Award-winning Filipino band, Ben&Ben dropped their new single, “Lifetime” on June 4 (Thursday) via Sony Music.
The intricately produced, folk-pop ballad was written as a response to a fan’s YouTube comment on their hit song “Pagtingin,” which to date, has amassed more than a hundred million streams on YouTube and Spotify combined.
The fan, who goes by the alias of “Anne Jou,” shared her story of regretting not being able to express her feelings because she was afraid to lose the friendship.
“…instead of telling him what I actually felt, I hid and buried my feelings. And you know what happens to feelings that are buried? They grow. The like I felt for him became love. I wrote poems, songs. After 8 years, I attended his wedding [last] January. And guess what? The world is really overly-cruel. Before his wedding, he thanked me for being his best friend and told me that before he met the girl he got married to, he loved me first. For 5 years. But he was also scared of losing me so he just decided to keep it. I was shocked and I slightly had anger towards the world. We didn't know that if only one of us dared to make a move, a lifetime was waiting for us. So people, while you can, please express how you really feel so that in the end you won't regret anything.”
The nine-piece collective decided to make song inspired by a fan’s online confession—a proof of how powerful and moving words can be, when shared from a place of earnestness and raw honesty.
Notwithstanding the technical limitations and struggles in recording brought about by the pandemic, Ben&Ben pulled through in a few days and finished the song in their respective homes with just their instruments and a studio software.
The intimate recording session led to what is “Lifetime” now: an emotionally affecting song that leaves us wondering, what could have happened if we only mustered the courage to admit our feelings to the person we’re pining for, regardless of the outcome?
“Lifetime” was mixed by veteran sound engineer JP Verona, and mastered by Grammy Award-winning Leon Zervos (Pink, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Beastie Boys, and Willie Nelson). It was written by Miguel Benjamin and Paolo Benjamin, and recorded and produced by Ben&Ben.
Ben&Ben’s “Lifetime” has been released on all digital platforms worldwide last June 4.
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