I may have shed some tears for SB19 and Ben&Ben’s ‘Mapa’

After a week of speculation and hype we could barely contain in our mortal bodies, here we have it. The SB19 and Ben&Ben collab has officially dropped, and your guesses were spot on—it’s a fresh new version of “Mapa,” now with more band (and tears from us).

With its performance vid released last night, the official band version of SB19’s “Mapa” takes the P-Pop group’s ode to parents and elevates it to a different scale, thanks to Ben&Ben and SB19’s new arrangements. While SB19’s leader Pablo considers the OG version more “mellow,” “Mapa” featuring Ben&Ben gave the track a “rich, [well-rounded], and a happy feeling.”

“We want people to have a different vibe about the song,” he says in a statement. “Mapa” (Band Version) is a fusion of both groups’ distinctive styles, now mixed with jazzy, orchestral details. Spearheaded by SB19’s Pablo and Ben&Ben’s Pat Lasaten and Poch Barretto, the two groups were hands-on during the whole process.

 

“[SB19] gave us free liberty to arrange the song, only giving us additional comments to help make some parts flow better. Pablo and Pat were directly coordinating and constantly giving updates, and the suggestions he gave greatly helped us during the final recording sessions,” Ben&Ben says. 

“[Pat and Poch are] two of the most technically proficient in the band when it comes to arranging intricate sections, and they wanted to add that to support the powerful message of the original song,” they continue. “Arrangement-wise, we wanted to make it distinct from the original, adding fun rhythms and grand sections. We felt that doing this added weight, and served to support the powerful vocal performance of both acts.”

Fast forward to the present day, SB19 and Ben&Ben land in the newly-renovated Manila Metropolitan Theater to debut their team-up. It’s grand, it’s historic, and it’ll make you cry, even just a lil’ bit. 

Watch “Mapa” (Band Version) below.

SB19 and Ben&Ben - MAPA (Band Version) Official Video

Read more:
An SB19 x Ben&Ben collab is (finally) happening
Ben&Ben doesn’t want to make you sadder
Your next cryfest is on SB19, just listen to ‘Mapa’

Photo from SB19’s Facebook

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