Cueshé

History

Cueshé was formed in 1998 in Cebu by Fritz Labrado, Jovan Mabini, and Mike Manaloto. The band's name combines "Cue", from banana cue (a Philippine snack of caramel-coated skewered bananas), and "shé" (pronounced shay), a reference to their original female vocalist who joined in 1999. After that vocalist and the band's songwriter left in 2001, Jay Justiniani replaced her.

The group began by performing covers at small events like debuts and weddings, sometimes bringing their own sound system. Their cover repertoire included songs by The Smiths, Soundgarden, China Crisis, Nirvana, and U2. They later learned to write and record original material.

On December 24, 2001, Justiniani was severely injured in a motorcycle accident. To support themselves, Labrado drove a jeepney with Mabini as his assistant, Manaloto traded imported cigarettes to local bars, and other members focused on studies, though weekly jamming continued. Jhunjie Dosdos and Ruben Caballero joined in 2002 and 2003 respectively, giving the band two vocalists: Justiniani and Caballero (primarily lead), with Dosdos on keyboards and backing vocals.

In March 2005, the band moved to Manila; their manager closed his talent agency to focus on them, some members left college, and others quit jobs. They signed with BMG Records two months later, becoming among the first Filipino artists signed under the BMG-Sony Music merger. Their debut single "Stay" was followed by hits including "Sorry", "Ulan", "Can't Let You Go", and "24 Hours", and their album Half Empty Half Full achieved double platinum status within a year.

Their style became associated with the term pogi rock. Cueshé contributed a rendition of "Hard To Believe" to The Eraserheads tribute album Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music Of The Eraserheads.