Popular local band Ben&Ben has been nominated at the 2020 MTV Europe Music Awards, a prestigious music awards show, for the best musical act in Southeast Asia.
In a tweet on October 6, the nine-piece indie-folk group invited their fans to vote for them through the MTV EMA website.
“Hello! Nominated tayo bilang best Southeast Asia Act sa MTV EMA 2020,” they said.
“Pangarap talaga naming umabot tayo at yung music ng Ben&Ben sa iba’t ibang part ng mundo at super makakatulong itong once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if mapanalunan natin to magpapatulong sana kami sa inyong magvote dito: unlimited votes daw tayo every day!” they added.
Miguel Benjamin Guico, one of the band’s vocalists, said he feels honored for the nomination at an awards show they used to grow up watching.
“Being nominated feels like such a huge honor, so we have nothing but gratitude to all the people who helped us get here,” he said.
“We all grew up seeing all our favorite artists get nominated for MTV awards, so to actually be in this same position feels nothing short of surreal,” he added.
His twin brother Paolo, also the band’s vocalist and guitarist, likewise stated he was thankful for the support of their fans who shared their musical stories to the world.
“We’ve always worked towards a collective goal to play music that speaks to and of the heart and soul of the Filipino. In our humble yet exciting journey of sharing our musical stories to the world, we thank everyone for continuing to believe in us. We promise to continue giving our all in every single step,” he said.
While they are mostly known for their indie-folk songs in Filipino and English, Ben&Ben also made headlines for their recent fundraising initiatives.
Early this year, they held a free only concert to help raise funds for the country’s health workers and other workers in the front lines of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
This October, they held another benefit show, this time, to purchase educational materials for students and teachers.
Who are they up against?
In the Best Southeast Asian Act category, Ben&Ben is up against five other artists in the region:
- Agnez Mo from Indonesia
- K-clique from Malaysia
- Benjamin Khen from Singapore
- Violette Wautier from Thailand
- Jack from Vietnam
Other Filipino musicians have also been shortlisted in the category in the past. These are Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Nadine Lustre, IV of Spades and Moira Dela Torre.
The voting started on October 6 and fans can vote until November 3. The program itself will be aired on November 8.