NOW known as the country’s PPop Kings, SB19’s passion for their craft comes at a time when enabling aspects for their success have become available.
For the longest time, the music industry has been largely controlled by western music, giving little airtime for local artists to be heard and known here and abroad.
Technology, however, has loosened the noose.
New platforms have emerged such as Youtube, Tiktok, I-Tunes and Spotify, among others, giving all artists, young and old, new avenues to reach a very broad range of audiences around the world.
They just need to learn how to navigate their way into a multi-dimensional social network and offer a range of skills that will resonate to a highly discriminating audience who either loves or hates.
Either way, posts go viral if they catch the fancy of certain individuals or groups who passes them on to their followers, not just locally, but internationally as well.
Unknowingly perhaps, or by chance, such was the roadmap taken by SB19.
Drawn together by an audition held by ShowBT, a Korean-led talent management company, its five members Josh Cullen Santos, Stellvester “Stell” Ajero, Juan Paolo “Pablo” Nase, Justin de Dios and Felip Jhon “Ken” Suson survived three long years of training, so rigorous, that they nearly threw in the towel after their first two singles were launched in 2018 and 2019.
All except for Justin, who grew up in a well-provided environment, lived with meager resources and had to earn a living while training. It was a hand-to-mouth existence because they were taken in as mere trainees instead of salaried employees. They received allowances, which were hardly enough for food and transport.
The right love
Josh never knew his father. Left to their mother’s care who worked during the day, they had to be entrusted to a nanny. Unfortunately, at a very young age, he and his sister suffered from an abusive nanny.
While she was later incarcerated for her misdeeds, the experience left the kids scarred both physically and mentally. Their mother struggled to earn their keep. But it was never enough. They lost almost everything, moving from one rented house to another, each time under worsening conditions. And so, as soon as he was old enough, Josh decided to go on his own, find a job and pursue his dreams. Without a diploma to show, he ended up working as an all-around assistant in an internet café where he later earned his skills in gaming until he became one of the country’s best gamers.
This speaks of Josh’s high level of intelligence and resilience which allows him to utilize his virtual skills to successfully navigate through life amidst seemingly insurmountable challenges.
On the side, he pursued his passion for dancing and formed a group that would compete locally and internationally. During one of the competitive events, he met and was in awe of Stell’s dancing skills. To further hone his craft, he applied to be a member of Stell’s group, one that won more competitions over time.
When they heard about the ShowBT audition, they did not hesitate to join. While he made the cut, Josh had to support himself because his former employer made him choose between his job and his dream. He chose his dream and later managed to work in a call center.
To further his academic training, he enrolled himself in an assisted learning school. Josh is SB19’s rapper and lead dancer. He is also a songwriter, producer and solo artist having launched his original songs “Wild Tonight”, “Pakiusap Lang”, “Get Right”, “Yoko Na” and “Sumaya”.
Stell grew up in a closely-knit family. However, they too were of meager resources. To pursue his college education, he took on two jobs: one in a fastfood chain and the other as a dance instructor to kids.
This regimen eventually took its toll on Stell’s health – an important lesson he learned about work-life balance. All his savings went to his medical bills. To recover his health, he took on an easy job of taking care of his aunt’s children for six months in Japan. While he was there, he had an offer to marry into a well-off family, one that he rejected because he wanted to go back home to pursue his dream of performing onstage.
He obviously made the right choice because as soon as he arrived in the Philippines, the opportunity to audition at ShowBT presented itself and Stell gladly took on the challenge.
As a kid, Stell was a natural performer. His mom would always push him to sing during parties. He attributes his successful stint with David Foster where he spectacularly performed “All By Myself” to his mom who, he said, encouraged him to learn the song even at a young age.
Stell is SB19’s lead vocalist and choreographer. He recently launched his solo single, “Room” which immediately trended in social media given its disco beat ala Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars combined along with the edgy dance sequence in its music video – a far cry from the ballad that his fans were expecting from him to showcase his voice range. That will probably come later as Stell recently announced that he will be releasing his EP sometime in August of this year.
However, Pablo and his brother Josue caught the music bug and boldly went into singing, rapping, dancing, songwriting, and production.
They now manage Radkidz, their own production company, which actively collaborates with SB19’s newly formed management company called 1Z Entertainment.
The brothers released their hit duet songs “Determinado” and “Akala” this year. Pablo also launched his solo songs “La Luna” and more recently, “EDSA”.
Pablo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, a very useful background for his passion in writing songs. He is SB19s main composer, an exceptional talent that he willingly shares with his teammates.
During his senior year in Polytechnic University, he began working at a call center. After graduation, he worked as a data analyst, taking the advice of his parents who were still of the mold that the world of music hardly guarantees a secure future.
But Pablo’s passion to perform grew stronger. He eventually quit his job and trained full time at ShowBT after being spotted and later invited by their Korean trainer in 2016. The introvert that he is, it took time for Pablo to be comfortable working with a group. But after qualifying and having been and assigned to lead, Pablo rose to the occasion and became the selfless leader that he is now.
Pablo is a visionary and has taken the lead in the creation of SB19’s management company 1Z Entertainment in 2023 after their contracts with ShowBT expired.
As the company’s CEO, he shares the group’s vision “to create a brighter future for the next generation of Filipino artists, performers and creatives alike.”
SB19 is well aware of the restrictive nature of the Philippine music industry. Hence, they want to break norms and allow a new standard for Filipino artists to express their limitless creativity and passion through groundbreaking music, arts, and entertainment.
Justin and Ken came later for ShowBT auditions. They were both recruited by Josh who met them during their stints in competitive dancing.
As the youngest in the group, Justin was still in school while training with ShowBT. He nearly quit school due to conflicts in his schedule.
But his determination prevailed. He made up for his inability to attend some practice sessions by learning the dance steps and practicing on his own. He made it to the cut and has, in fact, become a critical member of SB19 as their creative director for most of their highly celebrated music videos. Justin has also launched his solo career with his cover of Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning” and his original song, “Surreal”.
Ken was the last to join the auditions. He reigns from Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur with a religious upbringing.
Both his parents work in Malaysia so he and his sister practically grew up under the care of their grandmother.
Ken’s passion for music stems from his father and grandfather who were pastors with a penchant for gospel music. He also had an uncle who early on taught him to play some musical instruments, particularly the guitar and the piano.
In school, Ken’s agility in sports, caught the eye of their dance teacher who recruited him to be a member of the school’s dance group, from which he discovered his natural talent in dancing. This passion pushed him to join dance competitions which eventually led him to compete in Metro Manila where he met Josh.
He hoped to join Josh’s dance group, but it didn’t happen. He went back to the province and started his degree in architecture in Cagayan de Oro College. He never got to finish the course, because Josh called him up to audition at ShowBT.
With only P1,500 in his pocket and his grandma’s blessings, he flew to Manila on a one-way ticket paid by Josh to try his luck. He surprised his aunt who had a small house where he stayed during training. He had to sleep in the living room. He narrated in some interviews that for a month during the early part of his training, the roof of the living room was under repair and he spent several sleepless nights drenched whenever it rained. He never complained having accepted his fate to sacrifice to fulfill his dream.
Ken’s unique low and husky voice became his signature. He is SB19’s bass singer, rapper and lead dancer. He is one of the first to launch his solo tracks. His debut single “Palayo” was launched in August 2021 during SB19’s online concert, “Back in the Zone”. His other solo originals include “Rocksta”, “Criminal” “DrinkSmoke”, and “Flyyyy”.
Ken is also a successful entrepreneur. His interest in fashion led him to create his line of clothes labelled Su-Perior-Son.
The right time
SB19 launched their first single “Tilaluha” in October 2018. It was a beautifully crafted ballad by Pablo that showcased their singing prowess.
While they were all so excited to see their group’s name on Spotify, the song failed to call attention with less than ten views on the day of the launch. Disheartened, they promised to give themselves on last shot with the song “Go Up”.
Upon the launch of the song and the music video in July 2019, they had the same lackluster response. The disappointment became too much to take that all, except for Stell, decided to leave the group. After some convincing by Josh who had a quick change of heart, the rest of them eventually came back.
Fortunately for them, the tide took a sudden turn when their dance practice for “Go Up” suddenly went viral on Twitter. The rest is, of course, history.
In July 2021, SB19 launched the first of three planned EP’s called Pagsibol in with hit songs such as “What”, “WYAT” and “Bazinga” and “Mapa”, dedicated to their parents.
Mapa’s message resonated so strongly that it trended worldwide with the song being translated by fans in different languages.
The song along with “SLMT” is often sung by students during graduations as a tribute to their parents.
SB19, however, made a real mark in the international scene when on the week of December 11, 2021, “Bazinga” reached number one on the Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs. It became the song with the most weeks at number one on the chart surpassing six weeks run of BTS’ hit song “Butter”.
Their second EP called “Pagtatag” produced monster hits such as “Gento”, “I Want You”, and “Crimzone”. Gento came with a dance challenge that went viral worldwide with over a billion views on Tiktok reaching practically all continents and viewed most especially in China where even students performed the dance in huge groups.
Apart from doing local tours, SB19 has done two world tours and likewise performed in other international music events in the key cities in the US, Canada, Japan, Dubai, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. They recently concluded the world tour of their second EP Pagtatag with a two-day concert at the Araneta Coliseum tickets of which sold out in four hours.
The phenomenal success of SB19’s music has earned for them a multitude of awards and nominations in the Philippines and abroad both as a group and as solo artists.
Among the most memorable was in 2021 when SB19 became the first Filipino and Southeast Asian act to be nominated for a Billboard Music Award under the fan-voted Top Social Artist category alongside Ariana Grande, as well as K-pop groups BTS, BLACKPINK, and Seventeen.
Last year, the group was recognized by the prestigious South Korean award-giving body, Asia Artist Awards with the AAA Hot Trend Award and Best Artist Award (Singer).
With the conclusion of the Pagtatag Tour, SB19’s massive fan base called A’tin is looking forward to the final EP of its Trilogy following Pagsibol and Pagtatag.
They have yet to announce its name. But they recently launched “Moonlight”, a collaboration with Terry Zhong and Ian Asher. Moonlight’s unusual choreography quickly became a hit and continues to gain traction in the international scene.
SB19’s passion for their craft remains unshaken. They give their best with each performance and their songs give messages that have inspired countless fans to become better versions of themselves.
Yet, all that would not have been possible without the enabling features of social media. Their phenomenal rise to stardom has been the result of a clever online marketing approach; and, active social media engagements with their fiercely loyal fan base through vlogs or Tiktok postings either as a group or individually, and through a series of Show Breaks where they play games and share their deepest thoughts and background stories.
Much more can be written about this group of dreamers and shakers. But what is apparent is their passion and their love for their craft which has come at exactly the right time – something that signals their destiny for greatness.
