30, the new album from global superstar Adele is available everywhere. The highly anticipated album was preceded by the release of several tracks including lead single “Easy On Me,” which has commandeered the #1 position on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart since it was released four weeks ago. The single has also broken streaming, radio and chart records around the world. Adele also premiered three additional songs, “I Drink Wine,” “Hold On” and “Love Is A Game” during her recent Adele One Night Only TV special. The TV special was the most viewed entertainment program this year, drawing even a larger audience than The Oscars.

30 is being heralded by critics as Adele’s finest album to date. Rolling Stone exclaimed “Adele has never sounded more ferocious” in their 5-star review of the album. They went on to definitively say “30 is the Best Adele Album Yet.” Variety agreed and described 30 as “a richer, more compelling collection that feels like her best.” Clash called the album “a work of personal and artistic triumph,” and I-D noted “no one does it better.”

30 is produced with Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Shellback, Tobias Jesso Jr, Inflo and Ludwig Göransson. 30 is available at all physical and digital retailers globally. In addition, exclusive configurations will be available at select retailers nationwide including a Target deluxe CD featuring three bonus tracks and a Walmart clear exclusive double vinyl. An Amazon white exclusive double vinyl will be available globally. 30 and lead single “Easy On Me” will also be offered on cassette, exclusive to Adele’s D2C store while supplies last. The album is available on all digital platforms.

 

Aside from churning out modern rock classics that carve a special place in our collective consciousness, Sponge Cola has always been adept in capturing the divine feeling of romantic high, the cautionary tale that comes after, and the journey caught in between the respective timelines.

The “Siguro Nga” hitmakers have mastered the art of helming the soundtrack of our lives with universal appeal, and this time, they are putting a uniquely captivating but relatable spin on the ‘love song’ format with the release of their new single “Labis-labis” via Sony Music Philippines.

According to guitarist Erwin "Armo" Armovit, their latest single is all about the “overflowing, overwhelming joy of being fully yourself with someone,” and was written from a sincere, heartwarming place. “Love is an inexhaustible source of inspiration that takes countless forms; and songs are stories set to music. Every person experiences love differently, but every person experiences love.”

Having redefined stories about romance and defeat from varying lenses, Sponge Cola refuses to pin down their songwriting sensibilities with a one-dimensional approach. As bassist Gosh Dilay puts it, “With love songs, there is always a new angle/new dimension to explore.”

True to its core, “Labis-labis” works because beyond its gloriously cinematic chorus and inescapable verses, the song is specifically made to describe a moment—fleeting, short, but resonant to the experiences of the people around us, most especially those that chose to accept and reciprocate love in various shapes and forms, regardless of its possible consequences. Dilay perfectly sums up this emotional retreat into words, “it’s the gleeful feeling of excitement upon seeing someone you love, after being away for so long. Or even just after a brief period. That’s the magic of the song.”

Recording “Labis-labis” turned out to be fun and exciting for Sponge Cola, even if it has undergone the most transformations out of any songs that they’ve previously worked on. “The song started as a mid-tempo, all acoustic ballad and continuously evolved into its current state as we played it together as a band and incorporated modern arrangement ideas from our producer, Joey Santos.” Armovit said, “We had to play the song repeatedly and listen to really figure out what it needed and where it wanted to go.”

The track brought their funk on, albeit in a subtle way, while retaining the unapologetic pop smarts infused in the arrangement. The arrangements also took a more interesting direction music-wise, making it little more rocking and special.

Sponge Cola’s “Labis-labis” is out now on all digital platforms worldwide via Sony Music Philippines.

 

Ben&Ben are set to make the impossible possible by headlining The Inevitable Drone Show—the first of its kind to feature a music performance with drone lights show illuminating the Manila skyline in synchronized fashion.

Presented by SMART 5G, the eco-friendly and innovative show will surely grab headlines as Rizal Park and its nearby areas will get to experience the modern lights show LIVE on February 28 (Sunday) at exactly 7pm. It will also simultaneously air on Ben&Ben’s official Facebook page.

To accompany the picturesque storytelling in the sky, the award-winning Filipino collective will be performing an extended version of “Inevitable”—the acclaimed song that was used as a soundtrack and a music score for SMART 5G’s romantic sci-fi TVC featuring Korean drama superstars, Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin.

For their part, Ben&Ben immediately said yes to participating in this initiative that explores the creative possibilities of aerial entertainment, easily becoming the first Filipino band to mount a drone show.

“The first and probably the most immediate reason why we accepted this project is because it merges different forms of art with technology to create a one-of-a-kind experience for our audience,” vocalist and guitarist Paolo Benjamin shares in a statement. “Some of us have experienced drone shows before, but only set to pre-existing songs and records. The opportunity to actually score and record the music and live performance to one such show was something we could just not pass up on.”

Ben&Ben’s percussionist Andrew De Pano takes pride in the fact that the nine-piece outfit are also involved with the visual aspects of the drone show, and not just the music itself. “The mere fact that it’s a drone show is definitely a first big difference,” Andrew says. “We also had to base our music performance solely on a storyboard, which was a new experience compared to the usual scoring of a commercial with more or less final video footage to reference off of. We hope that with the work we put into it, the audience experiences the story of our song Inevitable, set to a unique visual experience that even we are especially excited for.”

The Inevitable Drone Show is a collaboration between SMART 5G and Ben&Ben.

‘Inevitable,’ the song that Ben&Ben will be performing, is out now on all digital platforms worldwide via Sony Music.

 

While it was important for Smart to grant wishes of its subscribers when it comes to bringing consumers closer to their foreign idols, the latest Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin TVC presented an opportunity to put a Filipino band behind the soundtrack and musical scoring.


Here’s where Ben&Ben comes in, providing “Inevitable,” the song that is heard in the background while Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin pursue each other in this romantic-sci-fi TVC.

With lyrics inspired by real-life events, Ben&Ben members simply happen to be CLOY fans as well. In a collaboration set to motion by the band, Smart, and Sony Music, things started falling into place when it came to lending soundtrack and musical score for this collaborative campaign.

In an official statement released by Sony Music, lead singer Paolo Benjamin said, “Inevitable is a song that tries to describe the nature of fate, and how all our actions somehow lead us to some better place that is destined for us. It’s also a song about being real with someone, and that no matter how scary that may seem at times, there is freedom in baring your truest nature with someone dear to you, even if that someone is yourself.”


Miguel Benjamin added, “The songwriting in itself presents a concept of the state that is both a surreal mystery and a peaceful certainty, so we wanted to create an aural representation of what these lyrics felt like. Our process started with a mix of acoustic guitars, which I tweaked with sitar effects as the main intro riff; kind of like a representation of the two contrasting feelings working together.”



About the Smart 5G Campaign

The TVC, which serves as a joint project top-billed by Korean drama stars Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin, is part of the new Smart 5G campaign to make what seemed impossible, possible.

From “The Captain Has Landed” to landing into each other’s arms, Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin took chemistry to a whole new level in the Smart 5G TVC as they chase each other on the road and through different dimensions only to meet again just as Bin asks, “Do you believe it’s possible?” To which Ye Jin replies, “I do!”

Smart has put together Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin together in one project for the first time much like the latest development with Smart 5G, which has started enabling subscribers to do groundbreaking things we thought we couldn’t do.


The TVC was even made more powerful thanks to Ben&Ben’s “Inevitable” complementing the top-tier material.