Why a1 is Still in Love with the Philippines

a1 can’t seem to get enough of the Philippines.

The British-Norwegian group — composed of Ben Adams, Mark Read, Paul Marazzi, and Christian Ingebrigtsen — is currently in the country for a multi-city tour. They first performed at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino on October 16 and at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City on October 17. The tour ends today, October 18, at the Santa Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.

Ahead of their shows, the quartet boarded the Wish 107.5 Bus, parked at Eton Centris in Quezon City, on October 14.

“We love coming here. This is why we come here so often. And you know, see all these people outside [the Wish Bus]. How many years have we been doing this? Almost three decades. So it's amazing that people are still around, wanting to welcome us, even at the airport,” Ben said in an interview.

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Christian shared the same sentiment.

“It's the optimism, the energy, the smiles, the warm embrace that we feel from the entire Filipino people whenever we come back. And also, I got to say, like from the very first time we were ever in the Philippines, I noticed a musicality that's very, very special to this country. Like everyone's so good at music and has a love for music and listens to music and plays music. Like, some of the best bands that we've ever heard were Filipino bands. So we're very, very impressed,” he remarked.

To showcase their love for their Filipino fans, a1 actually released a song called “In Love In The Philippines.” The group performed it live during their Wish Bus stint, along with stripped-down versions of their mega-hits “Like A Rose” and “Heaven By Your Side.”

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Asked about how the song came together, Ben shared: “We don’t live in the same countries. Christian and I live in Norway, and Mark lives in England. It started with me recording a voice note of a rough chorus idea. When the guys came over, we got into my boat, drove around, and wrote the rest of the song on the boat.”

Stream the song below:

Ahead of a1’s Wishclusive debut as a group, watch Ben Adams’ Wish Bus performance of “2 by 2" here: