Is “TOWOL” the new “TOTGA?”
Filipino folk band Ben&Ben on Friday midnight released a new international single called “The Ones We Once Loved” or “TOWOL.”
The new track, written by their very own Paolo Benjamin, is about closure.
Asked if there is a goal to make TOWOL the next TOTGA or “The One That Got Away,” the band said that while it was not their intention, that could be a possibility.
“Puwede puwede,” the band collectively said.
“We don’t know yet, actually, we didn’t think of that. But now that you mentioned it, let’s make it a goal,” Paolo quipped.
In relationships, TOTGA is an abbreviation that refers to “The One That Got Away or “the person we regret not having been able to maintain or develop a meaningful romantic relationship with.”
Meanwhile, Ben&Ben said TOWOL has a wordplay while pointing out the use of “ones” and “once” in the title.
The stripped-down track offers a unique perspective on love, forgiveness and breakup.
“It’s a song that owns up to one’s faults, makes proper apologies, but also expresses hurt, as breakups are often two-way things,” the band said in an official statement.
“It’s also one of the hardest songs we’ve written, because 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,” they added.
Paolo penned a heartfelt message about the song which he said bears his emotions when he went to the process of moving on before.
A few words on “The Ones We Once Loved”. What a ride it’s been, pouring emotions out on this song. It is yours now. pic.twitter.com/uOFzwdMAD0
— Paolo Benjamin (@PaoloBenjamin_) August 25, 2022
The band said the song, particularly its chorus, captures
“what so many of us are often too afraid or unprepared to say after a difficult breakup.”
They are hopeful that listeners would take responsibility in making amends with one’s self and the person on the
other end of the grieving process.
“We are hoping that this song somehow helps people bridge that gap and feel the importance of really letting go through a multi-faceted forgiveness: one of the other, and of the self,” they said. was produced by Johnoy Danao and Jean Paul Varona.
Johnoy shared some snaps during the recording of the song where he congratulated Ben&Ben.
Photos from our recording of @benandbenmusic’s new song #TheOnesWeOnceLoved written by @PaoloBenjamin_ and co-produced by yours truly. Congrats guys 🙂
📷 grace danao pic.twitter.com/y67pY4QoxT— johnoy danao (@johnoydanao) August 27, 2022
— johnoy danao (@johnoydanao) August 27, 2022
The track serves as their official single in support of the group’s Philippine send-off concert and North America/Canada Tour in 2022. The concert will be held September 3 at the CCP Open Grounds.
The song likewise marks Ben&Ben’s first collaboration with globally renowned US-based Filipino photographer Geloy Concepcion, whose work was recently featured in Vogue Magazine and other notable publications and exhibits worldwide.
“We’ve always wanted to do a collaboration with Geloy Concepcion as most of the band members look up to him, that when we realized he would be the perfect artist to work with for ‘The Ones We Once Loved,’ we instantly took a chance and set a meeting up with him,” Ben&Ben said.
“In Geloy’s current project ‘Things You Wanted To Say But Never Did’ we saw how resonant and resemblant his messaging was to ‘The Ones We Once Loved’ and that he may be the best artist to communicate the song’s message,” they added.
The band said they emulated Geloy’s eye and his way of introducing a space to let out feelings and emotions in this campaign, which they said is “a space where people sit safely and quietly with their feelings.”
The new song is the third international release of the band after “Doors” and “Leaves,” a collaboration with Korean singer-songwriter Young K of Day 6.
RELATED: Ben&Ben teams up with Day6’s Young K for new version of ‘Leaves’
“The Ones We Once Loved” can be streamed on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment.
It was also released with an official lyric video on YouTube which has since garnered over 543,000 views and more than 52,000 likes. The video is the #4 trending for Music on YouTube Philippines.
