Down The Rabbit Hole

After years of staying in the spotlight, Kiana Valenciano is finally basking in the moment.We talk to the artist about her vulnerabilities and motivations that keep her going.

- Nielli Martinez

IN CASE IT ISN’T obvious, life does not come with an instruction manual. No one tells you that you’re going to have to make some of life’s most crucial decisions before you’re even old enough to legally drink liquor, or that you’re going to invest so much of your time and emotions in people who will eventually just become strangers, or that you could be drowned by an overwhelming wave of emptiness, even at a time when everything in your life appears to be in the right place. There are all these situations that nothing and no one ever prepares us for, but we’re thrust into them anyway, and all we’re armed with is the knowledge that the only way to survive is to keep on fighting.

In Kiana Valenciano’s case, nobody warned her about living a life that’s subject to unwarranted criticism and the weight of other people’s expectations. When you’re the child of a multi-hyphenated, multiawarded icon like Mr. Pure Energy himself, it can be difficult to make your own moves because people will only end up comparing them to his. “I was always more careful about how I acted in public, even if it was just laughing too loud or talking too loudly with friends, because I think [people’s] favorite line at that time was, ‘Anak ka pa naman ni Gary V,” Kiana recalls. “He’s not just like an icon, I mean, he’s so influential and inspirational, that as his kid, people expect you to be perfect. People always forget that we’re all human, and I guess it’s been a struggle for me to find my own voice when everyone kind of has this perception of who I’m meant to be.”