If K-pop is dominating charts all over the world, it seems like one OPM indie-folk pop band is dominating South Korea with their music and that is none other than 9-member group Ben&Ben.
Ben&Ben is the brainchild of the Guico twins, Paolo and Miguel, and former bandmate Ben Sasis in 2015.
Their rise to fame started to escalate after they won 2nd Runner Up and Best Music Video at the PhilPop Music Festival in 2016 for the song. “Tinatangi.” This led the band to expand the group into nine members and even sign a record label under Warner Music Philippines.
Since then, Ben&Ben has been reaching a wider audience with their lyrics and melody through their hit songs such as “Leaves,” “Maybe the Night,” and “Pagtingin” that not only captivated local fans but also a few Korean idols along the way.
Ben&Ben, formerly “The Benjamins,” is an indie-folk pop band formed by brothers Paolo and Miguel Guico. They have nine members all together including Poch Barreto (electric guitar), Jam Villanueva (drums), Agnes Reoma (bass), Patricia Lasaten (keyboards), Toni Munoz and Andrew de Pano (percussions), and Keifer Cabugao (violin).
The band, which was formed in 2015, is known for their popular hits like “Ride Home,” “Leaves,” “Pagtingin,” and “Kathang Isip.” They've won several awards such as Band of the Year at the 6th MOR Pinoy Music Awards and Best Original Theme Song at the 2019 Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards.
In 2020, Ben&Ben announced that they will be releasing their first international single titled “Doors” which earned the 29th spot at the Billboard's Top 50 Social Chart. Currently, they have one studio album titled “Limasawa Street” and an Extended Play album titled “Ben&Ben.”
Red Velvet member Wendy first listened to the OPM band's “Maybe the Night” on May 11, 2020, after a fan with a username of “Dinniebear” posted the song recommendation on the app Lysn.
Upon hearing the song, Wendy replied, “OMG! Their voice is so beautiful! Oh my. Thank you for your beautiful recommendation.”
The Boyz member Jacob described “Maybe the Night” as a “beautiful song” on their fan cafe.
NCT Dream member Chenle played the Ben&Ben song “Leaves” on a Korean Radio show and dedicated the song to a Filipino NCTzen who requested it.
ASTRO's Cha Eun-woo stunned Filipino fans when he performed “Kathang Isip” during his fan meeting in Manila in 2019.
NCT Dream member Renjun played Ben&Ben's “God Sent” at a radio show and said that its “a nice song.”
DAY6 member Young K played the song “Leaves” after a fan recommended it to him. During a live stream, Young K said the song was “amazing” and was surprised at how good the group sounded.
When asked for a potential collab, the idol said, “Of course, anytime! I'd be honored [to do a collab with them] because they're amazing.”
NCT member Mark played the “Leaves” during a V Live session on July 22.
Upon listening to the first verse, the K-pop idol simply said, “Oh wow, everyone [listen to] the emotion [of the song].”
On July 22, the indie-folk pop band dominated the Melon Search Charts after Young K and Mark Lee mentioned the band's name in their respective live streams.
On July 25, TWICE members Momo and Sana played the OPM band's song titled “Leaves.” During the live stream, Momo said the song is good and added that ONCEs have great taste in music.
Ben&Ben appreciated the kind gesture and made a shoutout on their Instagram, thanking TWICE for complimenting their music.
On August 12, GOT7 member Bambam also played “Leaves” during his VLive. The Thailand native said he liked the song and will add it to his playlist.
NCT leader Taeyong jammed to Ben&Ben's "Pagtingin" after a couple of his Filipino fans suggested he look up the band.
For his live stream back in July, M.O.N.T. leader Narachan played a snippet of Ben&Ben's “Lifetime” and ended up liking the song.
With their success in making waves in the Korean music scene, Ben&Ben was tapped by telecommunications brand SMART to create the theme song for their latest advertisement starring real-life couple Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin.
As a way of saying “thank you” to these idols, Ben&Ben uploaded their version of some of the K-pop group's most popular songs.