SB19



SB19 is a five-member Filipino boy band that debuted in 2018, consisting of Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken, and Justin. They were trained for three years by ShowBT Philippines, beginning in 2016. They are the first Filipino and Southeast Asian act to be nominated in Billboard Music Awards for the Top Social Artist category. They are also the first Southeast Asian act to enter the top 10 of Billboard Social 50 weekly and year-end charts. SB19 promotes its music as part of Pinoy pop (P-pop)—a popular sub-genre of Original Filipino Music.

Name
The letters in the group name were from the initials of their Korean management company, ShowBT. The number 19 had derived from the addition or subtraction of the country codes of South Korea (82) and the Philippines (63). 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" and improve the quality of Philippine boy groups.

2016-2018: Formation and early years
SB19 was formed by ShowBT Philippines, the Philippine subsidiary of ShowBT Group in Korea. After the members were selected from hundreds of auditionees during a talent search in 2016, they underwent the same type of training provided to K-pop idols. They were supposed to be performers only on the company's events and activities but CEO Geong Seong Han decided to launch them as a boy group. The group debuted with Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken, and Justin on October 26, 2018, with the ballad single "Tilaluha". However, their initial efforts at promotions, mostly in schools and malls, were met with a "lukewarm" reception.

2019: "Go Up" and rising popularity
SB19's second single "Go Up" was released on July 19, 2019. Pablo described the song as their "last shot" because this is the time they decided to split apart if their career would not progress after. Unexpectedly, they gained public attention after the dance practice video of the song was uploaded to their YouTube channel and shared by a fan on Twitter and Facebook. Opportunities opened and the group started to appear in multiple radio and television outlets, and local and international media. On December 22, they hold their first-ever nationwide concert titled SB19: Get in the Zone, covering ten cities in the Philippines as a follow-up promotion for being viral.

On November 20, SB19 became the first Filipino act to appear on the Billboard Next Big Sound chart. They also became the first Filipino act to enter the Billboard Social 50, debuting at number 28 on the week of December 28, 2019. Jeff Benjamin of Billboard noted that a growing international fanbase had aided their appearance in the chart. He added that "more artists [will] continue to look East for inspiration and a larger audience". Forbes remarked that the localization of ShowBT of the K-pop model is not unique, but SB19 is the first in the Philippines to succeed due to their "strategic use" of social media—the main factor of SB19's Social 50 chart appearance.

On December 25, Sony Music Philippines announced that SB19 had signed a recording contract with them, and on the same day, the group released their third single, "Alab (Burning)", under the new record label.

2020: Get in the Zone
On March 9, 2020, SB19 has been added to the roster of artists of Spotify's RADAR Program, which supports new artists through marketing campaigns. The quintet released their debut album Get in the Zone, featuring nine tracks, including three released singles and two unreleased tracks, on July 31, 2020. Two weeks after the release of the album, SB19 achieved its highest position on the Social 50 chart at number two behind BTS on the week of August 15. A week later, the group peaked at number five on the Emerging Artist chart while simultaneously remaining number two on the Social 50.

On the week of October 24, SB19 appeared on the LyricFind Global—their fourth Billboard chart appearance—with "Go Up" at number 17. On November 28, the group achieved their first top one hit on Billboard, after "Alab (Burning)" debuted at number one on LyricFind Global. "Tilaluha" also debuted at number one on the same chart on the succeeding week.

On December 3, SB19 appeared at number six on Billboard Year-End Social 50 chart, making them the first Southeast Asian act to reach the top 10 of the magazine's annual chart. "Love Goes" reached number one on its third week on LyricFind Global on December 19. The following week, their promotional single "Ikako" made its debut at number one, marking the group's fourth top one hit on the same chart.

2021-present: Pagsibol
On January 6, "Hanggang sa Huli" reached number one on the LyricFind Global. On the week ending January 16, "Wag Mong Ikunot ang Iyong Noo" debuted at number one on the same chart. On the week of January 30, the group earned their seventh number one on the chart with "Go Up" peaking at number two.

On February 9, the group announced their comeback date through a teaser photo on their social media. The group released "What?" on March 9, 2021, as the first single off their upcoming extended play, initially planned to be released in June 2021. On April 24, their first-ever fashion collection, in collaboration with Chynna Mamawal, was released that featured two limited premium sets, shirts, and dresses, all inspired by the single.

On April 29, SB19 became the first Filipino and Southeast Asian act to be nominated in Billboard Music Awards for Top Social Artist along with BTS, Blackpink, Ariana Grande, and Seventeen—which BTS won the award. It marked the first-ever appearance of a Filipino artist in the Billboard Music Awards.

Their second pre-release single titled "Mapa" was released on May 16, 2021, as a tribute for mothers and fathers. A band version in collaboration with Ben&Ben was released on June 27, 2021.

On June 30, SB19 announced the title of their first extended play Pagsibol, which was released on July 22, 2021.

On October 21, SB19 has been nominated as Best Southeast Asia Act at the 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards. To celebrate the group’s 3rd Anniversary, on October 23, the award-winning group announced a two-night virtual concert titled 'Our Zone' taking place on November 27 and 28.

On November 4, the Pinoy pop group SB19 made it again to the Billboard charts for their latest single, "Bazinga". The First Filipino Act, to enter the newly launched music charts powered by Twitter. The track debuted at number 14 on the Hot Trending Songs chart for the last 24 hours and number 20 for the past seven days. The Billboard Hot Trending Songs charts was launched utilizing real-time music-related trends and conversations on Twitter. On November 13, the grup has released the films’ trailer, which will be featured in 'Our Zone Anniversary Series.’ It will be shown and streamed in OTT platform WeTV and YouTube.

Impact
While Filipino boy and girl groups had been around before SB19, the boy band is credited for "paving the way" for the launch of other music groups displaying a similar level of training, skill, and talent.