Filipino Groups

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week; I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :)

In June I wrote a post about Asian boy bands, featuring groups from different Asian countries. It ended up being quite long, so I split it into two parts and the second part was posted in July. You can see those posts below:

Asian Boy Bands- Part 1: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/06/asian-boy-bands-part-1.html

Asian Boy Bands- Part 2: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/07/asian-boy-bands-part-2.html

I had originally intended to feature a Filipino boy band but realised there were more groups I hadn't written about. So today I'm doing a "stand alone" post about a Filipino boy band and a Filipina girl group. :)

SB19

SB19 is a boy band from the Philippines, formed by ShowBT Philippines Corp. in 2018. The Filipino ShowBT is part of the Korean ShowBT group and SB19 are the first all-male Filipino idol group to have K-pop style training. The band consists of 5 members- leader Pablo (real name John Paulo Nase), formerly known as Sejun, Stell (full name Stellvester Ajero), Josh (Josh Cullen Santos), Ken/Felip (real name Felip Jhon Suson) and Justin (Justin De Dios).

The name SB19 stands for the intials of ShowBT and the addition and subtraction of the dialling codes for South Korea (82) and the Philippines (63), which both come to 19. SB also means "Sound Break", since the group is breaking the current impressions and stereotypes of Filipino idol sound. The last part of their name is also meant to represent the age 19.

The group made their debut in October 2018 with the single TILAHUA. Unfortunately, they weren't that well-received but the boys persevered and their second single Go Up (released in July 2019) gained popularity two months after its release. They went viral after the dance practice video for Go Up was shared on social media by a fan.

Prior to their video going viral, SB19 had been thinking of disbanding. But afterwards their career took off, which saw them go on their first tour, sign with Sony Music Philippines and enter the American Billboard Charts. They released their 3rd single Alab (Burning) on Christmas Day (25th December) 2019, their first release under Sony.

The group brought out their debut album Get in the Zone in July 2020. To date they have released 6 more singles, including What?, Mapa, Bazinga and Wyat; several promotional singles and their first EP Pagsibol, which came out in July last year.

Both Pablo and Ken aka Felip have launched solo careers this year.

SB19's music style is mainly Pinoy pop aka P-pop, a sub-genre of Original Filipino Music (OPM), with other influences. They sing in Tagalog and English. Some of their songs have a "hugot" feel, which from my understanding means deeply emotional.

I first heard about SB19 on the Korean music show Simply K-pop CON-TOUR, on an episode where they virtually visited the Philippines. I didn't know any Filipino boy bands, so I was glad to come across them. :)

This is Bazinga, the 2nd single from Pagasibol. It was released in October 2021. Leader Pablo was a co-writer on the song, which is a mixture of trap-pop and hip hop with reggaeton influences. It's sung in English and Tagalog, and is about standing up against the online hate the boys have experienced.

English subtitles are available (click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube! :)

Also check out the music video for Ligaya, which came out last December: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi_tk-UJeq0

For more SB19 visit these links:

Kprofile: https://kprofiles.com/sb19-members-profile/

Official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/SB19Official

Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialsb19/

Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6XBcQj5Hs4

PABLO's solo YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PABLO91494/a

FELIP's YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_8Z7UgZJy8AOZ6-k9uNtMQ

BINI

BINI is a Filipina girl group formed by the TV network ABS-CBN's Star Hunt Academy programme in 2018. 250 girls auditioned and 8 were chosen for the final. The members are Jhoanna (full name Jhoanna Christine Robles), Aiah (Maraiah Queen Areceta), Colet (real name Nicolette Vergara), Maloi (Mary Loi Yves Ricalde), Gwen (Gweneth L. Apuli), Stacey (Stacey Aubrey Sevilleja), Mikha (Mikhaela Janna Lim) and Sheena (Sheena Mae Catacun).

The group name is from the Tagalog word "binibni", which translates as "young lady" in English. BINI trained for two years before releasing their pre-debut single Da Coconut Nut (a remake of a popular Filipino novelty song) in November 2020. They made their official debut with the electronic pop, English language single Born To Win in June 2021, followed by the release of their debut EP of the same name in July.

In October 2021 the girls brought out their first studio album, also titled Born to Win. It reached No. 1 in the Filipino iTunes Album Chart. The album features songs in several languages- Filipino and English, and also Bahasa Indonesian, Japanese, Thai and Spanish versions of Born to Win. To date they have released 5 more singles, including Kapit Lang, Na Na Na and Lagi. Their music is also P-pop.

This is Na Na Na, which came out on 8th June. The music video is a special fan edition, part of a project where a fan won an online campaign and a chance to be featured in the video. English subtitles available! :)