MANILA, PHILIPPINES — This holiday season, the nine-piece Filipino folk-pop band Ben&Ben surprised everyone with a music video for their latest single, “Courage,” done in collaboration with creative agency GIGIL Philippines.
Initially released as an acoustic track back in October, the song aspires to bring light to anyone who might need it.
“Courage” is all about persevering despite life’s ups and downs, but with such a strong and hopeful message comes a challenge: sharing it in a way that doesn’t lean towards toxic positivity. “Pinagdadaanan siya ng marami, even within our group most of us are still in the process of overcoming it [challenges],” Ben&Ben explained. “There’s a good message there, but challenge din how to get it across [in a pop song] without being preachy,” the band added.
(“A lot of people go through this, even within our group most of us are still in the process of overcoming struggles. There’s a good message here, but it’s also a challenge for us how to get it across in a pop song without being preachy.”)
The song’s music video, directed by Jorel Lising, features two characters who are facing their own struggles. Little did they know they were being observed by other characters who seemed to be related to them. The full extent of their connection is revealed in an emotional flourish at the end.
The piece is meant to be a mantra, a reminder that success isn’t one-dimensional and that there’s always something better waiting for us beyond our struggles, hence the need to keep going.
The nine-piece band’s values are reflected in their songs, which truly capture the sentiments of Liwanags. Liwanag, or “light” in Tagalog, being the official fandom name of the band.
Just recently, the band was announced to be the first Filipino group to surpass two billion Spotify streams; they currently have 4.8 million monthly listeners on the platform.
The band also expressed gratitude to their co-artists who’ve contributed beautiful and unique stories to the industry. “We also share this with everyone we’ve worked and collaborated with, from day one till now.”
“We’ve all been there,” shared Jake Yrastorza, Managing Partner of GIGIL. “We’ve all been in front of a seemingly insurmountable challenge. And when faced with two options – to march on or give up – we pick the former. And one day, we look back, grateful that we chose right. GIGIL is honored to have collaborated with Ben & Ben on such a meaningful project. May this work inspire more to be brave and carry on!”
“When a person is struggling, he/she thinks there’s no end to it,” added Hope Reyes, Associate Creative Director. “So we created these characters to remind people that you yourself will be grateful that you didn’t give up. Just keep going!”
The project was also done in close cooperation with mental health expert Doc Gia Sison, and local mental health organizations, Padayon PH and Silakbo PH.
