IV of Spades (stylized as IV OF SPADES, pronounced “four of spades”[5]) is a Filipino rock band from Metro Manila, Philippines, consisting of vocalist, bassist and keyboardist Zild Benitez, vocalist and lead guitarist Blaster Silonga, and vocalist and drummer Badjao de Castro. Unique served as the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist until 2018.[6] The band first gained exposure with the release of their 4th single “Mundo”.[4][7] On August 21, 2020, the band entered a hiatus.[8]
Their musical style has been described as “pop funk”[9] and funk rock by the local press.[10][3][11][12][13] IV of Spades has been nominated for several musical awards, both in the Philippines and internationally.[14] The band is also known for their 1970s-inspired outfits.[15]
In 2014, Allan Mitchell Silonga decided to form a band for his son Blaster, who would become the band’s lead guitarist. The Silongas were able to recruit drummer Badjao de Castro and bassist Zild Benitez, who are the sons of Allan’s friends. Unique Salonga, Benitez’s churchmate who was already writing his own music, was later recruited to become the band’s lead singer.[16][17]
Most of the band members are sons of musicians. Blaster’s father, Allan Silonga, is a member of 90s band Kindred Garden and the singing group Daddy’s Home which finished third in The X Factor Philippines.[18][19] While Zild’s father, Franklin Benitez, was the drummer of Hungry Young Poets and Barbie’s Cradle.[18][20] Badjao’s father, Chuck de Castro, was a member of Makatha & Posivity Band and was also a session rhythm guitarist of the Rage Band. Blaster and Zild gained popularity when they became contestants for Eat Bulaga!‘s hit contest, Music Hero. Zild was the first member of the Music Hero Squad and was the Bass Guitar grand champion, Blaster won the Electric Guitar grand champion and the title of Ultimate Music Hero.
IV of Spades signed to a record label and released their first single “Ilaw sa Daan” under Warner Music Philippines.[21]
The group’s second single, “Hey Barbara” was released on July 9, 2017 and followed up by their third single “Where Have You Been My Disco?”, released on December 9, 2017 via YouTube.
In 2018, the band released their fourth single called “Mundo”. A video of their live performance on the song, which was uploaded on Metro Manila-based radio station Wish 107.5‘s YouTube channel, became the group’s highest viewed single on YouTube with 137 million views as of November 2020.[22]
IV of Spades won the New Artist of the Year and the MYX Bandarito Performance of the Year and Nominated as Group the Year at the annual MYX Music Awards.[23] The band also won the Dreams Come True with Air Asia, the airline’s search for the most promising acts in the region. The band performed with David Foster as part of their prize. They also won the Favorite New Group award at the 30th annual Awit Awards.[24]
On May 5, 2018, the band announced on their official social media accounts that lead vocalist Unique Salonga had left in order to pursue “personal endeavors”.[6]
MY KIND OF OPM 