Local folk-pop band Ben&Ben is starting to convert some Filipinos to like Korean pop or K-pop music as they cover four K-pop songs in the first episode of their newly-launched video series on YouTube.
Called “BBTV,” the nine-piece collective heeded the call of their fans for more exclusive content and launched the video series on July 31 after reaching more than one million subscribers on the video-sharing platform.
The video series aims to let the fans have an “intimate look” at the band’s more personal and entertaining side while they live together in one roof amid quarantine period in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
It will also feature “games, competitions, challenges and other forms of entertainment” for people to connect to.
New content will drop on the band’s official YouTube channel every Wednesday.
In their very first video, the band made their own rendition of K-pop hits to thank fans who kept suggesting their songs for their favorite K-pop groups to listen to.
“Ginawa natin siya kasi ‘yung mga K-pop fans ni re-request ‘yung music ng Ben&Ben sa mga idol groups nila, and plinay ng mga idols nila sa livestream nila,” vocalist Paolo Guico said, as quoted by Manila Bulletin.
“Bilang pasasalamat, we wanted to try our hand at K-pop songs,” he added.
Some of those who have reportedly praised Ben&Ben’s songs are Red Velvet’s Wendy, DAY6’s Young K, NCT Dream’s Renjun and Mark and TWICE’s Momo.
The band played renditions of NCT Dream‘s “Beautiful Time,” Red Velvet‘s “Bad Boy,” TWICE‘s “Feel Special” and DAY6‘s “You Were Beautiful.”
As expected, K-pop fans loved it but it also captured the hearts of non-K-pop fans as well.
“I hope Ben&Ben do more covers for the Kpop genre, kay i’m starting to like Kpop cause of them,” tweeted an online user with a smiling emoji.
“I don’t usually listen to Kpop songs but OPM Band like Ben&Ben doing kpop covers is lit!” wrote another online user with a fire emoji.
A Filipino tagged the Twitter account of the band and exclaimed: “Ben&Ben covering kpop songs makes me want to start listening to kpop already!!!”
“Premier ng Ben&Ben covering kpop songs rn (right now). Huhu tho I don’t usually listen sa kpop, I’m so into the musical arrangement ng b&b, napaka smooth,” commented another Twitter user.
Fascination with K-pop
Filipinos are one of the most avid listeners of K-pop, as evidenced in local Twitter’s top trending lists wherein most keywords would be related to K-pop.
Twitter said that the Philippines ranked fifth among the countries that were most engaged in talking about South Korean pop music on the microblogging platform last year, ABS-CBN News reports.
As noted by the news outlet, the platform has recorded a whopping 6.1 billion related tweets on K-pop, which was a 15% increase from 2018’s data.
This could be attributed to the Filipinos’ fascination with South Korean pop culture which includes K-pop music.
RELATED: Reasons why Filipinos love Korean culture and products
A scholar said that being in a K-pop fandom is a personal experience in which a fan’s affinity to her idol becomes an avenue for her to explore her creative side, as reported by GMA News Online.
“On a deeper level, some fans can identify with their idol, whether it be his or her image, character or struggles in life. Korean idols push this kinship further by fan services, such as taking selfies using a fan’s camera or even going to the lengths of calling a fan’s mother at a concert,” the report said. — Video from Ben&Ben via YouTube
