Ben&Ben and SB19 release powerful performance video of ‘Kapangyarihan’ ahead of the Philippines election

Filipino indie-folk band Ben&Ben and P-pop group SB19 have released a powerful performance video of their collaborative song ‘Kapangyarihan’ ahead of the 2022 Philippines elections.

• READ MORE: Full house: Ben&Ben return with their second album and “a multiverse of madness”

The video, which premiered yesterday evening (May 5), begins with an empty stage filled with screens projecting archival footage from Philippines political history, from presidential speeches to inaugurations of past political leaders.

Ben&Ben and SB19 are then joined by farmers, students, teachers, medical workers and Indigenous people onstage as they perform the track from Ben&Ben’s 2021 sophomore album ‘Pebble House, Vol 1: Kuwaderno’.

The lighting onstage notably starts out pink – the colour of Filipino presidential candidate Leni Robredo’s campaign, which Ben&Ben have publicly supported – and later turns to the colours of the Philippines flag. The performance concludes with all on stage pointing their index fingers, painted in the colours of the flag, up.

Watch the special performance video for ‘Kapangyarihan’ below.

Ben&Ben first shared ‘Kapangyarihan’ in 2020 in response to the killing of Sonya and Frank Gregorio by a policeman in Tarlac, Philippines. The band then revisited the song for their 2021 album ‘Pebble House, Vol 1: Kuwaderno’ and brought SB19 on as a featured artist.

Ben&Ben have been public about their support for Leni Robredo in the Philippines election, having performed at her rallies, and just this morning shared a social media post encouraging their following to vote for Robreo and her running mate Kiko Pangilinan on election day of next Monday, May 9.

Good morning beh! Ngayong malapit na ang eleksyon, may gusto sana kaming hilingin sa’yo: iboto natin si Leni Robredo at Kiko Pangilinan sa May 9.

Di ka madedehado, sagutin mo lang sila

Paninindigan kita, Pilipinas. pic.twitter.com/Ow8qOUapco

— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) May 6, 2022

However, a disclaimer at the end of the ‘Kapangyarihan’ video states that SB19’s involvement does not constitute an endorsement for any candidate or political party. “SB19 is part of this project and song as performers, not as an endorsement for any politician or political party for the 2022 Philippine National Elections,” it reads.

In a collective statement about the performance video, Ben&Ben said: “The audience is reminded that this is a performance – yet a call to action is demanded from them; that there are bigger and stronger issues that we have to address after watching the performance.

“To those in power it’s a reminder that the root of what they should be doing is service to the public, and if there is an abuse of that power then truth shall always prevail, no matter how anyone tries to hide it. To the people it is a reminder not to put politicians on a pedestal, and that we must always hold those we elect accountable for their actions.”

Ben&Ben released a new single, ‘Paninindigan Kita’, just last week. The single was the first written by the band in a studio since the pandemic began and was produced by frequent collaborators Jean-Paul Verona and Sam Marquez.

The band have also announced their first-ever North American tour, which is set to kick off in September. They are scheduled to play in Calgary and Toronto in Canada and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and New Jersey in the US.

SB19 recently held their first headlining concert with a live audience since 2020 at the Araneta Coliseum on April 23. The concert featured an opening set by girl group YARA, and guest appearances by Matthaios, Lonezo and DJ Waffster.

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