Closure is a complicated thing. For some, it requires some sort of verbal agreement that things are really over. For others, it’s a one-sided moment that can give them a sense of peace and acceptance. But most would agree that it’s something that is hard to talk about, thus, the popularity of heartbreak and moving on themes in movies and songs in the Philippines.

To further translate our feelings into song lyrics, Ben&Ben recently released a new song entitled The Ones We Once Loved — a song “that owns up to one’s faults, makes proper apologies, but also expresses hurt, as breakups are often two-way things”.

Released under Sony Music, their new single is a quietly startling confessional that sounds emotionally impactful even in its apparent weightlessness. Written by Ben&Ben’s very own Paolo Benjamin, the track builds its staircase to somewhere personal and intimate, offering a unique perspective on love, forgiveness, and breakup.

Listen to it here:

When things got heavy, and you expected more from me,
I tried to be there to take away your tears.
But I didn’t notice that I was chipping away at pieces of myself
‘til there was nothing left to give
I didn’t even want to live

#Relate? Even the entire band admits that it was one of the hardest songs that they’ve written! In a statement, Ben&Ben notes that “It requires the writer to forgive himself for his past and own up to his faults and mistakes. The painstaking process towards that state, the cycles of anxiety and catharsis that the writer went through, and the eventual expression of all of that in the form of this song, as an encapsulation of such a heavy journey, is what makes this song stand out among our other songs.”

Produced by Johnoy Danao and Jean Paul Verona, the song takes a deceptively stripped-down approach in terms of musicality, but careful not to lose the earnestness that defined their recent hits. According to the folk-pop outfit, they wanted to keep the arrangement as bare and as transparent as possible while still maintaining a certain depth, weight, and storytelling within instrumentation.

“We often hear (closure) a lot but we don’t get enough closure in our lives. I guess ang gustong sabihin ng kantang ‘to, minsan (mayroong) mga taong dumadaan sa buhay natin, ‘di para magstay, ngunit para may maidulot na lesson – bitter or sweet, who knows, but lessons nonetheless in our lives,” explains Paolo Benjamin during their press interview.

The members also addressed speculations that they’re disbanding after their “send-off concert”. It’s actually a despedida for their US Tour. The Ones We Once Loved serves as Ben&Ben’s official single in support of their Philippine send-off concert and North America/Canada Tour in 2022. It also marks their first collaboration with globally renowned photographer Geloy Concepcion, whose work was recently featured in Vogue Magazine, and other notable publications and exhibits worldwide. 

Something about the song makes me feel sad but I’m super proud of Ben&Ben! You may have seen them in our posts since Coke Studio days back in 2019 and we’ll continue to support them, in the years to come.

Congratulations, Ben&Ben! May your dreams of doing a collab with the likes of Adele and Bruno mars come true!

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