Struggling to fully feel the season of love? Here’s Ben&Ben to save you.
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If there are people that have been showing us the true meaning of love recently, it’s the nine-piece alternative pop band Ben&Ben. Apart from their heartrending songs (more of that later), the members of the award-winning band have been melting our hearts lately with their love stories that give us more reason to believe in forever.
Just days ago, Paolo Benjamin Guico, one-half of the vocalist twins, tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Karelle Bulan in a dreamy church wedding. And just before welcoming the new year, Ben&Ben band members Agnes Reoma and Pat Lasaten finally made their engagement Instagram official, winning the hearts of everyone. Yes, it turns out that not only is Ben&Ben great at making love songs, they apparently also do well in making successful love stories.
Ben&Ben be really making us go, sana all. But hey, whatever relationship status you’re in right now, you’ll still get to celebrate, reminisce, or just contemplate about love through, yes, the love songs of Ben&Ben. Whether it’s complicated or you’re reveling in your contentment era, here are the Ben&Ben tracks that will leave your hearts fluttering for all the right reasons.
PANININDIGAN KITA
While receiving “mahal kita” feels great, having someone tell you “paninindigan kita” hits especially different. These are the exact emotional coordinates Ben&Ben targets in their single, Paninindigan Kita. First released in April of last year and the first song the indie-folk band wrote since the pandemic, Paninindigan Kita is about fighting for love whatever it takes. And with a music video that’s inspired by the love story of band’s pianist Agnes and bassist Pat and their real-life experiences of standing up to queer relationships, Paninindigan Kita ultimately is a musical piece about a love that will always win.
KATHANG ISIP
Have you ever wondered about a love that could have been? Currently the most streamed Ben&Ben anthem on Spotify, Kathang Isip muses about an unrequited love. Paolo shares in a tweet that it is inspired by his own emotional and painful experience of a relationship that did not work out. Kathang Isip is what follows after this, something he has written in the process of moving on and letting go. Battling the same struggles? Kathang Isip is for you.
PASALUBONG FT. MOIRA DELA TORRE
Perhaps the scariest thing about love is its first step: confession. And Ben&Ben’s Pasalubong, a collaboration song with hugot queen Moira dela Torre, brings us all the terrifying, exciting, and wistful feels of professing one’s feelings to that special someone. A word that can both mean “gift” and “to meet,” Pasalubong is the perfect poetic companion that you can have in your romantic longing and frustrations.
UPUAN
Taking you back to that high school puppy love you can’t forget is Ben&Ben’s bright, dreamy, and nostalgic Upuan. The first track in the folk-pop outfit’s sophomore album, Upuan evokes the giddiness and romantic tension of young love and transports you back to that classroom, beach, or restaurant where your heart has beaten differently for the first time.
THE ONES WE ONCE LOVED
For those who have had their hearts broken by a relationship that suddenly ended and are still in search of a proper closure, Ben&Ben’s international ballad The Ones We Once Loved is just the right track. Paolo describes this emotive ballad as one of the most vulnerable songs he’s ever written that chronicles his and his ex’s journey towards healing, peace, and “respect for the past.” More so, while this breakup anthem achingly reminisces the pain of it all, it is also about being responsible in a commitment, owning up to one’s mistakes and making proper apologies.
LIFETIME
Ben&Ben is giving you the sign to shoot your shot now before it’s too late with Lifetime. Released at the height of the pandemic, Lifetime is inspired by a fan’s Youtube comment about a lost chance at beautiful love after being scared to express her true feelings for her best friend who, after eight long years and during his wedding, reveals that he has once secretly loved her too. What a silly and cruel thing called love, right?
ARAW-ARAW
Showing us what true love means, Ben&Ben’s Araw-Araw captures the magical feeling of being so love-struck you can’t imagine spending your days without that special person. Araw-Araw became a hit back in 2019 when it was featured (and won an award) as one of the original songs of the musical romantic drama film LSS, which starred Kahlil Ramos, Gabbi Garcia, and yes, Ben&Ben themselves. Oh, and just in time for Valentine’s Day, Araw-Araw is also the inspiration for a new short film led by Gen Z love team Kyline Alcantara and Mavy Legaspi about a love that flourishes and strengthens day by day.
SA SUSUNOD NA HABANG BUHAY
Ben&Ben attacks us yet again with another tender creation about broken promises and that greatest what-if in Sa Susunod Na Habang Buhay. If there’s anything that this stand-alone mellow ballad foregrounds the most, it’s how transcendent love can be. Even if it turns out hurtful and bitter in the end, love will always make us continue the journey. This is the affecting poetry of Sa Susunod na Habang Buhay. Couple this with an enthralling music video featuring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla and a dreamlike storyline and you’re in for an inexplicably poignant experience.
PAGTINGIN
Another LSS-inducing Ben&Ben hit song that’s been tugging at our heartstrings for years now is Pagtingin. Now a part of every Filipino’s romantic playlist, Pagtingin is particularly resonant because of its relatable message about the frustrations and anxieties of getting romantically attached to someone; that feeling where you’re too overcome with feelings but you’re too shy to take that big leap and the risk of, well, falling in love.
But whether or not you’ve found the right one, Pagtingin will still make you feel its magic, especially through its music video featuring reel- and real-life couple Khalil and Gabbi that’s now Ben&Ben’s most-viewed MV of all time.
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