Ben&Ben to light up Manila skyline with first 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. 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.” ~Paolo Benjamin, Vocalist and Guitarist

Ben&Ben is 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 a 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 26 (Sunday) at exactly 7pm. It will also simultaneously air on Ben&Ben’s official Facebook page.

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.” ~Andrew De Pano, Ben&Ben’s Percussionist

     

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 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.

An ‘Inevitable’ Pairing: How Ben&Ben’s music made it to Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin’s TVC for Smart

“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.” ~Paolo Benjamin, Ben&Ben lead singer 

Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin

While it was important for Smart to grant the 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.

“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.” ~Miguel Benjamin 

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. 

Ben&Ben

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