Like a talented basketball player who had his heyday yet kept turning back the hands of time to perform great games alongside new faces, seasoned band Side A sent a clear message in that regard after bagging a trophy at the latest edition of Awit Awards.
The iconic band won the category for Best Ballad Recording with their digital single “Clueless,” released in November of last year. It is, should we say, a statement trophy for a veteran artist hailed as a top-notch act when it comes to ballads. The victory is proof that the group still has what it takes to win at such a level, as there is no doubt the Awit Awards is the Philippines’ version of the Grammys.
Back in the ‘90s, Side A went on a tear with a string of trophies at Awit Awards, acknowledging their brilliance and helping them establish a footing in the mainstream music scene. Their song “So Many Questions,” the tune behind a shampoo commercial that paired future showbiz couple Lucy Torres and Richard Gomez, also won the same award, in addition to Best Performance By A Group plum, in 1994.
The following year, the group took home from the Awit Awards ceremony, a repeat of the Best Performance by a Group citation for the track “By Your Side,” and Best Jazz Performance with Vocals for “True Love Can Always Wait.”
In hindsight, Side A reached its peak with the release of “Forevermore,” which earned nods for Song of the Year and, for the third straight year, Best Performance By A Group when Awit staged its ninth edition on June 14, 1996. The EP of the same title sold more than 90,000 copies, a first for a Filipino recording.
For emphasis on the band’s longevity, Awit’s Album of the Year winner in 1996 was “Cutterpillow,” Eraserheads’ magnum opus. This year the album and song honors went to a Filipino-Japanese named Ena Mori and a band from Baguio called Dilaw, respectively. That’s a quick picture of what a generation gap is. No problem, Side A is keeping up.
“Clueless,” a lyrical, mid-tempo piece with a steady beat, had been penned by Side A’s current bassist Ned Esguerra. The ever-familiar “Forevermore” is a masterpiece by their then bass player Joey Benin.
“Coz it’s cold outside your window, as I wait for your reply,” says a key line in the song.
If the combo behind some of the highly rated Filipino love songs, now reaching its 40th year in the biz, was knocking at the door of Awit Awards for some assurance of their durability, then the award-giving body replied with a bang.
Side A is now signed to Icons Music, a division of Widescope Entertainment which made it two in a row as “Manatili,” a song penned and sung by Ebe Dancel which it released in 2021, won in the previous year’s race for Best Ballad.
Side A led by long-time members Naldy Gonzalez and Ernie Severino had also been named a finalist for this year’s Best Performance by a Group. At the same time, Sitti, another Widescope A-list act, got a nomination for Best World Music.
Current lead singer Yubs Esperat and lead guitarist Leevon Cailao complete Side A’s active personnel.