts of the top-rating musical variety show for the past 8 years.

"With Love, Gary Valenciano" the CD is available in all leading music stores nationwide and is now topping charts. The album is also out on digital formats: I-tunes, Amazon, Napster, Real Networks. The TV special airs on ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best on September 04 at 10:45p.m.

******

Prince of RnB Jay R confirmed he’s no longer being managed by Arnold Vegafria, his manager for seven years. "I fell out of love," he joked while he cut his ties with his former manager. "Well, I just want a breath of fresh air. I need to start from scratch. I want other things in my career, especially with my music of which I am really focused."

Jay R thinks he can do better with a new manager. He is not yet ready to disclose the identity of his new manager although he said he talked with three top managers in Manila. He has made his decision and he will be making the announcement soon.

He said he and his former manager parted amicably."I just want to move on and work. I want to stay as a good and honest person. I went to the office and told him that I think it is best that we part ways. It’s fine with him (Arnold) and there was no resistance," recalled Jay R.

He said he and Arnold parted as friends. He thinks he expects more from himself. He wants to have a fresh move and he thinks he can do much more from what he is doing now under a new manager. He wants to produce an album for other artists and hopefully start an international career as a singer. He has released an album in Indonesia and in Malaysia this year under Universal Records.

"I have already made a decision regarding my choice as my new manager and I would be making the announcement soon," said Jay R who is one of the mentors in the new GMA reality show Protege that will premiere on Monday, September 4, on the Kapuso channel.

As a mentor in Protege, Jay R would be pitting his wares against more established names in the music industry like Imelda Papin, Claire dela Fuente, Rey Valera, Joey Generoso, Janno Gibbs, Jaya, to Aiza Seguerra, Rachelle Ann Go and Gloc 9.

"They are pioneers and I know they know the tricks of the trade in the business because they are more experienced. But I promise to try my best and pass on my knowledge to my own set of protégés," he said.

"I am coming in from the new generation and I think I am more updated when it comes to new tactics in building a singing star."