Inside Paolo Valenciano’s Rise as P-pop’s Most In-Demand Concert Director

Walking inside the empty halls of SM lighting, no bustling crowds — feels unusual; an eye-opening experience, to say the least. This is where I met concert director Paolo Valenciano, vocalist of metal band Salamin and son of Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano.

Valenciano fondly recalls the first time he was plucked from the audience and into the backstage, watching his father perform and marveling at the effort behind the production: the lights, the coordination, and the blocking. It was his father’s 20th anniversary concert in 2004 at the Araneta Coliseum.

But Valenciano didn’t begin concert directing until Jericho Rosales asked him to handle his Valentines show in 2011. He initially turned it down, but Rosales wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. The opportunity eventually led to directing a concert for his father, and, naturally, he couldn’t say no. He has since grown as the invisible hand behind every concert production, having learned the ins and outs of mounting a musical spectacle, no matter how ambitious the idea. At the time of this interview, Valenciano was preparing for SB19’s biggest concert yet at the SMDC Concert Festival Grounds.

“When you do a concert, you just have to entertain the people and make sure they have a good time listening to your music,” Valenciano says, although he admits it’s never as easy as that across the music industry. Especially, when in reality, the final product obscures the moving parts. 

How Paolo Valenciano Handles Unreasonable Requests

Valenciano himself switches from meeting to meeting, reviewing one setup proposal to another, and constantly spotting potential issues before they become problems. Then there’s also a lot of convincing behind the scenes to get someone to bet on a production.

“Sometimes, it’s so difficult to try and just convince people that you have to invest millions of pesos in this crazy idea.” And when he does find funding, he still has to make investors happy without compromising his creative vision. “If I find something baduy or something super subjective, I can’t tell them, ‘Don’t do this because this idea sucks.’ I will look for a flaw and I’ll be like ‘Oh my gosh, we cannot put them on that platform because it is not safe,’” he says, and most of the time, it is a safety issue. “But a lot of times they have these unreasonable requests.”

It’s rarely a straightforward process and nonstop convincing. Management may prefer one sequence, while sponsors push for another segment, creating a constant push and pull that requires compromise, which eventually leads them to a greater purpose.

“I feel like P-pop is on a mission to get global recognition. And when you work with these artists, not just SB19, not just BINI, not just Alamat — who is also one of my favorites — we need people around the world to hear us,” he says. “I think they’re aware enough or they know that people are looking at them to be the ones that will explode. And we’ve seen it recently with BINI. That was a massive accomplishment,” referring to the girl group’s Coachella debut.

Valenciano gives us a tour of SM Mall of Asia Arena, pointing out key areas, letting us see the finer details of the venue. At one point, he stands in the middle, looks up, and realizes that his main inspiration behind the concerts he directs is theme parks.

And in a way, concerts are kind of like a well-oiled ride. “You’re dealing with so many moving parts: with the artist, the management, the production team, the technical team, the creatives, the marketing, the sponsors. There are so many people involved that one small mistake can really affect the entire show. And that’s something people don’t really see from the outside.” If all parts are regularly serviced and maintained, a ride should go smoothly, and everyone has a good time.

Special thanks to SM MOA ARENA AND GO LIVE ASIA

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