ฺBodyslam was originally called La-On (Thai: ละอ่อน)which means kids or younger people in Northern dialect of Thai language. In 1996, the band entered a band competition for high school students called "Hot Wave Music Awards" and won top prize beaten out nearly a hundred other bands. La-on was quickly signed a record deal with Music Bugs, a record company, and released self-titled pop-rockalbum in 1997 with Dai Rue Plao (ได้หรือเปล่า) became the most recognized song. The band members portrayed roles of themselves in lakorn (Thai TV series) Thep Niyai Nai Sano (เทพนิยายนายเสนาะ) and later released the series' soundtrack in the same year.