IV of Spades (L), Unique (R). Image: Instagram/@ivofspades, @uniquesalongaph
After IV of Spades fans expressed their outrage towards Viva Records for allegedly not giving credit to Zildjian Benitez, the band’s bassist, as the co-writer of “Mundo”, Unique Salonga’s mother asserted that Unique was the “original composer” of the track.
Viva Records released a music video of IV of Spade’s hit song covered by Raphiel Shannon for the movie “On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets”. The recording label credited Unique, the former vocalist of IV of Spades, as the sole composer of the song, as seen on its YouTube channel on Feb. 7.
![Mundo - Raphiel Shannon [Official Music Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hbgAKiBiBRk/hqdefault.jpg)
Credits as seen on the recording company’s YouTube channel. Image: screenshot from YouTube/Viva Records
IV of Spades fans took to Twitter to air their dismay regarding the supposed lapse on crediting Benitez. Some fans also signed an online petition to give the bassist credits on the video.
“I thought you’re all about promoting OPM (Original Pinoy Music) music? Ano ‘to (what’s this),” one @HeneralpauLuna said last Sunday, Feb. 16.
Photos of the video were shown by the user, zooming in on its caption which states that “Mundo” was “[w]ritten by Unique T. Salonga.”
The fan claimed, “‘Mundo’ was written by Unique Salonga AND Zild Benitez.” The fan stressed that the song is also Benitez’s “intellectual property.”
I thought you're all about promoting OPM music? Ano 'to, @VivaRecords?
"Mundo" was written by Unique Salonga AND Zild Benitez.
The song belongs also to Zild, not just Unique. It's still his intellectual property.
GIVE PROPER CREDITS!!!
I AM CALLING YOU OUT VIVA RECORDS!! pic.twitter.com/RmR719taQ0
— #GiveCreditsToZildBenitez (@HeneralpauLuna) February 16, 2020
The hashtag #GiveCreditsToZildBenitez made its way to Twitter’s trending topics as more and more fans created their own discussions about the topic. To support the IV of Spades member, a certain @spunishbread opened an online petition, as seen on the fan’s post yesterday, Feb. 17.
The petition has over 4,300 signatures, as of writing.
Hi. I filed an online petition to #GiveCreditsToZildBenitez. Please sign it, it'll be a huge help.https://t.co/amxkoWKkRN
— Jobelle | #GiveCreditsToZildBenitez (@spunishbread) February 16, 2020
Zild Benitez’s mother, Jennifer, also cried foul over the “Mundo” cover on her Facebook account yesterday. Zild’s mother shared the online petition with her friends, demanding “respect” for her son.
“MY SON ZILD IS A LEGITIMATE CO WRITER OF [‘MUNDO’],” she declared.
Meanwhile, Unique Salonga’s mother spoke up on her son’s defense as well. Llewelyn Torralba took a silhouette picture of Unique on her Facebook account yesterday.
Torralba described her son as “a very good singer and a very talented artist” and maintained that Unique was “the ORIGINAL composer of the song [‘MUNDO’].”
The proud mother also promised her son, “Mama will always protect all your creations!”
Torralba also took a swipe at his son’s basher using the hashtags #MundoByUnique and #MoveOnNaKasiKayo (just move on).
A fan replied to Torralba with a screenshot of the song’s credits on the music streaming app Spotify, where IV of Spade’s profile gives credit to both Zild and Unique as the writers of “Mundo”.
As of writing, both Unique and IV of Spades have yet to release a statement on the issue.
Unique shocked fans by his sudden departure from the band to pursue a music career as a solo artist in 2018. JB
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