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It had been three years since the group was formed after a talent audition by Korean management agency ShowBT that gradually culled five members out of hundreds through a weekly performance evaluation. Those three years entailed grueling training nine hours a day, six times a week — par for the course under the Korean idol training system.
Case in point: two K-pop groups G-Dragon of Big Bang and Jihyo of TWICE trained for 10 years before finally debuting. It’s a stark contrast to the typical ways one becomes a mainstream artist in the Philippines: join a reality show and be popular with the voting viewers; start out as an independent artist and gain a huge social media presence; or be connected to someone influential. Add a glam team, a few workshops and promotional interviews, and you’re just about ready to make your Philippine showbiz debut.
After all the long-term planning and hard work, SB19’s debut single “Tilaluha” was released in October 2018. The song sounds like a classic OPM ballad while its music video, shot in Seoul, features Korean actors.
On paper it seemed like a crossover that would quickly capture Filipino audiences. But the reception was lukewarm, to say the least.
So in 2019, SB19 members Pablo (formerly Sejun), Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin are all but ready to call it quits. “What we’re trying to do is a new thing here,” Josh told The Korea Times in 2019. “In the Philippines, performing is not a practical way of [making] a living.”
The boys know it all too well. As they sit down for an interview with GMA News Online, some two years after teetering on the brink, SB19 is at the top of their game. Fresh from the release of “What?” — their phenomenal comeback single — the boys are busy working on several projects. But to get here, it’s been a long and uphill battle.
SB19 is Pablo Nase, Stell Ajero, Josh Cullen Santos, Justin De Dios, and Ken Suson. ShowBT
None of the boys are strangers to struggle.
Josh dropped out of school in Grade 3 as his single mom could no longer afford to send him and his sister to school. When he was 13, his family was evicted from their home by barangay authorities after they were unable to pay rent. He left home at 16. Sleeping on the floor of his friends’ houses, he made do with a budget of 30 pesos a day taking on all sorts of odd jobs. Josh finally got a more stable job at a computer shop, which allowed him to pursue a high school diploma through the Alternative Learning System. He would later work as a call center agent.
While in college, Stell worked as a fast food crew member and taught dance classes to kids, along with other side hustles. At one point, he was so overworked that he nearly developed acute pulmonary edema. He spent his recovery babysitting for an aunt who was helping support their family.
For Ken, coming to Manila was the biggest struggle. He was raised by his grandparents in Cagayan De Oro; his parents had to leave him for better opportunities abroad when he was still a baby. He has only seen them in person once. “Nobody supported me,” he says. “Traveling from Mindanao, and then my daily expenses when I got here, I had to look for the money myself.”
Pablo has been singing and writing songs since he was 13, but music took a backseat so he could repay his brother, who quit school to be the family’s breadwinner. He worked as a call center agent while in college and then as a data analyst as soon as he graduated.
Justin, the youngest of the group, was still a student when he was picked to be a trainee. Not wanting to waste the opportunity of a lifetime but also not wanting to burden his parents, he underwent training while working to finish his thesis and graduate on time.
Whenever the going got tough, the five of them turned to music for refuge. Josh, a fan of second-generation idol groups like Big Bang and Girls Generation, met fellow K-pop fan Stell at an event. Stell would later recruit Josh to be a member of his dance cover group Se-Eon. The crew would win competitions in Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea, where they even met BTS.
Ken was a hip-hop dancer and choreographer before discovering K-pop via EXO. He then became a member of K-pop dance cover groups and met Josh and Stell through Se-Eon.
They all met Pablo at the Korean Cultural Center. He used to be averse to K-pop because he felt OPM artists should get more attention. Then he attended a seminar on Korean culture and realized there is a lot to admire and learn from the Hallyu success.
Justin became a K-pop fan after watching the K-drama classic “Dream High” (incidentally, the plot revolves around performing arts students aspiring to be idols). He knew Josh from another dance group they were both in, and found out about ShowBT’s audition while attending their dance workshop.
The video for SB19's "Go Up" dance practice went viral and led to much acclaim for the group.
SB19 spent three years paying their dues and honing their skills. But after the disappointment of their first single, they weren’t sure how much longer they could afford to keep investing in their dream.
“We have performed in different places, different events, but we weren’t really gaining [anything] or earning money,” Pablo told MTV in an interview last November. “It was really hard to pursue our dreams. You have to provide for your family, you have to provide for yourself.”
The boys, however, are nothing if not fighters, so for the release of their second single in July 2019, they went all in. They chose “Go Up” over the other songs they’ve already recorded. The lyrics, written by all the members, talks about persevering through impossible obstacles, which they felt would best represent their journey.
“Before we released our song, we practiced 1,000 times,” Stell says.
That is not an exaggeration. On the wall of their rehearsal studio are sheets of paper with boxes numbered 1 to 30 that they checked off with every run. “Every day, we practice 30 times, and then after, we would show it to our teacher (ShowBT Philippines Academy Director Adelaide Hong) and she would stamp the box, ‘Well done!’”
Pablo, SB19’s leader, says “Go Up” could have well been their swan song: “We told each other that if this song didn’t work out, we would be splitting up.”
But those 1,000 practice runs would pay off. In September 2019, Twitter user and avid K-pop fan @BAE_Sodu chanced upon SB19’s “Go Up” dance practice video and posted it on her account.
The tweet blew up, as did the song’s music video. Pinoys and foreigners alike were impressed with SB19’s vocals and pinpoint choreography. Soon, the group was performing to jam-packed venues across the Philippines (one was sold out in three minutes), doing local and international media interviews, and appearing in commercials for major brands.
After the lukewarm response to their debut single “Tilaluha,” SB19 poured everything into “Go Up.” They agreed that if the song also didn’t work out, they would disband. ShowBT
After that, the boys had rockets strapped to their backs. SB19 would make history as the first Filipino act to hit the Billlboard charts.
This success would be followed by the smash hit “Alab (Burning),” a dancey bop about young love. At 9.5 million views on YouTube, it has surpassed the 9.2 million of “Go Up” and spawned dance covers from countries like Myanmar, Australia, and Canada.
In a January 2020 press con for “Alab,” the group also talked about touring key cities in the Philippines and abroad. Most of these plans, including an Araneta Coliseum show, would be scrapped when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the group didn’t lose momentum.
Last May, SB19 dropped a tribute song for and featuring frontliners, titled “Ikako.” Pablo sent them his demo and each member practiced and recorded their parts from home.
They stayed connected with fans through livestreams and online performances, including one for victims of Typhoon Ulysses, and a virtual concert held in December.
SB19 paid tribute to frontliners with "Ikako."
ShowBT CEO Robin Geong (or “Tatang Robin” to the boys) foresaw the potential of a localized idol group after a visit to the Philippines in 2015. “I noticed the Filipino fans’ enthusiasm and energy for K-pop,” Geong told Forbes in an interview last year. “The advantage of them being fluent in English opened an opportunity and possibility for overcoming K-pop’s weaknesses... I wanted to create a new culture mixed with P-pop.”
Since they’re managed by a South Korean company, the group’s first few performances were for Philippine-Korean cultural exchange festivals, hallyu conventions and concerts. They’ve opened for Momoland in Manila and PSY and GFriend in Incheon.
SB19’s breakthrough came at the perfect time, as Hallyu 3.0 — the resurgence in popularity of Korean culture through K-dramas and K-pop — was about to peak. In the midst of 2020’s lockdowns, it became impossible for anyone with an internet connection not to know about global K-pop acts like BTS and Blackpink. K-dramas became more accessible as Netflix expanded their catalog.
So by the July 2020 release of SB19’s debut album “Get In The Zone” (GITZ), an even larger audience had become familiar with K-pop’s distinct sound and aesthetic.
This is perhaps why SB19 was often mislabeled as “Pinoy K-pop” when they were starting out. In the GITZ era, their K-pop influences were apparent even to a casual fan, and not just because of their wardrobe and hair.
SB19 talked about their inspirations in a 2019 I-Witness documentary by Sandra Aguinaldo.
The lyrics of their songs were written by Pablo but produced and mixed in Korea, so the album’s DNA is a hybrid of the two cultures.
This is also reflected on the group’s name. “SB” comes from the initials of ShowBT and “19” represents the two cultures: South Korea’s country code is 82, the Philippines’ is 63. Subtracting 63 from 82 gets 19.
The fourth single off GITZ, “Hanggang Sa Huli,” has two music videos directed by Justin. The first is an animation featuring characters based on the members, not unlike the music videos of IU and BTS. The other one was shot on location in Jeju Island.
Also in the tradition of K-pop acts, they have an official greeting (“Get in the zone, break! Hi, we are SB19!”) and positions are assigned to members. Pablo (John Paulo Nase) is lead vocalist, main rapper and group leader, also referred to as “Pinuno.” Josh (Josh Cullen Santos) is lead rapper and dancer. Stell (Stellvester Ajero) is main vocalist and lead dancer. Ken (Felip Jhon Suson) is main dancer and vocalist. Justin (Justin De Dios) is vocalist, maknae (Korean word for bunso) and visual (the best-looking or most memorable face of a group). In K-pop, “main” is a notch higher than “lead.”
SB19 has a fandom name, too: A’TIN. It’s spelled like the Tagalog word for “ours” but pronounced like “eighteen”—as in, (SB)19 wouldn’t exist without A’TIN. The group has official fan “merch” that includes a concert lightstick bearing their official emblem and collectible photocards, and yes, an official fandom color (this shade of sky blue). A’TIN has international chapters, among them foreign fans who rely on the English subtitles. They also have a fandom glossary like many idol groups.
SB19 emphasizes they’re not merely K-pop copycats. “We’re influenced by it, as seen in our outfits or the way we look.” Pablo said in an I-Witness documentary in 2019. “But our company enhanced our skills and trained us so that we could promote our own music — Filipino music.”
The group added a second meaning to SB, “Sound Break,” to represent their goals of breaking the OPM mold, raising the bar for local idol groups, and representing Filipino music on a global scale.
SB19 at the 2020 Philippine-Korea Exchange Festival. They filmed “Alab” and “Go Up” at the National Museum and Luneta Park in indigenous outfits by Balik Batik. Treehouse Story for ShowBT
Being associated with K-pop has been a double-edged sword for SB19. On one hand, the perfectionist approach has helped solidify their legitimacy especially among Filipino fans of K-pop, many of whom appreciate the investment in work and the level of artistry that goes into every act that debuts.
Some K-pop fans were, in fact, convinced it would be a while before the Philippines can get to that level. It was SB19’s dance practice video — synchronized moves, catchy hooks, Tagalog lyrics — that opened their minds to the possibility that Filipino artists could do it.
And if there’s one thing K-pop fans are good at, it’s evangelizing idols they “stan.” So hallyu undoubtedly played a huge role in placing SB19 on the map.
On the other hand, SB19 didn’t work hard all these years only to be dismissed as a knock-off. Even favorable comparisons meant that the group had yet to be regarded for their own merits. That was the dream: to be the first all-Filipino pop group to go global and pave the way for aspiring Pinoy artists.
It’s important to note that K-pop is itself a hybrid of multiple cultures. Its pioneers in the early ‘90s and even second-generation idols were heavily influenced by hip-hop, R&B, funk, EDM, tropical house, Western pop, rock, folk, and country. Ethnic sounds from Africa, India, the Middle East, and Native America were sometimes thrown in the mix, too, prompting debates on cultural appropriation.
Lyrics to the songs were in Korean (with a smattering of English phrases for global appeal), but it was relatively easy to trace which artists inspired the sound and visuals of a particular music video from that era. It took them years of experimenting with different styles and genres while incorporating native elements and cultural flavors to find the audiovisual hallmarks that make K-pop truly K-pop.
After successfully establishing themselves as performers who belong on the world stage, this was now the definitive next phase for SB19: carving out their true identity.
“Ikalawang Yugto (Second Chapter)” heralded SB19's comeback with a trailer.
The group unveiled “Ikalawang Yugto (Second Chapter),” a minute-long trailer heralding their comeback, in February.
In one scene, the boys saunter through a grand palace hall wearing opulent suits fit for royalty. In the middle of a forest, they are dressed in high-fashion safari wear, a mirror on the grass showing their reflections. At a courtyard, they’re in crisp blue flared trousers, marching band-inspired jackets and white boots. Gone are the bright pastel outfits and colored hair, the finger hearts and cutesy gestures. This SB19 is dapper, fierce, and regal — and they’re eager to show what’s next.
SB19 dropped their latest single “What?” on March 9. The music video, creative-directed by Justin and executed by Mayad Chapters, is five minutes and 23 seconds of rich imagery accompanying a song that transitions from one genre and tempo to another.
“It’s like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in that it takes you through different parts of a story,” says Pablo, who wrote the song. “After my part, the sound changes to take you to Ken’s part, and so on.” To achieve exactly what he had in mind, Pablo recorded a demo with his brother Joshua and then worked closely with Filipino-Canadian producer Simon Servida via daily Zoom calls and Instagram messages. OPM icon Jay Durias of South Border is also credited as producer.
Stell designed the explosive choreography with Ken’s help. “It took me about one week of exploring different concepts and executions,” he says. “Ken contributed so much, too. We would take turns teaching the dance to the members and making adjustments based on everyone’s input.” Two-time World Hip-hop Champion Tank Bautista choreographed the back-up dancers, composed of their friends in the dance community.
Pablo described the song as a combination of rock, hip-hop and EDM, showcasing the members’ individual strengths and musical influences. It carries a theme centered on “strength, resilience, and raising one’s own flag — one’s watawat.”
“A lot of people still doubt us, denouncing everything we do and everything we’re trying to achieve,” he added. “[We’re] not just here to play games or act cool. We love what we do, that’s why we do it respectfully. As SB19 and as individuals, we know we’re not the best at everything, but that shouldn’t stop us from what we want to achieve.”
SB19's single "What?" has been a phenomenon.
Whatever doubts were left, SB19 smashed them all with this single. The ensuing response to “What?” is nothing short of phenomenal: a million views within 24 hours, enthusiastic compliments from Pinoy artists like Ben & Ben, Chito Miranda, Kean Cipriano, and Alex Bruce, as well as from dancer AC Bonifacio and American music journalist Jeff Benjamin (whose name makes a cameo in the video).
As “What?” trended on YouTube, prominent vloggers from several countries uploaded their reaction videos, further boosting its popularity. The feedback has been universally positive, even from non-fans or those who had never heard of SB19 before.
“I think it’s because for one thing, we were the ones that fully produced ‘What?’ and we were so involved with every step of the production,” Justin says. “Compared to our previous releases where we were assisted by a lot of people, this song has a really different genre and feel.”
“Our previous songs would often get criticized because the instrumentals came from Korea,” adds Josh. “For ‘Ikalawang Yugto,’ we’re incorporating our life experiences and our own brand of creativity into everything we’re working on. We’re the masterminds.”
Justin often consulted Pablo while storyboarding the music video. “As soon as he sent his acoustic guitar demo, I would ask him, ‘What does this [part] mean?’ And his main motivation for the song is that it’s about embracing your individuality. I took it from there.”
The result is seven distinct vignettes: one for each member, one for the chorus, and another for the dance break.
Pablo’s vignette begins with all five of them on a race track at night, clad in black. He raps about continuing to move forward even if he knows he’s not the best. Newspaper clippings about SB19 fly around them, but he isn’t concerned with how people perceive them. In this race, his only competition is himself, and he believes he is meant to get better.
Ken is a steampunk king on a throne made of scrap, the junkyard his palace. Justin says his initial idea was that Ken would portray a trash collector based on the lyrics. “After watching movies and music videos for inspiration, I realized not everything has to be said directly,” he says. “So I made him a king. Being a trash collector doesn’t make you a lowly person.”
In his vignette, Justin is garbed in an otherworldly blue robe with sparkling stars, with a view of the Earth from his all-white room in outer space. “The window with the galaxy can be interpreted in many ways, but for me it relates to mental health awareness,” says Justin. “We see and experience things differently. We don’t know what another person is going through, so we have to understand each other.”
Stell is a country worker standing in a dark empty field amidst an impending storm. As he holds a clump of soil in his hand, a question mark takes root and rain begins to fall. In his behind-the-scenes vlog, graphics animator Jay-Ar Villarojas shows the many elements in Stell’s part that were rendered via CGI, such as the lightning bolts and every droplet of rain.
Josh’s story is set in the corporate world: elevator doors open and he comes out in a three-piece suit and eyeglasses. He takes these off one by one and loosens his dress shirt to reveal tattoos and a gold chain. A person who looks at the world differently, he raps, is better than one who keeps their eyes shut to what’s happening around him. There are people who are supposedly intelligent but view things through broken lenses. It’s as if they were molded in an iron maiden—a reference to the medieval-age cabinet with spikes that forced the person inside to stay in one position or be pierced. His part ends with doors too, which close on him after he is dragged into the iron maiden.
Beyond P-pop: SB19’s hopes to pave the way for Filipino artists to achieve success on a global scale. Chapters PH for ShowBT
“‘Are you sure about this?’ We got that a lot during the planning meetings,” Josh reveals. “They worried that our concept was a bit too deep, and that we could tone it down to the simple songs and visuals people are used to.” But the group knew and wanted better. “The world is changing. Even the Philippines,” he says. “People are awake to what’s happening around us and we should give these things importance. This was one way we thought people can cope.”
Pablo believes this is the reason a lot of people appreciate the song. “So many are suffering in this pandemic,” he says. “We have things we dream of doing but can’t. I guess it’s very relatable.”
The boys, too, have gone through some changes in the past year, and they wanted this to be reflected in their new release. “We were like curious kids exploring things during the GITZ era. This time, we have more experience,” Pablo adds. “And we’ve very purpose-driven as a group. We want to make music that’s not just ear candy and visually pleasing, but stirs people’s thoughts and gives them takeaways that can inspire them in how they live their lives.”
If they were going to achieve it, they needed to do things their way, and they needed the right people for the job. “The people we worked with on ‘What?’ like Simon, Chapters, Mark [Ranque, wardrobe stylist], are people we’ve always wanted to collaborate with,” Josh says. “We really handpicked them for this project.”
In addition to shooting on specially-built sets in a warehouse, SB19 shot on location in Batangas and in Pampanga’s lahar-covered plains. A variety of cameras were used including a GlamBOT, a high-speed robotic camera arm typically used on Hollywood red carpets.
The practical and special effects also required extensive post-production work. “Here in the Philippines, very few have really attempted this kind of music video,” Josh says. “We weren’t sure at first how we could execute our plans, but at the back of our heads, we were convinced we could make it happen.”
The video has now reached nearly eight million views, more than anything the boys expected. “We’re so thankful to our fans. Now, more people are listening to us,” Ken says. “Casual listeners are taking notice. It’s such a great feeling, having people appreciate the music that you’ve labored over. We’re being recognized now, not just here in the Philippines.”
When the situation gets better, the group would love to travel and meet A’TIN in other countries. Pablo, along with Stell and Justin, want to go to Japan. “If to perform, I really want to go to the US,” Ken says. Josh gives the same answer. “It’s my dream to do shows there,” he says. “But wherever our feet take us, the chance to share our music all over the world would already be a blessing.”
SB19 at the Wish Music Awards in January. They took home the Group, Pop Song, and People’s Choice awards for 2020 over well-established OPM artists they look up to. ShowBT
It’s not just the idol training and work ethic — the boys of SB19 famously show up to everything on time, never complain, and always clean up after themselves — that they hope the local industry could experience. One of their goals is to be a major driver of the country’s economic growth.
“To have global fans boosting our tourism, learning our cultures, studying our languages,” Josh says. “Just like in other countries, I can see our artists being able to evolve our industries, too.”
These are lofty goals for sure, but not at all impossible. In the three years since SB19 debuted, several Filipino idol groups have emerged and are showing great promise such as 1st.One, Alamat, BGYO and Bini among others. Notably, Alamat has members from different Filipino ethnicities who sing and rap in their own languages: Tagalog, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Waray, and Bisaya.
Like SB19, P-pop boy group 1st.One, whose Filipino-Korean member Jayson was discovered after appearing on “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” was formed by a Korean management agency. They underwent idol training for two years prior to their debut, during which time they also won two international dance competitions and performed alongside the biggest K-pop idols at the 2020 Seoul Music Awards.
One might think this could lead to a toxic rivalry common among entertainment fandoms; refreshingly, on the comments section of 1st.One’s debut single “You Are The One” are messages of encouragement from A’TIN. SB19 has raised the bar so high for P-pop, they say, and this is the result. Others mention how happy “Pinuno” must be that groups like 1st.One are doing well, since this is his vision.
“My ultimate goal is to be able to create an ecosystem or a hub where all kinds of artists, editors, anyone who’s very passionate about what they do, can come together and help one another succeed,” Pablo confirms. “A place that’s all good vibes, where artists can hang out, make some beats or some songs or create all sorts of stuff. That’s my dream.”
Now that SB19 is a force to reckon with, it’s hard to imagine that Pablo, Justin, Stell, Ken, and Josh once thought of giving up. In these challenging times, their music is both a gift and a reminder: if we keep doing our thing, we just might make it.
With editing by Lou Albano
Frame photo by Amanda Dias from Pexels
