Niana Guerrero on Kids’ Choice Awards nom: Very big achievement
Filipino social media superstar Niana Guerrero recently shared how she reacted to being nominated as Favorite Asian Creator at the 2023 Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards. The other nominees are Aqil Zulkiflee (Malaysia), Gen Halilintar (Indonesia) and HIKAKIN (Japan).
The nomination itself is already a validation that the 17-year-old is one of the best content creators in the region. With over 15.1 million YouTube subscribers, 24 million Facebook followers and 14.3 million Instagram fans, she sits among the most influential content creators in the Philippines. She also stakes a claim as the country’s No. 1 TikTok personality with over 38 million followers.
Given these achievements in the social media realm, Niana is no stranger to nominations and even awards. But asked what made the Kids’ Choice Awards or KCA “special,” she recently told The STAR in a one-on-one virtual interview: “Oh my gosh! First of all, it’s the Kids’ Choice Awards. And I think this category is a new category, the Favorite Asian Creator. So, I feel like that’s what makes it special — to be part of this as a new category. It’s insane!”
Niana was first introduced to the public through her brother, Ranz Kyle, a singer, dancer and top YouTuber with over 15 million subscribers. In a previous STAR interview, Niana said of her kuya: “He brought me into it. He is my inspiration.”
Niana’s first-ever viral vlogs were of her carpooling with Ranz Kyle. But the video that “broke the Internet” and even made it to foreign news outlets like Time was her “hitting the Despacito” every time the hit song came on. This was back in 2017. She has since grown up before the eyes of the online community.
Nickelodeon couldn’t have named a more deserving nominee from the Philippines than Niana for Favorite Asian Creator, a local KCA category. Going by her content (which often features members of her family as well), she’s wholesome, super talented and more importantly, a favorite of kids — even the kids of popular showbiz folks like Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes.
On being regarded as a role model by kids and fellow young people, Niana, who currently looks up to American YouTuber and philanthropist MrBeast, said, “It’s, first of all, very crazy that these kids and families looked up to me so medyo na-pe-pressure ako dun parang I have to set a good example. Well, it’s not really hard because basta po set a good example. And yeah, I feel very, very happy about it. I mean, all of these kids, sometimes when they see me, they smile. Sometimes, they hug me, so it’s very, very fun.”
Fans in Asia can now vote for Niana as Favorite Asian Creator until March 4 via kca.nickelodeon.tv/vote. The awards event takes place in the US on March 4, while the KCA show will premiere in the Philippines on March 8, 6:30 p.m. on the Nickelodeon channel.
Below are more excerpts from The STAR’s chat with Niana.
On her first reaction to her KCA nod:
“I was very, very, very stoked about it. I jumped around in my room until the living room and told my family about it. When my family and I were talking about it, we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is actually a big deal because this is like the whole Asia.’ So, it’s a very, very, very, very big achievement for me to be nominated. And to be part of this is just unbelievable.”
On her process of creating content:
“With the process of making YouTube videos, I feel like mas pina-plan namin ang mga YouTube videos more than the dances. The dances are more on fun, fun lang naman po yun. But with the content, we usually gather up and throw ideas until we come up with one. And we schedule lahat na gagawin and once we actually do it, yun na po.
“I feel like the hardest thing about it is just thinking of what to do. Minsan kasi nasa creative block kami. That’s the most difficult thing. And the fun part about it is yung pinaka-idea po. We make sure that it’s fun and it’s our bonding as siblings.”
On her most favorite videos:
“There’s a lot. We’ve done a lot so that’s hard. I feel like, top of mind, that Savage Love dance video that I did with my siblings and my whole family actually, that was fun. And then I also did… It’s not really a dance video, but I think my carpool videos with my brother are really nice, too.”
On coping with the pressure of being a social media star:
“Well, yeah, there is pressure sometimes. But sometimes, I just don’t put it in my head. I just think, ‘You know what? Just be yourself. Don’t really think of what other people think because at the end of the day, you’re just doing what you love or what you love doing.’ And how to handle it? I feel like I just handle it by sometimes pausing for a bit and taking a break. It’s very important to people like me and everyone really to take a break and just pause. And whenever you’re good, just go back to what you usually do.
“Sa bahay lang po kasi parang ang normal lang po ng buhay namin dito. I feel like some people look at me as like, ‘Oh my gosh, Niana.’ Alam mo po yun? Yung expectations nila? But I feel like I’m just really a normal person. We’re a normal family. We fight. We have misunderstandings. Nagpapaalam pa rin kami ‘pag lalabas. Normal stuff lang po. My family really helps me to stay grounded.”
On the craziest fan encounters:
“Oh my gosh! I have a lot of unforgettable fan moments, but I think, off the top of my head, when I went to Los Angeles two months ago. I was in the airport. And then I heard someone say my name, ‘Oh my gosh, are you that Despacito girl? Are you Niana Guerrero?’ And I’m like, whoa, you know me? Because taga dun po talaga siya. And then, we started having a cute conversation about how they watch me all the time from when I was little. I was like, wow, that’s very interesting. Then nagpa-picture po siya. Pagkatapos nun, tumingin ako kay Mama, ‘Hala (Mommy), may nakakakilala sa akin dito sa US.’ That’s so crazy.”
On her biggest achievement as content creator:
“I feel like one of the biggest achievements that I did as a content creator was that I hit 10 million subscribers. Because never in my life did I think I would hit 10 million, akala ko lang 100,000, ganun. But I hit 10 million po and I was so excited about it. And how did I reward myself? I don’t know, I feel like that time it was the pandemic so I was just spending time with my family, eating a very nice dinner.”
On her goals for the next five years:
“I don’t know… I get asked that a lot. I guess we’ll see in five years. Who knows? Maybe I’m still doing the same thing. We’ll see. But for now, I’m just gonna continue what I like doing, putting smiles on people’s faces and yeah, the big goals… Because as a content creator, I don’t know, I just go with the flow (laughs).
“But I’m very open to anything. (Other creative fields?) I’ve been learning singing and doing the guitar lately. And for acting, I don’t know yet because I don’t see myself acting. I just feel like I want to act as myself. But again, I’m very open. No doors close. We’ll see, I guess, in the future.”
On advice to aspiring content creators:
“Of course, just have fun and just don’t give up. Always find a way to pursue your passion because people often give up when they meet failure. But the important thing is to just push past it and just overcome your fear because that’s when growth happens. Just keep doing what you like. Keep doing what you love.”
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