Ben&Ben

Quick Facts

Photo: Ben&Ben – Elyu | Live Acoustic Jam

About Ben&Ben

Two Bens, One Beginning

Ben&Ben started with a pair of twins and a shared name. Paolo and Miguel Guico grew up in Biñan, Laguna, playing music together from their high school years, when they fronted an early cover band and swapped songwriting ideas.

Both brothers went on to earn engineering degrees at De La Salle University, but music kept pulling them back. A turning point came when they attended Elements Music Camp, a mentorship program for young Filipino songwriters that they have often described as life-changing.

In 2016 they launched a folk duo called The Benjamins, drawing on the second name they both carry. When they rebranded, they doubled that name into something warmer and catchier: Ben&Ben, one Ben for each twin.

From a Duo to a Nine-Piece

The duo’s songs were built on lush, layered arrangements, and the brothers quickly realized they could not recreate that sound on stage alone. So they invited a circle of gifted musician friends to join them, and by 2017 The Benjamins had grown into the nine-member ensemble that would carry them through their biggest years.

That lineup is unusually large for a pop act: two lead vocalists on acoustic guitars, plus lead guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, dual percussion, and a violin. The result is a full, folk-driven wall of sound with room for intricate harmonies.

Their self-titled EP arrived in December 2016 through Warner Music Philippines, and early singles like “Leaves” and “Kathang Isip” found a devoted online audience. “Kathang Isip” in particular became a modern heartbreak anthem, racking up streams and cementing the band as ones to watch.

Breakthrough and a Platinum Debut

In 2019 Ben&Ben signed with Sony Music Philippines and released their debut album, Limasawa Street. Powered by singles such as “Pagtingin” and “Araw-Araw,” the record was later certified multi-platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry.

The film world helped carry them further. “Maybe the Night,” first released for the 2018 movie Exes Baggage, grew into one of their signature songs, and “Susi” from Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral earned early awards recognition.

By 2020 the band’s reach had gone international, with a nomination for Best Southeast Asian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards and a spot on the Billboard Social 50 chart. At home, they were fast becoming the most-streamed OPM artist in the country.

A Multiverse of Collaborations

Their second album, 2021’s Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno, doubled down on collaboration. The tracklist brought in a who’s who of Filipino music, including SB19, KZ Tandingan, Moira Dela Torre, Juan Karlos, Zild Benitez of IV of Spades, and Chito Miranda of Parokya ni Edgar.

The album was a critical triumph. It earned Album of the Year at the Awit Awards, landed on NME’s list of the best Asian albums, and helped the band win Best Band in Asia at the 2022 NME Awards. NME even nominated the record for Best Album by an Asian Artist.

Ben&Ben kept climbing from there. They headlined tours across North America, played festivals from Hong Kong’s Clockenflap to shows in London, Toronto, and Sydney, and in March 2024 shared a Manila stage with Ed Sheeran to perform “Maybe the Night.” Their third album, The Traveller Across Dimensions, followed in 2024, expanding their sound into a full concept universe and taking Album of the Year honors at the 2025 Awit Awards.

The band reached a bittersweet milestone in 2026. In October, founding drummer Jam Villanueva took her final bow at the Saranggola concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, stepping away after a wrist injury had limited her drumming. Ben&Ben carried on as an eight-piece, nearly a decade after they first grew beyond the two brothers.

Videos

Albums

• Limasawa Street (2019)
• Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno (2021)
• The Traveller Across Dimensions (2024)

EPs

• Ben&Ben (2016)

Singles

• Leaves (2016)
• Kathang Isip (2017)
• Maybe the Night (2018)
• Susi (2018)
• Pagtingin (2019)
• Araw-Araw (2019)
• Di Ka Sayang (2020)
• Sabel (2021)
• Lunod (2021)
• Kapangyarihan (2021)
• Magpahinga (2021)
• Paninindigan Kita (2021)
• Sa Susunod na Habang Buhay (2022)
• Comets (2022)
• The Ones We Once Loved (2023)
• Autumn (2023)
• Courage (2023)
• Could Be Something (2023)
• New Dimensions (2024)
• Triumph (2024)

Song Collaborations

• Leaves (Young K – 2021)
• Lunod (Zild and Juan Karlos – 2021)
• Sugat (Munimuni – 2021)
• Pasalubong (Moira Dela Torre – 2021)
• Kapangyarihan (SB19 – 2021)
• MAPA (Band Version) (SB19 – 2021)
• I’m Okay (Moira Dela Torre – 2024)

TV

• ASAP Natin ‘To (2017-present) – recurring performances
• It’s Showtime – guest performances
• The Voice Kids Philippines (2023) – Paolo and Miguel Guico as coaches

Awards

Aliw Awards

• Best New Artist – Group (2018)

Awit Awards

• Best Folk Recording (2019)
• Best Performance by a Group Recording Artist (2020)
• People’s Choice for Favorite Album (2020)
• People’s Choice for Favorite Song (2020)
• Most Streamed Artist (2021)
• Record of the Year (2021)
• Best Inspirational Recording (2021)
• Best Ballad Recording (2021)
• Album of the Year (Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno – 2022)
• Best Music Video (Lunod – 2022)
• Best World Recording (Sabel – 2022)
• Best Musical Arrangement (2022)
• Best Performance by a Group Recording Artist (2023)
• Best Pop Recording (2023)
• Music Video of the Year (2023)
• Album of the Year (The Traveller Across Dimensions – 2025)

Asia Artist Awards

• Best Choice Award, Music (2023)

EDDY Awards

• Best Original Theme Song (2019)

MOR Pinoy Music Awards

• Band of the Year (2019)

Myx Music Awards

• Collaboration of the Year (with Moira Dela Torre – 2021)
• Mellow Video of the Year (2021)

NME Awards

• Best Band in Asia (2022)

Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino

• Best Original Song (2019)

PMPC Star Awards for Music

• Duo/Group Artist of the Year (2021)
• Duo/Group Artist of the Year (2022)
• Duo/Group Artist of the Year (2024)

Wish 107.5 Music Awards

• Multiple Wishclusive Contemporary Folk/Pop Performance and Group of the Year honors (2018-2024)

Nominations

MTV Europe Music Awards

• Best Southeast Asian Act (2020)

NME Awards

• Best Album by an Asian Artist (Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno – 2022)

Perspective

There is a reason a Ben&Ben song can silence a stadium and then make it sing back word for word. Their music turns private ache, longing, grief, first love, into something communal, carried by a roomful of voices and instruments moving as one. Listening to them feels less like hearing a band and more like being handed a lantern in the dark.

Praise for the Artist

…arguably one of the biggest musical acts in the Philippines today, beloved for their undeniable talent and unique chemistry as a group.

– Gabriel Saulog
Unpacking Heartbreak: Revisiting Ben&Ben’s ‘Kathang Isip’
Billboard Philippines

…a showcase of the band’s talent to reinvent their art and explore new ways of storytelling.

– Annelle Tayao-Juego
Finding presence in 2026: Lessons from Ben&Ben’s ‘The Traveller Across Dimensions’
CoverStory

Their soundscapes and mastery of melodies are undeniably present in this album.

– Elijah Pareño
Album Review: Ben&Ben, ‘The Traveller Across Dimensions’
Rolling Stone Philippines

Contact

• facebook.com/BenAndBenMusic
• x.com/BenAndBenMusic
• instagram.com/benandbenmusic
• youtube.com/@benandbenmusic
• tiktok.com/@benandbenmusic

Bookings

• Ben&Ben – Official Bookings

Listen

• Spotify – Ben&Ben
• Apple Music – Ben&Ben

Apple Music

On Instagram

Trivia

• Their 2024 album The Traveller Across Dimensions is a full concept story that follows a fictional inter-dimensional being named Liwanag, the same word the band chose for their fandom, on a quest across worlds, told through animated music videos made with Puppeteer Studios.
• Keyboardist Patricia Lasaten is the band’s quiet engine, writing or co-writing much of their catalog and helping keep the group’s busy schedules in order.
• Lead guitarist Poch Barretto is the band’s multi-instrumentalist, reportedly able to play around half a dozen different instruments.
• The band’s official fandom colors are yellow and blue, and the fandom name Liwanag (Filipino for “light”) was adopted in 2020, replacing the earlier English name “Lights.”
• Ben&Ben have leaned hard into advocacy, serving as National Geographic Asia ambassadors for an anti-plastic-waste campaign after being named at the Nat Geo Asia Explorer Festival in Singapore.
• During the pandemic, several members moved into a shared seaside house so they could keep writing and recording together while the world was locked down.

Posted: August 10, 2026