Side A won the Best Ballad Recording at the last Awit Awards with their digital single “Clueless.”

It may not be a surprise if the best ballad recording goes to the band most associated with love songs – or those slow tempo sentimental tracks that tug at the heart. What’s amazing is that, the same band has taken care of its reputation for nearly four decades now.

Written by the band’s bassist Ned Esguerra, “Clueless” was released November of 2022 under Icons Music, a division of Widescope Entertainment.

It’s actually two in a row for Widescope as “Manatili,” a song it released that was composed and sang by Ebe Dancel, won in the previous year’s race for Awit’s Best Ballad category. Dancel also works as the label’s A&R manager.

Side A was also a finalist in the Best Performance by a Group Recording Artist category, while another Widescope A-list act, Sitti, was nominated in the Best World Music category.

The seasoned band’s run at the Awit Awards is legendary as the group itself is iconic. In 1994, their song “So Many Questions” bagged the trophies for Best Ballad Recording and Best Performance by a Group. The following year, they won Best Performance by a Group for “By Your Side” and Best Jazz Performance with Vocals for “True Love Can Always Wait.”

Side A’s magnum opus, “Forevermore,” culled from the EP of the same name, is the first Filipino-recorded EP to sell more than 90,000 copies. “Forevermore” as a single won the 1996 Awit Award for Best Performance by a Group, a feat enabling Side A to win the plum for the third straight year.

Deservingly, Awit gave “Forevermore” Song of the Year honors.

With Esguerra currently serving as the group’s chief songwriter (a post previously held by the much respected Joey Benin), the band continues to shine under the guidance of founding member Naldy Gonzalez and longtime drummer Ernie Severino. Lead guitarist Leevon Cailao and lead singer Yubs Esperat complete the lineup.