20 songs that mean a lot to Gary V.

First, a "flash" report: Gary Valenciano has just been named The Most Influential Artist today in a consumer survey done by Nokia.com.ph website. Is there any second placer or third placer? None. Gary is the only winner.

The unexpected victory is very "relevant" because his latest album entitled Relevance has just been released by Universal Records in cooperation with GV Productions, Inc. and Manila Genesis Entertainment.

Gary’s first all-original album in 10 years includes his well-loved songs like Eto Na Naman, Di Bale Na Lang, Wag Mo Sanang Isipin, What More Can I Say, Sana Maulit Muli, Shout For Joy, Take Me Out of the Dark, Even For a While, Sana Bukas, In Another Lifetime, Only a Friend, You Gave Me Reason and You Are, plus Gary’s dance songs.

To be relevant to the tunes of the times, Funfare asked Gary to make a list of the 20 songs that mean a lot to him. Listen...

1. Take Me Out of the Dark – "My first inspirational composition and it speaks to me even up to now."

2. Break Me – "I wrote it in 2005, inspired by (the late Universal Records lady boss) Bella Tan. I made her listen to it 20 minutes before she died. She was sitting down pa. She felt tired and then her husband, Jack Tan, said, ‘O, sige, Bella will rest first.’ Bella closed her eyes and she never opened them again."

3. Could You Be Messiah? – "One of my most powerful tools when I sing abroad. I wrote the music and Freddie Santos, the lyrics. It has a great impact on the audience."

4. God and God Alone – "The song, written by Steve Green, was introduced to me by my friend who’s a pastor now. It’s an awesome song. It says that everything I have and everything I do, it’s all because of God and God alone."

5. There’s No Easy Way – "By James Ingram. A line from that song says, There’s no easy way to break somebody’s heart. It’s true. There really is no easy way to break somebody’s heart. Have I broken somebody’s heart? Oh, yes, I have. A long time ago."

6. Just Once – "Another James Ingram song. It was my audition piece for Kundirana. I told my first girlfriend at that time (Not Angeli Pangilinan, his wife. – RFL) that I wrote the song and she believed me."

7. The Warrior is a Child – "People think that I wrote it. I did not. It was Twila Paris who wrote it. I first heard it in 1985, one of the very first inspirational songs that I had heard, and I said, ‘Someday, I’m going to record that song.’ I sang it at the wake of Rico Yan."

8. Historia de un Amor – "Did you know that I did a duet of that song with my mom (Grimilda Santiago)? It became a part of my Viva album called One to One. Mom always wanted me to sing. When my family and I moved to Antipolo in 1986, my studio was brand new. I said, ‘Mom, can I test you?’ She said, ‘Okay.’ She sang Historia de un Amor, Years later, I rearranged her recording and made it into a duet (Just like what Natalie Cole did with Unforgettable with her late father Nat King Cole. – RFL)."

9. For Always – "It’s by Josh Groban and Celine Dion... or was it Lara Fabian?... from the movie Artificial Intelligence. It’s a beautiful song and I hope to do it with Regine (Velasquez) someday."

10. I Am – "Another inspirational song by Nicole Nordman. It’s about God’s faithfulness even to women. It’s the story of a girl, from the time she’s little to the time she’s a teenager and when she falls in love and gets married, and she grows old. God always responds the same way anytime she calls. God’s answer is always the same, ‘Yes, I am, and I will see you through.’ I hope to do it on stage one day with four women, preferably my daughter Kiana, Nikki Gil, Vina Morales and Kuh Ledesma or Zsa Zsa Padilla."

11. I Will Wait for You (theme song of the 1964 movie The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, directed by Jacques Demy, which won top prize at the Cannes Film Festival) – "I used to listen to my mom sing that song when I was a kid playing with my toys. Everytime I hear that song I remember my mom."

12. As Sure As I’m Standing Here – "By Barry Manilow. The song reminds me of my brother. When Manilow was here for a concert, he told me, ‘I’ll do for you a song that didn’t become a hit anywhere else but in the Philippines.’ When he sang it, I cried because I remembered my family."

13. Shout for Joy – "I also composed it. It broke the barrier of inspirational music. People kasi thought that an inspirational song was always solemn and quiet. This song kind of changed the way people look at inspirational music."

14. Any old song by James Taylor – "I don’t sound anything like him but James Taylor is one of my personal favorites. His songs remind me of my childhood."

15. After the Love is Gone – "By Earth, Wind and Fire, another personal favorite of mine."

16. A Fool ‘Til the End – "One of the songs I wrote for my first album. I was willing to be a fool for Angeli. You know, she’s older than me and I was kid and I thought there was no way she would fall in love with me. But she did. A line from the song goes, A fool am I it seems, ’coz I’ll be loving you in my dreams until I wake up and then, time is not our friend and I will just be a fool ‘til the end."

17. When I Hear You Call –"My latest song, unreleased. First time I sang it live was Sunday night at the PBB Reunion show in Aliw Theater. I was glad I was able to hit my target market which is the youth. I wrote that song inspired by the scarred and wounded beautiful souls of the young today."

18. Shake It Off – "Another new song, included in my new album Relevance. Also inspirational in nature. It talks about shaking off what we don’t need – you know, excess emotional baggage and all that."

19. Come to Jesus – "It’s best to listen to the song when you’re alone. It will hit you in the heart, bull’s-eye! A line goes, Like a new-born baby, don’t be afraid to crawl; and remember when you walk, sometimes you fall. So, come to Jesus..."

20. A toss-up between Di Na Natuto (composed by APO Danny Javier) and Sana Maulit Muli – "Di Na Natuto started me off in my career. I wrote Sana Maulit Muli originally in English for Julie Vega (The teenstar who died in l988. – RFL), translated by Angeli into Tagalog. When I was writing it, Angeli and I had a big argument and she flew to Korea (with Lou Bonnevie). When she came back, she listened to the song and everything was all right again."

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