MANILA, Philippines — Paolo Valenciano thinks highly of Julie Anne San Jose's abilities. The popular concert director and first-born of iconic singer/songwriter Gary V remarked that Julie Anne can actually do more than his renowned dad.
This realization came when he and the team of the "Limitless" musical trilogy were brainstorming for the "perfect description" for Julie Anne. GMA Network has also given Julie Anne the moniker "Limitless Star". In the past, she was nicknamed "Asia's Pop Diva".
"You know I've worked with all the artists in the industry. My standard has always been Gary V. That's why I give a lot of these artists a hard time when I conceptualize things for them. It's always Gary V. Gary V is the standard. That should be our goal," shared Paolo.
He has worked with the likes of Regine Velasquez, Darren Espanto, Christian Bautista and Alden Richards. The latter he directed in GMA Synergy's first virtual reality concert, "Alden's Reality" staged in December last year.
"I've been working with Julie for two years now. When I really researched her history, kung ano yung mga ginagawa niya when she first started, and all that, I was just like, 'Wow, this girl can actually do more than my dad'," Paolo said.
"Naisip namin na medyo parang wala siyang limitations talaga to do anything and that's how we came up with the title," Paolo explained.
It's his first time directing Julie Anne in a solo project but he has been wanting to work with her for a long time.
Apart from singing, Julie Anne is among the hosts and resident performers of the Sunday show "All Out Sundays". She's also an actress, with the recently concluded nightly romantic-comedy series "Heartful Cafe" as her latest foray into the teleserye landscape. Julie Anne also writes many of her songs in a couple of her releases and albums.
Julie Anne said that there's no comparison with Paolo's dad.
"Naku. Tito Gary is incomparable. He's one of my musical influences. Si Direk Paolo, alam niya yan. Hindi ko alam kung ano mafi-feel e. Lahat ng binibigay sa akin ni Lord, gusto ko siyang i-share. I feel I already found my purpose in life -- it's to share what I have, my experiences, these God-given talents, these skills na pinahiram niya sa akin. I want to use and maximize to relate, connect to people and to just make them happy and entertained in my own little way. Masaya na ako doon," Julie Anne said.
"Limitless" is a three-part musical experience that will see Julie Anne travel the whole Philippines from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The first part "Breathe" will feature Mindanao and will be launched on September 17. She will have Christian Bautista and Jong Madaliday as guests.
"Heal" will be shot in Visayas and is scheduled for release in November while "Rise" will be set in Luzon and is expected to be launched in February 2022.