We have British-Norwegian boyband A1 to thank for some of the best ballads of early ’00s

Four boys from London may have made many melodramatics out of Pinoy teenagers in the early 2000s.

British-Norwegian boyband a1, which formed in 1998, seems to have a close affinity with the Filipino market. Apart from their good looks and award-winning musicality, a1 members Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigsten, Mark Read, and Ben Adams are well revered by their Filipino audience for their ability to connect with them on a really personal, deeply emotional level, thanks in part to the many ballads they were able to release during the late 90s and early 2000s.

While their discography included typical bubblegum tracks of the new millennium (Same Old Brand New You, Ready Or Not, No More), their strength as a boyband in an overly saturated market at the time was their way with love songs. Here are some of those songs that made emoteros and emoteras out of everyone in the ’00s:

Everytime

This song is about a person who’s lost the life in him after losing the person he loved. It opens with a killer piano intro, and it’s the closest English song you can compare to Jeremiah’s Nanghihinayang. It’s that heartbreaking.

Like A Rose

This song is essentially an intense musical dedication made for a person’s significant other. It is likening one’s relationship to being treated like a rose, where one is given room to grow.

Heaven By Your Side

This song is another ode to one’s significant other. It explains that heaven is already within reach with someone’s love and affection.

One More Try

An acoustic attempt by a1 to showcase not just vocal prowess but also musicality, but not in vain–One More Try is a smooth, guitar-and-percussion song arrangement about giving  a rocky relationship one more shot.

Walking In The Rain

Walking In The Rain is that kind of song where you know you’re already rekt from emotional pain, but there’s just more wrecking to do inside of you. It’s also that kind of love song that hits the hardest during a gloomy weather. The title–it figures.

Caught In The Middle

Fight us on this, but this song has got to be a1’s most complex love song in their repertoire. Is it a ballad? Yes. But is it also a pop rock angsty song? Maybe yes. Is the story telling okay? It’s A1 (pun definitely intended). The song speaks volumes about that kind of emotional purgatory in which one is in a relationship already but is haunted by the ghosts of The One That Got Away. With lyrics like Even though I’m with someone new/All I think about is you/And now I’m caught in the middle, it’s truly in the saksak-puso levels of emotion.

We know you want to relieve those moments in high school or college where you sang to a1 songs. Lucky for Pinoy fans, a1 is slated to set foot in our country for this year’s PLAYBACK MUSIC FESTIVAL at SM Mall Of Asia Arena, together with another 90s boyband fave–O-Town!

The nostalgia is strong on this one!

Tickets are on sale at SM Ticket outlets, and SM Tickets Online if you want to catch these OG boyband idols and see them perform their hits in the flesh. Ticket prices are P5,900 (SVIP with meet and greet and photo), P4,500 (Platinum A), P4,000 (Platinum B), P3,000 (Lower Box Gold), P2,500 (Lower Box Regular), and P1,200 (Upper Box).

For more updates and concert details, visit the official event organizer’s page on Facebook: Playback Music Festival

/INQUIRER.net BrandRoom/Vida Tan