It is the lead single in an upcoming ’90s
rom-com inspired album
FILIPINO singer-songwriter Kiana V has dropped her latest single, “Falling Out,” an emotional R&B track off her upcoming album.
The song is meant to empower women everywhere by plunging into the quiet chaos of toxic love, the kind that “lingers long after it should have ended.” Ms. Valenciano (yes, she is the daughter of “Mr. Pure Energy,” Gary V) was inspired by her own experience with love.
For her, hearing her friends share similar stories about toxic patterns in relationships pushed her to write a song about it.
“A lot of my friends are still single and they’re still dating. There was a point where we were all telling stories, and they were talking about situations of theirs that mirrored something I’ve gone through,” she said at a virtual press conference on June 4.
“I found it interesting that we’re at different phases of our lives, and it’s crazy that we share this story even if it’s with different people. We’re just a group of girls who all went through the same thing,” she explained.
Set against dreamy instrumentation and gliding, sensual production, “Falling Out” draws from the late 1990s, early 2000s R&B style. Ms. Valenciano cited icons like Kyla, Brandy, Christina Aguilera, JoJo, and Aaliyah as her primary influences.
“Every time I’m in the studio, even if the beat is more pop-leaning or acoustic, the way that I write the melodies and the manner in which I sing and project ends up going back to those girls,” she shared.
The soulful new track also reflects how the upcoming album will tackle her fascination with 1990s romcoms that depict women as “hopeless romantics.”
“It makes for good entertainment, but you wouldn’t wish it on anyone!” Ms. Valenciano said. “I’m quite intrigued by how they’re always so consumed by a man. That’s what’s going to connect all the tracks on this album.”
She added that “letting go of a bad cycle” will unite the album’s 10 tracks, a topic that will surely change as she grows as a singer-songwriter. “Now that I’m married, that’ll shift over the next two years. Music is my way of making sense of what I go through in life.” Ms. Valenciano married US-based Lisandro “Sandro” Tolentino in a secret ceremony in 2023, and announced that she was married a year later.
On the support of her father, she expressed sincere gratitude.
“My dad is very much doing his own thing. The only involvement he has is when I’m done with a song, I send it to him,” Ms. Valenciano said. “He’s a cheerleader and I love that.”
“I’ll never forget the first time that I told him I wanted to pursue music. The shock on his face — I wish I had taken a photo of it. Now it’s nice to share it with him.”
“Falling Out” is out now on all digital music streaming platforms. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
