Cueshé

Cueshé
OriginCebu, Philippines
Genres
Years active1998–present
Labels
Members
  • Ruben Caballero
  • Jovan Mabini
  • Fritz Labrado
  • Cesar delos Santos
Past members
  • Jay Justiniani
  • Mike Manaloto
  • Jhunjie Dosdos

Cueshé is a Filipino pop rock band from Cebu, Philippines, currently based in Manila. The band was formed in 1998 and hit mainstream in 2005. They are known for hit singles such as "Stay", "Pangako", "Ulan", and "Borrowed Time".

History

Formed in 1998 in Cebu by Fritz Labrado, Jovan Mabini and Mike Manaloto, the word Cueshé is a portmanteau of "Cue", from banana cue; a snack delicacy in the Philippines, which are skewered bananas coated with caramel, and the pronoun "shé" (pronounced shay) is a reference to their former vocalist, a female, who joined in 1999. After the female vocalist left with their songwriter in 2001, she was replaced by Jay Justiniani. They started out performing covers at small gigs such as debuts and weddings, sometimes even bringing their own sound system if their venues didn't have any. They covered songs by The Smiths, Soundgarden, China Crisis, Nirvana, U2, etc. They then started learning how to write and record their own songs.[1]

On December 24, 2001, Justiniani was severely injured in a motorcycle accident. To make ends meet, Labrado became a jeepney driver with Mabini as his assistant, Manaloto traded imported cigarettes to local bars in Cebu, while the rest focused on their studies. Still, they continued their weekly jamming sessions.[1] Jhunjie Dosdos and Ruben Caballero were later recruited in 2002 and 2003 respectively. With the addition of Dosdos and Caballero, the band now features two vocalists, shared between Justiniani and Caballero, with Caballero primarily on lead, while Dosdos played keyboards and contributes backing harmony vocals.

In March 2005, Cueshé decided to move to Manila.[2] To do so, their manager closed his talent agency to focus solely on the band, some members dropped out of college while others left their jobs.[3] They were signed to BMG Records two months later.[2] They were one of the first Filipino artists to be signed under the merger between BMG Records and Sony Music.[1] Their song "Stay" became Cueshé's debut single.[4] The group then achieved hit singles ("Stay", "Sorry", "Ulan", "Can't Let You Go" and "24 Hours"), a double platinum album (Half Empty Half Full), and multiple accolades within the span of a year.[5] The band also contributed to The Eraserheads' tribute album, Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music Of The Eraserheads, on which they sang their own rendition of "Hard To Believe" (originally from the album Sticker Happy; released in 1997).[6]

Less than a year later, the band released their second album, Back to Me. The new album contained ten new tracks, all of which were written by the band members themselves. The first single from the album was of the same title, followed by three more singles "Borrowed Time", "Bakit?" and "Pasensiya Na".[7][8] Being fans of The Beatles, they also did a cover of the John Lennon hit single "Jealous Guy". In 2008, a third album was released entitled Driven, which spawned the three singles "BMD", "There Was You" and "Minsan".[9][10] In 2010 the band released their fourth and latest album Life, containing the singles "Pangako", "Lupit", and "Sana".[8]

The band also recorded the theme song of the Philippine television series Asian Treasures entitled "Walang Yamang (Mas Hihigit Sa 'Yo)", which is included in the repackaged version of their album Back to Me.

In 2015, the band released a new single titled "Ikaw Lamang" and announced they were to release a new album soon. The music video premiered in September 2015. Since 2015, they have focused on their live performances, performing at regional music festivals and other events.[11]

Members

Former members

  • Jay Justiniani — vocals (2001–2015)
  • Mike Manaloto — drums (1998–2012)
  • Jhunjie Dosdos — keyboards, backing vocals (2002–2012)

Discography

Main article: Cueshé discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

Year Award giving body Category Nominated work Results Ref.
2005 BOMB FM Awards Song of the Year "Stay" Won
Band of the Year N/a Won
NU Rock Awards Rising Sun Award N/a Nominated
SOP Music Awards Breakthrough Recording N/a Won
2006 MYX Music Awards Favorite Song "Stay" Won [12]
Favorite Artist N/a Won
Favorite Group N/a Won
Favorite New Artist N/a Nominated [13]
MTV Pilipinas Music Awards Smart Texter's Choice Hitmaker of the Year N/a Won
SOP Pasiklaband Band of the Year N/a Won
2009 PMPC Star Awards for Music Duo / Group of the Year Driven Nominated [14]
Alternative Album of the Year Driven Nominated
2011 Duo / Group of the Year N/a Nominated [15]
Rock Artist of the Year N/a Nominated
  • ASAP 2nd Platinum Circle
    • 2006: Double Platinum "Half Empty Half Full "
  • ASAP 24K Gold Award
    • 2007: Gold album "Back To Me"
    • 2006: Platinum "Ultraelectromagneticjam"

References

  1. ^ a b c "The story of Cueshé". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  2. ^ a b "Cebu Based Band Cueshé (read as q-shay) Signs With BMG Records". titikpilipino.com. BMG Records Pilipinas. Archived from the original on 2006-03-02. Retrieved March 2, 2006.
  3. ^ Ladaw, Dennis (August 5, 2005). "The band with the 'Yahoo groupies'". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 5, 2005.
  4. ^ Gil, Baby A. (August 10, 2005). "Cueshe: Several reasons to stay". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  5. ^ "Cueshe to hold fans day on May 25 at SM North EDSA". pep.ph. Rommel R. Llanes. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. ^ Chan, Shyr (February 14, 2006). "Reviving the Eraserheads spirit". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  7. ^ "Cueshe's 1st single off sophomore album premieres on MYX". Philstar.com. July 28, 2006. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  8. ^ a b "Cueshe returns with Pangako". Philstar.com. September 14, 2010. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  9. ^ Llanes, Rommel R. (April 7, 2008). "Cueshé releases third album titled "Driven"". PEP.ph. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  10. ^ "Cueshe releases new single "There Was You"". PEP.ph. October 29, 2008. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  11. ^ "Rock band Cueshé to headline Labangon Music Fest". Philstar.com. October 16, 2025. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  12. ^ Allan Castalone. "MYX Music Awards 2006 Winners". Mukamo. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  13. ^ Baby A. Gil (May 1, 2006). "List of 1st MYX Music Awards nominees". PhilStar. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  14. ^ "1st Star Awards for Music to be held at the Skydome, SM North". PEP.ph. October 13, 2009. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  15. ^ Reyes, William R. (September 9, 2011). "3rd Star Awards for Music will take place on October 16". PEP.ph. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
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