SB19 maps out their next journey with music showcase

It’s a few minutes before their “Mapa Music Showcase” on Tuesday night and SB19’s Justin, Ken, Pablo, Stell, and Josh are palpably anxious. Anxious in a good way — like when you’re psyching yourself up before going on a theme park ride.

The boys are clad in head-to-toe white, styled in a similar way to their military-inspired outfits on the “What?” music video. They’re moving about on the stage, getting comfortable in their outfits, vocalizing lines from their latest single “Mapa.” They’re set to perform both songs live for this showcase.

A few more adjustments and the five of them get settled in their seats for this exclusive pre-show interview.

“We’re ready na po,” says group leader Pablo.

It’s been an eventful past few months for SB19. “What?” continues to gain traction since its release in March, with its music video now at 10 million views on YouTube.

They then launched their limited-edition “What?” premium merch, a collaboration with top fashion designer Chynna Mamawal. The collection has nearly sold out, and part of the proceeds will go towards donating PPEs for medical frontliners.

In April, the group made history as the first Southeast Asian music act to be nominated at the Billboard Music Awards, alongside Ariana Grande and K-pop groups BTS, Blackpink, and Seventeen.

SB19 also went viral recently on China’s social networking site Sina Weibo, with upwards of 200 million views after Chinese influencers posted about them.

20th
April topic No.4.
hot topic continued 12 hours

200M views, 140k posts under that hashtag. Thank

Hashtag link here: https://t.co/eK2fcBkXiZ pic.twitter.com/i5r85c9MNI

— Wenbin (@WenbinHuang96) April 22, 2021

Between meetings, media rounds and rehearsals, the boys are hard at work preparing for their upcoming sophomore album.

Last Sunday, they released “Mapa,” a soulful tribute to SB19’s parental figures that have guided them throughout their journey.

“We’ve been really busy these days. At least through our new song, we’re able to give thanks to our parents,” says Justin. “To let them know that we’re always thinking of them, even if we don’t often get to see them because of our schedules.”

While SB19’s two songs so far for their “Ikalawang Yugto” are of different genres, a few things tie them together, such as the theme of identity. “It’s about going back to our roots, no matter what happens, no matter how high we fly,” says Pablo.

The “Mapa Music Showcase” is their first live (albeit virtual) show for 2021, and the first time they’re performing the song. “I’m excited and nervous because it’s been a long time since we’ve mounted a show like this,” says Josh. “This stage is very important, because at this time, there are many eyes looking at us.”

The boys are well aware that some of these looks are of disdain, borne of hastily-formed conclusions about SB19 based solely on first impressions.

Their fans, the A’tin, are a dedicated community that spends hours each day on the Internet fulfilling their self-appointed roles: streaming SB19’s songs on various platforms, tracking and sharing media features, and recruiting new fans, including bashers who they feel could potentially be converted if they would only get to know the group more.

These days, Filipino and foreign A’tin alike have been preoccupied with voting and campaigning for SB19 to win Top Social Artist at the BBMAs.

Stell says all five of them see and appreciate these efforts, but that the BBMA nod alone is enough. “We’re already so blessed to be nominated for an award like this despite being relatively new in the industry,” he says. “For us, this is a huge achievement.”

“So whatever the results, I hope the fans won’t be disappointed,” adds Ken. “It’s like that sometimes—failure, failure, failure, until you finally reach your goals. We’d rather stay focused on what we have now, and what our next steps are.”

Shortly after doing this interview, the boys of SB19 take to the stage for the “Mapa Music Showcase” and share the creative process that went behind their songs.

The YouTube livestream would peak at 24,000 live viewers and would reach 220,000 views 12 hours later. The hashtag #SB19MAPAShow would go trending on Twitter with a peak of 375,000 tweets.

SB19 would also announce on the show that aside from their new album, they’re set to hold their next concert on July 18 titled “Back in the Zone”—a fitting follow-up to their debut era, “Get in the Zone.”

“In our previous era, we went on a journey, way out of comfort zones to explore and learn new things,” says Pablo. “Now, it’s time to go back where we came from, and show the world who we are, as singers and as individuals.”

If “What?” and “Mapa” are any indication of what’s to come, SB19 is more than ready. — LA, GMA News