How Gary V, at 60, can still hold his own vs younger artists
Upon arriving at our table for lunch, Gary Valenciano was served a steaming bowl of hot and sour soup, one of his favorites at this seafood restaurant he frequents in Greenhills.
But just as he was about to dig in, he did a double take and put his spoon down. He reached into his trouser pocket and produced his continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a device that tracks blood sugar levels in real time.
He took the handheld receiver/display and pressed it against a small, round sensor on his left arm. “151 mg/dl,” the screen read—a “little higher than usual.” His target is to keep his numbers below 140, or between the 80 to 120 range, more preferably. But there was nothing to worry about, really, he assured us.
He had been looking forward to the dishes, so he came prepared, he said laughing. For good measure, he put an extra dose of insulin in his wearable pump. “That should kick in eventually, keep things under control,” Valenciano, who has spent 45 years of his life dealing with type 1 diabetes, told Lifestyle, before, at last, taking a spoonful of soup.
Valenciano, 60, wasn’t immediately sold on using a CGM. As if going around with an insulin pump clinging to his belly wasn’t irksome enough, now he has to keep yet another gadget with him. But in 2019—at the urging of his wife and manager, Angeli Pangilinan—he gave it a try. And he’s glad he did.
‘Game changer’
The CGM has been a “game changer,” especially for a live-wire showman like Valenciano, whose physically demanding routines can cause drastic glucose level fluctuations onstage. “Now, I have gotten to a point where I can’t live without it—I have to have it with me all the time now,” he said.
Doing shows “has never been more efficient,” safety- and health-wise. The device, he said, can be connected to a phone, which, in turn, sounds an alarm whenever his blood sugar goes above or below threshold.
Obviously, he can’t have his phone anywhere near him while he sings and dances. So he asks his team to keep his phone within range. And in the event that it starts beeping, they see to it that pineapple or orange juice is within reach to quickly bring his blood sugar up. Conversely, if his level gets too high, they advise him to use his insulin pump.
And funny enough, he has managed to turn his CGM readings into an icebreaker of sorts in his recent concerts. “Sometimes, before an upbeat number, I do a test and make the crowd guess what the result is. If it’s a little high, I just tell them that moving onstage will do the trick. I can joke about it. It makes it easier for me to deal with,” he said.
Before CGM, Valenciano, like most diabetics, used a traditional glucometer—the kind that requires users to prick a finger with a lancet, squeeze out a drop of blood, and put it on a strip. “It gets the job done, but I can’t be doing all that in a show … It can be quite messy. Going from performing to, all of a sudden, doing prick tests doesn’t feel right,” he said.
What used to clue him in back then? There was nothing much he could do, Valenciano said, but rely on instinct. “If I feel tired when I shouldn’t be, or if I feel tired after just a few numbers, that means my level is too low,” he related. “And when I experience a spike, there’s this acidic sensation that starts to form at the back of my throat.”
Scary episodes
But in rare, scarier episodes—like this one instance five years ago—the clue wasn’t evident at all. He just woke up one day, wondering why he was in a hospital bed. It turned out that he had suffered seizures, and then fell asleep with his eyes open as a result of a hypoglycemic crisis.
His glucose level was so low, he said, it didn’t even register on the hospital equipment, which could only give readings as low as 20 mg/dl. “It was my sister who found me. She recalled asking me if I was okay, and apparently I nodded before slouching to the right. And then I just kept on nodding, I was told, even if she was no longer talking to me,” he related. “It was dangerous, and possibly fatal.”
Mercifully, no such thing has ever happened to him during a show. “And it won’t happen now,” stressed the singer-songwriter, who has now turned his attention to the jellyfish salad, which he washed down with a glass of Coke Zero.
Valenciano also faced various life-threatening illnesses later on in life. In May 2018, he underwent a heart bypass surgery. A few weeks later, he had a partial nephrectomy after a kidney cancer diagnosis. In January this year, he had two stents placed in his heart as recommended by his doctors. And have we mentioned that, at different points, he contracted tuberculosis, hepatitis, and COVID-19?
All things considered, it’s nothing short of miraculous that he can still consistently give performances that live up to his moniker, “Mr. Pure Energy.” But while he can still outsing and outdance his contemporaries—and more than hold his own against younger artists—he admits that he’s starting to feel his age.
And seeing the new generation strut their stuff—especially when making guest appearances in their concerts as his way of supporting them—he can’t help but look back at his own younger days. “I just remember when I was that age and could easily prolong the energy,” he said.
Holiday concert
If only he were open to singing over a backing track, at least in the more intricate numbers, it would allow him to just focus on the dancing and visuals. But that’s unthinkable for him. “I have never done that and I won’t begin doing that,” he stressed. “It will help, but the live factor will be compromised. I want to sing live.”
It’s not that he can’t do it anymore; it’s just more taxing for him. Preparation is more careful and structured; recovery takes longer. And while the performances onstage still look as compelling as they always have, he would spend the few breaks he has in his three-hour shows thinking, “This is tiring… The mind says more, but the body, no more.”
The realization prompted him to “end the chapter” of him doing big shows at big venues. In April, he did what could very well be his last solo concert at the Mall of Asia Arena. On Dec. 20 and 22, it will be the Araneta Coliseum’s turn. (Tickets are available on www.ticketnet.com.ph.)
Directed by his son, Paolo Valenciano, “Mr. Pure Energy: One More Time” will follow more or less the same narrative as his previous “One Last Time” concert. But this time, fans can expect a dash of holiday cheer.
“People tell me that they will buy tickets as a Christmas gift for their loved ones,” he related, adding that special guests will include Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, and Darren Espanto, among others.
Starting next year, Valenciano will focus on smaller and more intimate shows where interaction with fans is easier and spontaneous. That’s why he’s determined to give his upcoming Big Dome concert everything he has.
“People will be coming from far and wide to see me. And I always have this attitude of giving the people more than what they paid for—I don’t want them to leave feeling shortchanged,” he said.
And that will only be possible, he said, if he keeps himself in shape. “I work out with my trainer. I make sure that I have free days leading to the show, so I can play golf, go cycling, or simply take care of myself,” he added. “I don’t want to be all spent by the time the concert rolls in.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean he has to deprive himself, though.
Valenciano did another test—142 mg/dl. The numbers went down, just as he expected, he said, grinning and waving the CGM receiver before reaching for a bowl of crispy fish skin slathered with salted egg sauce.
“See, I can eat a little more!”
