Ben Adams: Being naked is awesome (but he regrets baring it)

It was a blast talking to Ben Adams of the British-Norwegian pop group A1 on Bandila. His group is famous in the global music scene for their hit songs Like a Rose, Caught in the Middle, Same Old Brand New You and Take On Me. Its songs invaded Top 10 International Hits while Take On Me and Same Old Brand New You became No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. It won the Best British Breakthrough Act in the Brit Awards in 2001. A1 disbanded in 2002 but reunited in 2010. A1, together with Blue and Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees, recently performed in a concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.     

Ben is gorgeous, funny and witty. He always wanted to be a singer since he was three years old. I asked him when was the last time someone told him that he was good looking. “Just now,” he blurted out. He’s not vain but he spends as much time as possible inside the bathroom.

This was his group’s fourth time to perform in the Philippines. Ben was all praises for the Filipino audience. “They are amazingly supportive. Just to see Twitter going absolutely crazy, Facebook going crazy, at the airport we had people coming to see us and going crazy. We are just excited to be here. It’s been about 10 years since we were last here,” he gushed. While in the country, A1 did some charity work with Young Life Foundation in Cebu which he described as an “amazing and happy place.” A1 stayed at the lovely Mövenpick Hotel.

Like a Rose is A1’s biggest hit and everywhere the group went, people were singing it according to Ben.

Ben (second from right) with the rest of A1 — Mark Read and Christian Ingebrigtsen (leftmost and third from left, respectively) — with Mövenpick Cebu’s general manager Klaus Graesslin and director of communications Mike Lopez. The British-Norwegian boyband stayed at the hotel while doing some charity work with Young Life Foundation in Cebu.

Does Ben still get nervous before a performance? “I think it is always healthy to have some jitters. I’m nervous meeting you. I think a bit of nervous energy is good.” I shared with Ben that for hosts, it’s useful to have jitters because it makes us more careful, cautious, prudent and respectful.

At one point in his life, he posed au naturel on the cover of Attitude Magazine. He asked, “Why does this come up in every interview?” “Because it’s nice to talk about beautiful bodies,” I shot back.

“Being naked is awesome.” But he admitted that he regretted posing without clothes because he now thinks that he didn’t need to do that.

I told him that there are diverse tools that persons can use to be recognized. Sometimes people don’t listen to your voice, sometimes they look at your face, they look at your body even before they listen to your voice. He shot back, “I’m really hairy… I really have a baby face but I think my hair sometimes shocks me.”

“Would you pose nude again?” I probed. “Not unless I was paid at least a hundred pesos,” he quipped in jest.

During our “fast talk,” Ben had a hard time choosing between love or career. He chose love in the end. “If I were to open your heart what name of a woman would be written in there? “Sarah,” he fired back while his eyes wandered around the studio until he spotted a beautiful girl seated beside his agent. I later discovered, she was Sarah, Ben’s girlfriend.

With girlfriend, Miss Norway 2009 Sarah Skjoldnes.

Ben dearly loves his mother and he wants to bring her along with him wherever he goes — and that includes heaven and hell. “I would bring my mom. I’m still a mommy’s boy. So I think I need my mom everywhere I go.” 

If he were to be remembered by people via one of A1’s songs, it would be Like a Rose.

At the end of our conversation, Ben played the interviewer and asked me why roses have thorns. “Because beauty is deadly,” I shot back. “Then I’m deadly,” he teased.

Bet you are Ben Adams!