Every Sunday, a popular SB19 fan account posts tarot card readings meant to provide guidance to their beloved Mahalima, their term for the P-pop group. One particular tweet from last month noted the significance of the number eight or the month of August, a recurring motif in past readings. And while this writer doesn’t subscribe wholesale to any particular divination system, one can argue that SB19’s recent successes pretty much confirm these predictions.
Aside from the consistent popularity of the infectious “Gento” (and its inescapable dance challenge) and their recent win in Billboard’s recent fan army face-off (on the 8th of August!), the boys capped yet another successful world tour less than a year since their last one.
Over the past two months, SB19 took on 10 cities across Canada and the US to celebrate the release of their latest album, “PAGTATAG!” The second installment in the group’s album trilogy is said to be the perfect symbol of their personal and professional growth, encapsulating their musical sensibilities. Most importantly, it’s their first release as a self-managed group under their new agency 1Z Entertainment, which means they finally call all the shots in everything from conceptualization to creative direction and execution.
CNN Philippines Life caught up with the boys via email interview to learn about how they translated all this new material to the concert stage for an ever-growing international audience.
‘ ’29’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:1b1527eb-d8df-422d-85de-d33805e440f0’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘SB19 performing their latest album, “PAGTATAG!” across Canada
Hi guys! Congratulations on the recently concluded world tour. I’m sure you made your foreign audiences very happy. Is your approach to these preparations different compared to how you prepare for local performances?
Our songs are the same, as well as the stories we hope to convey in our concert, whether they’re in the Philippines or internationally. One thing that sets the whole experience and preparations apart this time is the fact that we do not have backup dancers. But that doesn’t mean the experience is any less: on the contrary, this allows us to have a more immersive and closer performance with our audience. These more intimate performances require a lot of practice so we can really connect with them and in a way, this makes it more personal to us.
‘ ’30’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:2d54ca39-3208-47b7-a01a-9fbd56306f33’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘SB19 in the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Manila. Photo courtesy
All members did solo stages for the first time during your two-day show in Araneta — the fancams were all over Twitter and you all looked and sounded so great. Tell us more about your process behind choosing what to perform individually.
Josh: While I’m in the process of making my music, I can already tell if the song will be fitting for certain performances, like if a song is for acoustic sessions or for concerts. I chose “Get Right” and “Wild Tonight” for my solo stage because I know these songs have a climax that would really impact the audience.
Stell: When I found out that we’ll have solo performances, I was initially thinking of singing a Bruno Mars song but I was having a hard time deciding which song of his to perform. Then, I remembered a song that was stuck in my head while we were touring last year. We watched a play where the song “Defying Gravity” was performed and I was so moved by that so I thought of performing it myself.
‘ ’31’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:3e923877-7e70-410c-8950-6be5a51cfc6f’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘“Gusto namin ipakita sa mga tao ‘yung passion namin at baka
Ken: I had six songs on my EP to choose from. I decided to pick the songs that would hype the crowd up the most since there’s a chance that casual listeners may be in the audience as well and I wanted to introduce the kind of music I make as a solo artist.
Justin: Three of our members released their own songs already and I’ve written some of my own but it’s not the time to perform those since they haven’t been released yet. I had a lot of things considered with my solo performance including the genre I like most and the feeling of the song but the main focus was the message I want to impart to the audience. I picked the song “Little Things” because the message was resonating with me at the time.
‘ ’32’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:2f831301-05e0-4f6b-a98b-97faee3df334’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘“One thing that sets the whole experience and preparations apart this time is the fact that we do not have backup dancers.” Photo courtesy
The PAGTATAG! world tour is your first as a self-managed group. How have you guys exercised your newfound creative freedom while planning and executing the tour?
“PAGTATAG!” is very personal to us because it tells our journey, our struggles and triumphs, and really puts SB19 in the spotlight. It’s like telling the world that this is SB19. Now that we’re self-managed, we’re able to produce the music we want, plan how we want things executed, and decide how we want to tell our stories. As an extension, the tour is important to us as we take the reins on the creative and musical direction.
The things we want to achieve now require a lot of group work: we listen to each other, we are accountable to each other. There is no one to answer to but ourselves.
How are you also dealing with the additional layer of responsibility that comes with calling all the shots?
There are lots of opportunities for growth and learning. Now that we have 1Z Entertainment, there are many aspects of the business that we’re accountable for. We acknowledge that there are many responsibilities and a lot more work that goes into the things we do and the things we want to do. Our many goals and aspirations for the company require a lot of dedication and hard work and we’re fully committed to ensuring the success of 1Z and the achievement of all these goals. We’re just grateful that we have a team who works with us, provides us with the right input, and journeys with us on this venture.
‘ ’33’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:e0a325cc-b1ef-489e-b6a5-35c3e554a682
In your 2020 cover story with CNN Philippines Life, you mentioned that your ultimate goal was to help promote P-pop, ideally together with other groups. (“Sana may mas sumunod sa amin at makasama pa namin, para pareho kaming umangat. Kung ano’ng sinimulan namin, mag-iwan ng history.”) How can you continue to make this happen, especially now that you’ve set up your own entertainment company?
We aspire to nurture Filipino talents and bring them on the world map. We want to celebrate more Filipino artists — we have so many of them and there is just so much talent to share with the rest of the world! Our goal at 1Z is to be in the zone where we can help talents achieve their full potential.
‘ ’34’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:f7524def-831a-4a05-90fd-82b22151a8f8’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘“Bukod sa established na si SB19, nagiging strong din ‘yung mga taong part ng team namin. Nabuo sila tapos super strong ng samahan na
Do you guys believe in tarot readings? There’s a popular stan account of yours that gives readings for the group every week and I wanted to know if any of these predictions resonate with you. Which reading would you want to bring along with you as you embark on whatever comes next in your career?
There’s also a representation that the group presence is thriving [more] than ever! Everything you have put your efforts into for a long time will pay off! SB19 is building an empire!
Stell: Feeling ko parang “timely” ‘yung reading na ‘to. Ang dami ko kasi nakikitang mga post from a lot of casuals recently na nadi-discover nila ‘yung SB19 and ‘yung mga tao na ‘yon, ‘yung mga unlikely ma-reach ng SB19. Either super casual or parents nila na ‘yung anak naman, hindi K-pop or P-pop fan. [For brand partnerships din,] kadalasan ang gagawin ng mga brand is ‘yung mismong project na iniisip nila. But with SB19, nakakagawa sila ng something na pasok sa brand at sa SB19. Mas matunog siya kaya nahihikayat ‘yung mga fans at consumer na bilhin ‘yung product and i-support ‘yung SB19. Nagiging magandang mix siya kaya mas naging powerful or loud ang both parties.
The other thing is the idea of “building an empire.” Ngayon kasi, bukod sa established na si SB19, nagiging strong din ‘yung mga taong part ng team namin. Nabuo sila tapos super strong ng samahan na ‘yon.
‘ ’35’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:88b4b818-c396-4cb8-8070-38a873bd36ff’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘SB19 in Arlington ISD Center, Dallas. Photo courtesy of 1Z
Ken: As a Filipino artist, sobrang hirap i-penetrate ng music scene worldwide, lalo na sa [global] West. There are really big artists there tapos ang dami rin nauna sa amin, hindi lang naman kami. Since nagsisimula pa lang kami, hindi kami ‘yung parang, “Hindi tayo kilala doon. Walang manoonod sa atin.” Nilalagay lang namin sa utak namin na yan ‘yung gagawin naming “fuel” para mag-burn pa lalo ang passion at ‘yung fire sa heart at mata namin. Gusto namin ipakita sa mga tao ‘yung passion namin at baka mainspire nila. Eventually, we hope na ma-aappreciate nila lahat ng efforts namin.
Rapid expansion and growth can be expected, kaya mas lalong lalawak ang reach, particularly sa provinces. SB19 can expect to be very busy but this is one of those ‘good busy’ periods.
‘ ’36’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:93174812-43f8-4850-bb55-795ab60fb189’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘“With our situation currently, sobrang bilis talaga ng mga pangyayari at personally, lumalabas ‘yung flaws ko kasi hindi ko kayang sabayan.”
Justin: With our situation currently, sobrang bilis talaga ng mga pangyayari at personally, lumalabas ‘yung flaws ko kasi hindi ko kayang sabayan. I think magandang ma-keep ko ito in mind para ma-ready ko sarili ko for our busy schedule.
New beginnings are on their way! Be ready to be filled with new energy and new innovative ideas can be put into action now. Have the courage to accept new opportunities that might appear this week!
Strong ‘yung energy pagdating sa growth ng business at company lalo na ngayong month na ito. May mga unexpected collaboration at partnership na posibleng makatulong big time.
‘ ’37’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:2d03d4eb-bf08-4ef3-b03d-7537ad48558f’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘“Kailangan lagi akong mag-strive for greatness to become better para sa mga supporters at sa mga nasasakupan ko.” says Pablo of SB19. Photo
Pablo: All of the above. As a person, maraming tao na related sa akin na gusto ko mag-grow din. At some point, gusto ko na ang 1Z and yung team kasama sa growth. Gusto ko ‘yung idea of “new beginnings” kasi every time na naririnig ko yon, ang naiisip ko agad “growth”. Andon ‘yung hunger mo at ‘yung drive mo na gusto mong umangat pa. ‘Yun ‘yung ayokong makalimutan as a performer and as an individual. Kailangan lagi akong mag-strive for greatness to become better para sa mga supporters at sa mga nasasakupan ko.
‘ ’38’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:9b64b006-1f3c-4a48-bdc7-44995623681e’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘“Gusto ko ma-absorb namin lahat ng magaganda.” says Josh of
