Magandang buhay!
I hope things are going well for everyone. It's been a lovely day up here. The sunshine was plenty paired with some cool breeze which the boys planting veggies seemed to appreciate. They even had their solar radio blasting down the property. Their loud music reminded me of the usuals on Tuesdays, TTT.
And so off I went to YT for my own hunt. Not long after opening the site and typing some keywords, a new unfamiliar band came to my attention through The First Take channel. At a glance, I thought the boy band wasn't local then bam! Tagalog in the lyrics!
Reading the caption, I learned that they are Filipinos, and the music video was their appearance in The First Take, a YouTube Channel dedicated to filming musicians and singers performing in a single take.
Okay, let's watch them already :)
SB19 - Gento (The First Take)
SB19 was formed in 2018 and is now a self-managed band through its own company, 1Z Entertainment. The group promotes its music as contemporary Pinoy Pop, a sub-genre of Original Pilipino Music (OPM). The group's members are
- Pablo (John Paulo - the band leader, main rapper, and lead vocalist)
- Josh (lead rapper & sub-vocalist)
- Stell (main vocalist & lead dancer)
- Ken (lead vocalist & main dancer), and
- Justin (sub-vocalist)
Anyway, the song above was approved as an entry to the 66th Grammy Awards. Accordingly, it became viral on TikTok for its addictive phrases and unique dance moves and this music video was a one-shot recording, exclusive to The First Shot.
SB19 ft Apl.de.Ap - Ready
The group does know how to collaborate with other artists. This song, a dance-pop track was their first collaboration with Apl.de.Ap, a Filipino-American rapper, singer, producer, and founding member of Black Eyed Peas. The lyrics were written by the "Black Eyed Peas resident rapper with Jean-Baptiste, Vince Nantes, and Denzel, while SB19's Pablo and Radkidz's Josue contributed to the song's production."¹
The fun music got me singing along (even when I didn't know the exact lyrics, lol). But now I do, and I'm ready for the night!😅
And then here comes the third that got me emotional and shedding tears. I warn you to get some tissues ready! This one stirs emotions and moves you deep within.
Lataratara...
SB19 - MAPA
(If the English translation of the lyrics are not showing up, check the settings and switch the subtitles ON.)
It is such a beautiful tribute to parents who have done so much for their kids. The music video is so simple yet draws you in, maybe because of how passionate the group delivered it. And the lyrics which, by the way, were a composition of John Paulo or Pablo, the group's leader.
The song was released a week after Mother's Day 3 years ago and as of this writing, the video has almost 100 million views on YT. Here's the English translation of the first stanza and the chorus:
- The letters in the group's name (SB) were taken from the initials of their former Korean management company, ShowBT.
- The number 19 is derived from the country calling codes of South Korea (+82) and of the Philippines (+63)- the difference between 82 and 63, and the sum of the digits (8 + 2 + 6 + 3). It symbolized the collaboration of the two countries in the formation of the group. The members themselves, however, used the phrase "Sound Break" — for the goal to "break into the music scene"²
- In July 2022, Teen Vogue listed SB19 as one of their Favorite Boy Bands Of All Time.
- The band is the very "first Southeast Asian artist to be nominated as Top Social Artist at the 2021 U.S. Billboard Music Awards. It is also the first Southeast Asian act to make it in the top 10 of the Billboard Social 50, debuting at number 28 and then at number 2 on August 2020, and then a week later, peaking at number 5 on the Emerging Artist Chart."³
And there goes my recommendation for the 162nd Edition of the Three Tune Tuesday initiative by Ablaze. How do you find them so far? Are they your type of music or nah?
Lataratara...
Thank you and have a groovy Tuesday!
Lead image edited via Canva. Screenshot from SB19's Gento MV. Videos courtesy of their owners. No copyright infringement intended. 02072024/21:25ph