SB19’s new single, ‘Moonlight,’ recorded in New York and mastered in England by international producers, puts the Filipino vocal group almost on equal footing with of one of its idols, BTS.
Jay Durias must be beaming with pride. SB19, the Filipino male vocal group whose groundbreaking song “Mapa” he co-produced in 2021, has become the leading exponent of P-pop—the country’s answer to K-pop.
Composed of five members—Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin—who made the final cut from a talent search conducted in 2016 by Korean agency ShowBT Entertainment, SB19 has proven its credibility via an impressive body of work six years after its launch in 2018.
What makes SB19 great is not just its choreography-driven stage act and stunning videos, but, more importantly, its songs. From its debut album, Get in the Zone (2020), the group’s chief songwriter, Pablo, came up with two hit tracks, “Go Up” and “Alab (Burning). Never mind if its debut single, the ballad “Tilaluha,” didn’t take off. What matters is that SB19 didn’t quit (it almost did).
The turning point came with the release of the EP Pagsibol (2021), with two singles dropped in advance. The first one, “What?”, is a grand exercise in confidence building, whose lyrics ingeniously break the last syllable of some lines to sound like an OG Pinoy rap track: “Lahat ng aking basu-ra/Pupulutin, laging da-la/Kahit san pa ‘ko magpun-ta/Lapat sa lupa aking mga pa-a…”
The song’s structure, composed of three movements, turns into one jaw-dropping cinematic piece in its video, with SB19’s members showing off their performing skills, and ending the track with a clever wordplay of its title to “What-a-wat”—apparently a nod to Pinoy pride even as the flags waving are not the Philippine colors.
The second single, “Mapa,” is a masterpiece. A love letter addressed to the speaker’s mother (Ma) and father (Pa), the ballad has excellence written all over it, with a brilliant humming chorus (“Latara tara, latara tara…”) featuring main vocalist Stell, and a vow to always remember one’s roots, thus, “Mapa.”
This track helped make SB19 a superstar act, expanding its A’TIN fandom, selling out concerts here and abroad, and earning big bucks from product endorsements. (You now see the group’s image each time you open your GCash.)
Two years later, in 2023, SB19 released its second EP, Pagtatag, bannered by the single “Gento.” A wordplay on the Filipino name for gold (ginto), the song is written in what has emerged as the group’s trademark rap style—in this instance, highlighted by a burst of staccato lines. Its chorus harps on the value of perseverance and hard work: “Halukayin mo na parang gento/’Wag kang hihinto sa ordinary/Kahig pa sige hanggang sa magdugo/Di ka basta-basta makakakita ng gento…”
And just last May 3, a new single dropped—credited, in order of billing, to Ian Asher, SB19, and Terry Zhong. Asher is an up-and-coming American record producer whom SB19 met during the North American leg of the group’s Pagtatag! world tour. Zhong, a Chinese record producer, co-wrote the track with five other foreign artists.
An upbeat dance track, “Moonlight” was recorded in New York and mastered in England. It puts SB19 almost on equal footing with one of its idols, BTS.
BINI: SB19’s female counterpart
Meanwhile, another P-pop group, BINI, has likewise been making waves as SB19’s female counterpart. Composed of eight members—Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Sheena, and Jhoanna—BINI, a contraction of the Filipino term for single lady (binibini), is blazing hot on Spotify and in the concert circuit.
It’s more popular than SB19 in terms of number of followers on Spotify: SB19 has 1.9 million monthly listeners, while BINI has 5.8 million. BINI’s top five songs on Spotify have these staggering hits: “Pantropiko,” 56.56 million; “Salamin, Salamin,” 38.49 million; “Karera,” 17.14 million; “Lagi,” 15.36 million; and “Na Na Na,” 14.99 million.
I love the festive Eastern vibe in “Pantropiko” and sensibilities in “Karera” (“Sino bang nagsabi na kailangan kong mauna/Hindi naman ito karera, puwedeng magdahan-dahan/Sa bawat panibagong umaga/Ang pagsimula muli ay isang tagumpay na…”).
But though I find BINI’s vocals a tad too sweet-sounding, here’s hoping the girls stay long enough to mature as women artists in the scene.
Image credits: Facebook/Instagram
