Award-winning Filipino band Ben&Ben explores the complicated dynamics of a fictional family in the official music video of its latest single “Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin.”
The music video, featuring ensemble acting performances by Agot Isidro, Bart Guingona, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, and Kelvin Miranda, hits home as it tells a story of a family who’s on the verge of dysfunction, with each member learning how to listen to each other, and speak their minds.
It also examines the flawed but beautiful relationships that we nurture within the family, and the decisions everyone makes in extraordinary circumstances.
“Isang alay sa ating mga kapamilya sa bigat ng mga pangyayari ngayon,” the band said.
The video that premiered July 10 was helmed by music director Jorel Lising who also directed Ben&Ben’s “Pagtingin.”
Lising’s compelling take on Ben&Ben’s massive hit has earned praises from various publications in the country.
Renuel Fallore of MYX shared that the “cinematic music video couldn’t have come at a better time,” and reflects on its importance in today’s socio-political landscape.
Bandwagon Asia, in its coverage of the song’s official tease a few months ago, on the other hand, took notice of the song’s evocative lyrics, which remind “people that COVID-19 remains to be the common enemy in this difficult time,” and therefore needs critical attention and vigilance.
The music video landed on the trending list of YouTube during its release and has since earned 650,037 views and 46,000 likes on the video-sharing platform.
On Spotify, “Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin” reached more than a million streams in its second week, making it one of the biggest releases of the month so far.
The song is also available on all digital platforms worldwide via Sony Music.
On Wednesday, Ben&Ben trended on South Korea.
Fans speculated that the band made it to the trending list after DAY6’s Young K’s and NCT’s Mark Lee mentioned on their VLives that they are listening to Ben&Ben.
The band thanked the two K-Pop group members on Twitter.
thank u for listening to our music, young k of @day6official !! https://t.co/W3PV7Dbx6k
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) July 22, 2020
hey thanks for playing our song "leaves", Mark of @NCTsmtown_127 ! https://t.co/OYTELJvxup
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) July 22, 2020
—Rosette Adel
