Gary V’s song for Bella

Gary Valenciano was one of the late Bella Tan’s most successful contract artists. Their working relationship lasted nearly 20 years and throughout 16 albums, plus countless awards and nominations. It is no wonder then that Gary would go out of his way to do something special as a tribute to Bella. And it is the song Break Me. This is the first song Gary has written in four years and was really meant to be a part of an album of all-original materials set for release later this year.

Bella listened to Break Me during its early stages. She liked it and asked Gary to finish it soon. It took Gary a few more months but he did finish the song and Bella did get to listen to its finished form. It was in fact, the last one she heard before she passed away.

"She was sitting on a chair and as the song played she reached out to give my wife Angeli and me a hug," recalls Gary. "Shortly after that, she went home. The cancer may have broken her but even as we weep and mourn, peace has settled in my heart, knowing that she now walks, talks, laughs and lives with the One who has always kept her so precious in His heart."

Break Me whose message is complete acceptance of God’s will, is a song that can brighten the darkest moments. It is now part of Gary’s hit compilation of inspirational hits, Soul Full. This feel-good album boasts of time-tested favorites like Shout for Joy, Natutulog Ba ang Diyos, We are the Reason, I Will be Here, Take Me Out of the Dark, Lead Me Lord, Gaya ng Dati, As You Are and others.

Gary premiered the song in a moving performance during the recent Awit Awards as part of a tribute to Bella from the Philippine Association of Record Industries. That same evening, Gary won the Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist trophy for his song How Did You Know. It was the second straight year that Gary won the award and his seventh in the same category from the Awit. Needless to say, those he received in the past were all shared with Bella.

Gary’s celebration of Bella’s life of music is also part of his show Gary V@22, where a portion of the show is made up of Gary’s memories while working with her. It opened last night at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan and continues tonight up to June 11, 16 and 17 with Mon Faustino as musical director. The concert recaps Gary’s 22 eventful years in the music business and his repertoire is made up of his big hits and his personal favorites. These songs formed the soundtrack of his life these past years and I am sure that of other people’s too, these past few years.

Sure to heighten the nostalgic favor is the fact that Gary performs these songs in chronological order in the show. So you can also grow and glow as he grows and glows along with the memories brought by Take Me Out of the Dark, Each Passing Night, Warrior is a Child, What More Can I Say, Hang On and many more.

The videos of some of these hits are now also available in the Gary V Music Video Collection on DVD. This compilation brings together for the first time on DVD the complete set of Gary V’s music videos produced from the ’90s up to the present. These are Babalik Ka Rin, Could You Be Messiah, These Eyes, Until Then, After All, More & More, (Everybody) Get Down, Anak, I Will be Here, Lupa, (Can We Just) Stop and Talk a While with Kyla, Warrior is a Child and How Did You Know.

The DVD costs P450 each and comes with interactive menus. These include video commentaries by Gary V about the stories behind the songs, related anecdotes and his experiences while making the videos. Aside from these, the collection should also give aspiring video directors a look into what sort of video befits a pop star like Gary V and how this has evolved over the years. Too bad, there seems to be no existing videos of his earliest hits. Getting those into this package would have made it a real treat for music historians and all those Gary V fans everywhere.