Cup of Joe excited for first solo concert

MANILA, Philippines — What members of the Baguio-based band Cup of Joe considered as one of their proudest moments last year was when they became the most listened-to OPM group on Spotify Philippines. According to a media release, sometime in November 2023, they reached the music streaming platform’s top spot, surpassing Ben&Ben, based on Chart Data Ph report.

The pop-rock group, consisting of vocalists Gian Bernardino and Raphaell Ridao, keyboardist Xen Gareza, lead guitarist Gab Fernandez, bassist Sevii Severino and guitarist CJ Fernandez, has over four million monthly listeners on Spotify. Their previously-released singles include Estranghero with over 41 million streams as of last year, Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Pipiliin Ko with 26 million, Mananatili with 12 million, Cinderella with 13 million, Bukod Tangi with 10 million, Patutunguhan with nine million, Tataya with seven million streams, and their recent collaboration with Janine Teñoso, Tingin.

In a media conference, the six-piece collective teased that they will soon release a new single and a possible new collaboration.

Until this day, the Cup of Joe members, who are also students from different universities in Baguio, are still not used to the attention that they are getting in the music scene.

Raphaell shared, “Up until now parang hindi pa rin po kami sanay. It all still feels like a dream. When someone says, ‘Ang kanta niyo ganito,’ parang ang hirap pa ring i-accept. But at the same time, we are super thankful that we were given the opportunity and given this platform, this audience to share this music. And like it’s no simple feat to have a song that will reach millions of listeners.”

He is proud of what the band has accomplished, saying, “And parang worth it yung pagod yung mga naging away namin along the lines.”

Sevii concurred, “We still can’t believe that we started with a small audience and then suddenly our sounds have reached not only Filipino listeners but international audiences as well.”

Gian, on the other hand, described it as a “very overwhelming” experience. “Because we didn’t really expect to become the top one (of the most) streamed bands with just 13 songs. And we are very much thankful for the fans (Joewahs) because they are the ones who helped us to market (our songs).”

Xen said the same thing, adding, “Sometimes we forget na naka-abot ng ganito and it is still not sinking in that in just days we became the no. 1 (most-listened to group) in the Philippines which is super overwhelming… So surreal.”

According to Gab, it’s overwhelming for the group because they haven’t been in the industry that long. The band just debuted in 2019. “Like what Gian said, we only have 13 songs. Because of that, we realized that we are very lucky. We are thankful to the fans for their support. We got inspired to create more songs and hopefully it will also become a hit.”

Cup of Joe is also looking forward to their first solo concert, dubbed “Cup of Joe: Seatbelts on!” at the New Frontier Theater on Feb. 9 and 10, presented by Viva Live Inc.

“We are very excited about that,” beamed Raphaell. “Of course, (we are also thrilled for) our new releases with fresh, new sounds for the band and for our Joewahs. And hopefully, it will give traction and will also become a hit. Medyo kinakabahan kami pero tiwala lang sa isa’t isa, sa music na ginagawa namin.”