‘We can dominate the industry’: P-pop boy band SB19 talk leaving their previous company
June 30, 2023
After announcing that they are now a self-managed group under their own company, Filipino boy band SB19 are back with their second world tour.
The P-pop band’s five members, who previously trained under ShowBT Philippines, are celebrating their growth and freedom as they venture into new heights.
“[Our company 1Z Entertainment] is just not for SB19,” Josh, the band’s lead rapper and sub-vocalist, tells NextShark. “It’s for the future of the OPM industry. We created it because we are visionaries.”
Initially, the band aimed to break into the music scene in the Philippines. After becoming one of the country’s top P-pop groups, they are now looking to revolutionize the music industry of the Philippines and help other Filipino artists. According to the band’s leader and songwriter Pablo, the group also started 1Z Entertainment for more creative freedom.
“We wanted to protect our beliefs and our goals because with 1Z we get to create something that’s really our own without any boundaries or without any restrictions,” Pablo explains.
To put it simply, we have creative freedom on what we want to say to the world and to the people that have been believing in us. Since we are artists as well, we don’t want the things that happened to us before to happen to other artists because we believe that Filipinos are very talented. We know in time our goal is to put Filipino heritage on the world map. We can do it with all the people supporting us. Together, we believe that we can do it, and we can dominate the industry.
The post-apocalyptic-themed EP consists of six songs that highlight the band’s versatility, featuring their first R&B song “I WANT YOU” and vulnerable ballads such as “ILAW” and “LIHAM.”
“Our ‘PAGTATAG’ EP directly translates to strengthening,” Justin, sub-vocalist and visual of the band, says. “It means to sprout or grow, where we reintroduced SB19 and who is SB19. Right now, we’re here in ‘PAGTATAG,’ and we’re trying to show that this is SB19.”
“GENTO,” the first song of their new EP, was pre-released in May and instantly became a hit track due to its upbeat, catchy melody and now-viral TikTok dance.
“‘GENTO’ is basically the summary of the whole journey of SB19 through the past two years,” Pablo explains. “It’s about pushing really hard like you’ve got nothing to lose and being crazy about it.”
“In ‘PAGTATAG,’ it’s all about pushing their boundaries or going into a zone that you’re not comfortable in,” Pablo says. “For example, in certain songs like ‘LIHAM’ or ‘GENTO,’ Justin’s part — where you can hear all over TikTok — it’s a very high note for him, but he was able to do it. I knew from the very beginning that he could do it. I believe in these guys. I know that they’re capable of so much more. That’s why I try to always innovate or try to push their limits.”
Other than the U.S., SB19 will be heading to Canada for the first time, where they are excited to meet Filipinos and local fans.
“I think we got better traction right now when ‘GENTO’ got viral on Tiktok,” Pablo shares. “We’re really expecting or somehow hoping that there are new [fans] who are going to attend our concert, so we’re eager to present ourselves to them as SB19.”
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