Galing sa magkaibang istasyon at magkatapat pa ang programang kinabibilangan nina Gary Valenciano at Julie Anne San Jose.
Kaya lubos ang tuwa ng dalawang singers na nakapag-collaborate sila sa kantang “Di Ka Akin” ng Universal Records.
Si Gary ay Kapamilya singer na mainstay ng ASAP Natin ‘To, habang si Julie Anne ay Kapuso singer-actress na mainstay ng All-Out Sundays (AOS).
Sa mediacon ng "Di Ka Akin," sinabi naman ni Gary na sa totoo ay hindi isyu sa kanya ang network war.
Masiglang lahad ni Gary: "I'll share with you competition that kept me on my toes for many years. It wasn't station affiliation; it was with this guy named Martin Nievera.
“He was forever my competitor! Now, the thing is, he's a balladeer and I do a lot of upbeat songs and people will compare us all the time.
"And even if we were different, it was the kind of competition that brought out the best in us.
“I think it's the same thing with AOS and ASAP, we're not looking over our shoulders para makita namin kung ano ang ginagawa nila.
“I think they are also doing the same thing—they just know there is another show on the other side and we just have to be on our toes all the time.
“I don't care what anybody says, but at least in my heart, I'm not in ASAP to show who’s better.
“I'm in ASAP to be at my best. And if, in a subconscious way, we do that to the other artist in AOS, it means we’re actually helping each other without knowing it.”
Nagiging daan daw kasi iyon para mas higit na pagbutihin ng bawat show ang entertainment na ihahandog nila sa mga manonood.
“But it's important we have a healthy competition. Otherwise, we get lax, we get overconfident, we can sit back and settle with ‘Okay na yun.’
“Hindi puwede sa ASAP yun, ‘Uy, puwede na iyan.’ Di puwede yun. Then why? Kasi nga may AOS to keep you on your toes all time, but it's healthy.
“When Julie Anne comes up with something great, ‘Nakita mo yun? Ang galing ‘no?’
“We're like that, that's just the way we are and I think that's just healthy.”
Dagdag pa ni Gary tungkol sa isang Kapuso singer na nakakatrabaho niya, “I'm really close to Christian Bautista, we're both officers of OPM, I think that's what it is."
Read: Devon Seron relates unpleasant experience in South Korea
GARY V AND JULIE ANNE'S COLLAB
Nagka-duet sina Gary at Julie Anne sa kantang “Di Ka Akin” na isinulat mismo ng Kapuso singer-actress.
Pareho silang bahagi ng record label na Universal Records Philippines, pero ngayon lang sila direktang nagkatrabaho.
Ibinahagi ni Gary ang naging journey ng kanta at kung paano siya napapayag na gawin ito.
Pagmamalaki ni Gary, ang “Di Ka Akin” ay iba sa mga teleserye theme songs na nakasanayang kinakanta niya ngayon, o sa mga kantang napasikat niya noon.
"When I first heard about it, I didn't hear the song yet. The first thing that came in my mind was ‘Game!’
"Because, you know, when we talk about the artists at the level of Julie Anne, these are artists who don't come up with a song for the sake of coming up with a song.
“They come up with something that stems from somewhere, and I found out that she's gonna write the song.
“When Angeli [Pangilinan-Valenciano, Gary's wife] sent me the song, when we heard it, we were like, ‘Wow!’
“It wasn't like, ‘Is it nice or not nice?’ It was more, like, ‘Bagay ka ba sa ganito, Gary, o hindi?’
“Kasi it's a love song. How do you put somebody her age and my age together doing a love song like this?
“But things worked out, it really worked out."
Kuwento pa ni Mr. Pure Energy, ang isa pang hamon ay ang pagtatagpo ng schedule nila ni Julie Anne.
"When I heard the song, it was just a matter of time, which was a problem because both of us have completely different schedules.
“I was touring, I left for the U.S. She had the song ready and she was also doing stuff, she did Limitless. It's award-winning pa.
"You can tell it's an example of how much an artist like her put into what they believe in.
“I didn't want to just say yes. Sige, let's just do it for the sake of 'Hey, it's something new.'
“So what I did, I presented it to Mon Faustino as an arranger, very flexible kind of arranger.
“He did an initial arrangement. And I told Julie Anne, ‘Listen, if there's anything you want changed in this, you just say so.'
“Again, being the artist that she is, she said what she wanted. So it went back to Mon Faustino, and he redid it. And then next thing I knew, I had the music na here in this music studio.
“Of course, medyo ako lang mag-isa ang nandito sa bahay when I'm recording it. All the lights were dim, it's just me hearing the voice of Julie Anne because she already has it recorded. And for me, that, in a nutshell, is how everything came together."
RECORDING THE SONG SEPARATELY
Aminado si Gary na malaking hamon na hindi sila sabay ni Julie Anne na nag-record ng kanta.
“It took a long time to record the vocals kasi, yun nga, the schedule is really tight.
“My ideal scenario would have been na sabay kami sa isang studio where I can hear what she's doing and she can hear what I am doing and then we can both pitch in and all.
“But we have to rely on our being artists and being able to feel what each one wanted to say, even if we are not together for the recording.
“It would be hard also kasi, at that time, medyo mahigpit pa rin ang protocols, so it wouldn't be safe for us to be together in the studio.
“That’s what makes it sweeter, na heto yung kinalabasan, ito yung resulta ng ganyang klaseng sistema."
Lahad pa ni Gary: “Siyempre, with me, I have to be very honest. But I was at home waiting for the material to come, and then I saw the e-mail na nandiyan na yung demo.
“It was a rough edit, different tracks—one track was the minus one, one track was the voice of Julie Anne, and one track was the guide vocal of Mon Faustino.
“Parang medyo hesistant ako na marinig yung boses ni Julie Anne kasi feeling ko, ‘Gary, you said yes, okay. So no matter what you hear, it's a challenge for you to keep up with it. Sorry ka na lang, you have to keep up.’
“But it was nice, e. Sabi ko, ‘Tama ito, e.’ It's not a teleserye theme song kind of feel, it's not the old sound that I used to have, it's nice.
“It's nice to come in front of the microphone and feel na parang di ako nagtatrabaho. I just wanted to do it.
“I remember coming here, setting it up, and then in the middle of the song with my vocal chords getting a little tired, I take a break for a few minutes.
“I'm so tempted to tell some people here, ‘Gusto ninyong marinig?’ But I didn't want kasi maraming sigurado na magsasabi, ‘E, ba't ang lakas ng boses mo? E, ba't mahina ang boses niya?’
“They won't understand that. Only artists would know what we need and what we want and what we are recording. How nice just to see how everything came together and now here's the result."
Kapansin-pansin din sa music video ng “Di Ka Akin” na simple ang pagkakagawa ng visuals, at mas pokus ang kanta sa musika nito.
“About the video, there was really an intention to keep the video simple so that the music is really what would speak.
“Of course, [it also highlights] the couple and what they went through and I know many people have gone through. I think the video successfully does that."
NOTHING BUT GOOD WORDS FOR JULIE ANNE
Bago pa nakatrabaho ni Gary si Julie Anne, positibo na ang feedback na naririnig ni Gary mula sa anak na si Paolo Valenciano tungkol sa Kapuso singer-actress.
Si Paolo ang nagdirek ng Limitless musical trilogy ni Julie Anne.
Read: GMA-7 kinilala ang talento ni Julie Anne San Jose sa Limitless musical trilogy
Nagmarka rin sa beteranong singer ang performance ni Julie Anne ng “Pitik Bulag” na bahagi ng album ni Gary na Awit at Laro.
Isa iyong album kunsaan ang beneficiary ng proceeds ay para sa programa ng UNICEF na naglalayong makaengganyo sa mga batang maglaro sa labas at hindi lang panay gadgets ang alam.
Patuloy ni Gary: "Unfortunately, that was sometime in 2018, and that's when I went through my whole health challenge.
“But she went into the studio. She went I think with Mon or Jonathan Manalo.
“Pero ang pagsabi sa akin was, tinanong ko kung sino ang gumawa ng mga back-up vocals, ‘Ay, Sir, si Julie Anne po ang nag-asikaso ng lahat niyan.’
“’Seryoso ka? Siya ang nag-isip ng lahat niyan?’ ‘Opo, Sir.’
“Okay, all the more, the feeling na, ‘Tama ito, buti na lang naisama siya sa album na ito.’
“Now she's not part of my album, but I'm part of a song of hers, a duet.
“Excited ako kasi di ako ang nagsulat nito, e, so I'm really treading on new ground. Kasi usually it's a song that I wrote or co-wrote, but it's her song. Mukha namang bumagay naman what I did."