Global sensation P-pop boy group SB19 - comprising members Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin - has officially made their highly-anticipated comeback in the music industry with the release of their newest EP PAGTATAG!
Last Friday, June 9, 2023, SB19 gathered at the Brooklyn Warehouse in Manila to meet with the media and officially launch their new set of music. They allowed the press to get a little bit closer to the making of PAGTATAG! and gave them a handful of gifts to thank them for joining them in their journey of growth.
SB19 wowed various news publications with their live performances of “GENTO” and “I WANT YOU” as well as gave them an early preview of the latter's music video. During the media launch, they also talked about who they are now as self-managed artists under company 1Z Entertainment as well as their future plans, world tour, etc.
Check out the rest of the happenings in the gallery below.
SB19 is a P-pop global sensation group managed by their own entertainment company, 1Z Entertainment. Members comprise Stell, Justin, Ken, Pablo, and Josh (from left to right).
Last Friday, June 9, 2023, SB19 officially launched their newest EP PAGTATAG! which includes their hit song “GENTO” as well as new other tracks such as “I WANT YOU,” “CRIMZONE,” “ILAW,” “LIHAM,” and “FREEDOM.”
SB19 started the night with a blast as they opened the media launch with their powerful performance of “GENTO.”
Justin, Ken, and Josh were oozing with charisma when they hit the moves to “GENTO.”
On the other side, Stell and Pablo looked dashing and dapper as always dancing to “GENTO.” As the center, Josh dominated and flexed his hip personality.
Ken made sure to capture everyone's attention during their performance by climbing up on the table and rapping like a pro.
In front of numerous media publications, SB19 did not falter and gave their all while performing “GENTO.” The song further solidified SB19's success globally as it entered Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart at No. 8 a few weeks after its release.
“GENTO” is all everyone's talking about these days, especially on social media platform TikTok where you can spot numerous renditions of the “GENTO” challenge from different parts of the world.
After their performance of “GENTO,” SB19 greeted the media with warm hearts and gifted them with an early preview of their song “I WANT YOU” and its sultry music video. The new track is a soulful R&B piece that's overall sultry and passionate.
After showcasing “I WANT YOU,” SB19 sat down with the media to talk about their highly-anticipated comeback, new EP PAGTATAG! as well as their plans for the future.
When asked what PAGTATAG! is all about, Ken who also serves as their creative director explained, “'Yung PAGTATAG! po as we always say po is the second part of our trilogy from PAGSIBOL to PAGTATAG and then sunod po is yung Simula at Wakas. For PAGTATAG! po, dito pinapakita namin na as SB19 matatag na kami. 'Yung from our story sa PAGSIBOL kung paano kami mag grow this time sa PAGTATAG ito kami, ganto si SB19 and ito si SB19.”
SB19 was also asked about the reason behind pre-releasing “GENTO” to the public and Ken shared, “'Yung 'GENTO' po kasi basically it summarizes the whole journey of SB19 kumbaga 'yung buong story namin. If you really try to understand the lyrics of the song maiintindihan nyo po kung bakit 'yun 'yung lead track sa EP namin. Kumbaga nahahalintulad din namin 'yung sarili namin sa ginto hindi lang sya gento as a slang word of ganito ibig sabihin din po nya is ginto. Kumbaga, it isn't luck na nandito kami ngayong lima. 'Yung gold matinding proseso 'yung pinagdadaanan gaya samin matindi din po 'yung pinagdaanan namin, 'yung blood, sweat, and tears na binuhos namin para makarating sa ganito kalayang lugar.”
When asked why they felt they needed to release a manifesto, Pablo answered, “Yung manifesto po kasi it's like a promise po para sa sarili namin, para sa mga taong naniniwala samin, para sa lahat ng taong involved sa lahat ng nirerelease namin or pinapakita namin sa ibang tao. Yung PAGSIBOL po parang nag experiment po kami noon kumbaga inaalam pa po namin kung sino si SB19 talaga. During PAGSIBOL nagsend din po kami ng messages to our fans pero para po saamin it's always not enough thanking them through words. So gumawa kami ng manifesto ng promise na talagang every time we step on stage ibibigay namin 'yung lahat namin and sa manifesto na 'yun, hindi lang sya effort ng SB19 it's an effort of everyone around us.”
Apart from their new EP, SB19 also talked about establishing their own company and achieving the freedom they deserve. Josh shared, “It all started with a crazy idea na during trainee days nagbibiruan kami na parang we wanted to make our own company, our own pacing, our own management, handpicked of people na pinagkakatiwalaan namin. It's one of our dreams to build our own company. Sabi nga nila diba, 'Curious people are the ones who really get to change the world.' So 'yun po 'yung ngayon ita-try namin gawin. Since we are now in charge, ito pong 1Z we built it not just for SB19 but for the whole P-pop or OPM industry kasi we wanted to challenge the industry and the market and alam namin maraming talented Filipinos. In the future, we wanted to hone talents as well and of course ipagpatuloy 'yung mga nangyayari sa atin ngayon. Nakuha na natin 'yung momentum, we just have to work harder para makamit natin 'yung end game na tinatawag natin which is syempre the growth of OPM and hopefully in the future help the Philippine economy.”
Stell remained humble and down to earth as he recognizes the talents and dreams of the people behind SB19, “Kami po 'yung P-pop group na nagtransition to artist to self managed po. 'Yung lakas ng loob din po kasi 'yung kailangan kasi sino ba naman po kami para hawakan 'yung sarili namin na pangalan na napakalaking SB19 na wala pa kaming alam sa ganitong klaseng mundo but we have people behind us na talaga tinutulungan kami and we're very thankful na kasama namin sila and naniniwala sila samin kahit na napakaliit palang ng 1Z Entertainment. 'Yung mga taong tumutulong samin malaki na rin 'yung pangarap.”