There’s something in Korean pop groups that make them globally competitive and enable them to become fan favorites.
That apparent secret recipe is being put on the line with the recent launch of SB19, a five-piece act described as the first-ever Filipino boy group under ShowBT—a Korean company specializing in entertainment production and talent management.
In fact, the group’s very name implies its intention to “break into the Philippine music scene with their fresh style and unique brand of music.”
The number 19 simply refers to the number that separates the area codes of South Korea and the Philippines. The message is to bridge the gap between the two countries as far as entertainment showcase is concerned.
Will it work?
“Naniniwala po kami na kaya makipagsabayan ng Filipino talents globally,” the group told media guests gathered at Luxent Hotel in Quezon City during a press conference held for them recently.
Well, we all know that.
We have yet to see if Filipino fans are truly ready to see the K-pop brand as embodied by kababayans.
To partly address the question, netizens seems to be receptive to this idea as the group SB19 now enjoys some kind of good traction, with their Facebook likes quickly hitting nearly 30,000 and their Spotify plays and listeners reaching more than 23,000 and around 5,000, respectively, as of this writing.
The group is composed of young men carrying first-name stage names: Sejun, Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin. The were chosen from a bunch of hopefuls eyeing to embrace the kind of training that fueled K-pop groups to world stage.
For the past three years, the members of SB19 have been training like K-pop idols under the K-pop system of Korean entertainment company, ShowBT Philippines Corp.
“We envision to spread a new culture across the globe,” said Geong Seong Han, founder of ShowBT Corporation that established a Philippine arm in 2015.
Twelve years before that, he put up ShowBT with the motto, “Power to transform culture.” That should also mean passing on the Korean style of performing and displaying brilliance to neighboring nations like the Philippines.
Seeing that his vision is being realized, Han takes extra pride in saying that these boys born and bred from the Philippines and then nurtured in Korea are now “all-around performers who can sing and dance a wide variety of genres, compose their own music, and create their own choreography.”
One seasoned entertainment scribe told everyone he was stunned to see them that good.
Group leader Sejun pointed out, “Maaring maninibago po kayo sa amin kasi ibang training ang pinagdaanan namin. Gusto lang din namin maiparating na hindi dapat natatakot ang Pilipino to evolve in the sing and dance department.”
K-POP WITH HUGOT
Allowing to let their Filipino roots appear on their act without forcing anything, SB19 got to infuse some hugot lines in their released ballad “Tilaluha,” musically composed by Kyeong-su Kim.
The song “about trying to forget someone you love who turns out to have feelings for somebody else” came out in October 2018.
The follow up, “Go Up” is said to be its breakout single, with the inspiring lyrics collectively written by the boys.
“Gusto ko pong i-improve ang sarili ko both as a performer and as a person,” said Josh, one of the more Korean-looking of the bunch.
Asked about their showbiz crushes, most of them mentioned Sarah Geronimo whom they described as a woman of various talents and strong charm. Having said that, they hope to collaborate with the pop icon.
BETTER PERFORMERS, BETTER PERSONS
One member, Justin, is marked by observers as the person most likely to be a star on his own, given his standout looks.
SB19, though, assured everyone they want to do things as a group for long and whatever individual edge any of the member has is for the benefit of everyone.
“Nagpunta po kami ng Korea to record songs, learn the performing routines, and even the manners. Tinuruan po kami doon to be better persons,” explained the boys.
They added, “Filipino pop group po kami na influenced in good ways ng K-pop.”
Again, in every boy group, talent should always be a given, while the formula that works must be applied accordingly. On this note, K-pop is more than just about doing pop culture things Korean. It’s more of doing things that meet the global standard of excellence.
VIRAL VIDEO of SB19
SB19 is a K-pop inspired group that markets itself as a “Pinoy pop” boy group.
The P-pop group became viral recently after the release of its dance practice video to accompany its “Go Up” music video.
A K-pop fan account using the handle @BAE_Sodu on Twitter tweeted about the video on Monday, September 2.
To date, it has registered over 891,000 views on Twitter and 78,500 likes.
Netizens praised the members of SB19 for their synchronized dance moves and their impressive vocals.
One netizen even observed a common practice in the Philippine music industry wherein celebrities who are non-singers are made to release albums.
@@xoxolovexoxo6 wrote:
"MNL48 AND SB19 WILL SAVE THE PH MUSIC INDUSTRY. ITS TIME. RISE UP PH
MUSIC.
"Di puro artista tas pipilitin mag ka album."
MNL48 refers to a Filipino idol girl group that was formed through a nationwide search televised on ABS-CBN noontime show It’s Showtime.
There were also those who compared SB19's performance with the Girltrends, a girl group that was criticized recently for its unsynchronized dance numbers on It's Showtime.
