Music

Here's What To Know About SB19, The P-Pop Group That's Stealing Hearts

The group is the first Southeast Asian group to break into the top 10 of Billboard’s Social 50 charts.

In 2017, ARMYs rejoiced as BTS broke Justin Bieber’s streak as the sole winner of the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist. Before the Bangtan Boys earned their first BBMA that year, Bieber claimed the award from 2011 (when the award was first created) to 2016. But BTS’ 2017 victory was no fluke — and the K-pop kings have dominated the award category every year since. This year, their competition includes Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, SEVENTEEN, and another record-setting act called SB19. So, you might be wondering: Who is SB19?

SB19 is a five-piece Filipino boy band consisting of members Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken, and Justin. Princes of Pinoy pop (dubbed P-pop) — a popular contemporary music genre in the Philippines that’s inspired by everything from original Filipino music to K-pop and J-pop — SB19 is the first Filipino and Southeast Asian act to earn itself a BBMA nomination for Top Social Artist, which awards artists based on their social interaction and engagement with fans online. The group is also the first Southeast Asian group to break into the top 10 of Billboard’s Social 50 charts.

Of course, each member of the group has their own vibe, too: Josh is the lead rapper and supporting vocalist; Justin also provides supporting vocals; Ken is SB19’s main dancer and lead vocalist; Stell is the main vocalist and lead dancer; and lastly, Pablo is the group’s leader and main rapper. Here's everything you need to know about SB19 — study up!

They were trained like your fave K-pop idols.

Even though SB19 is a P-pop group from the Philippines, they grind with a K-pop ethos. This is no coincidence: the boy band was established by ShowBT Philippines, the Philippines-based subsidiary of the South Korean entertainment group, SBT. Similar to the process that aspiring K-pop idols experience, the five SB19 boys auditioned to be talent for ShowBT. Once they were selected, they formed the group and were trained like K-pop's finest for three years, before debuting in 2018.

Their debut album dropped in 2020.

Although SB19 broke onto the scene in 2018 with their debut single "Tilaluha," the P-pop crew just released their first album, Get In The Zone, in 2020. The project features "Tilaluha," along with eight other earwormy bops ranging in genre — from EDM-inspired pop and dance to contemporary ballads and emotive R&B. A few of their most streamed songs are title track "Go Up," and singles "Alab (Burning)," and "Tilaluha." Each song has a totally unique energy, so Get In The Zone is an album for every #mood.

SB19 has multiple music videos and even a web series.

The perfect introduction to SB19's artistry? Their music videos and web series. Despite only having one full-length project, the SB19 boys take their visual content super seriously — and they've got the the clips to prove it. With tons of already-released music videos under their belt (one for almost all of the non-instrumental songs from Get In The Zone) there's plenty SB19 to marathon-watch on their official YouTube channel.

In addition to amazing music videos, the group also knows the importance of connecting with their fans via behind-the-scenes content. For "What?," their latest single, the band delivered a five-part docuseries following their journey recording the track and filming its accompanying music video. Titled What: The Making Film, the mini-series is definitely proof that the SB19 boys are total content kings.

Fans are called A’Tin, which means "ours" in Tagalog.

If you're already falling head over heels for SB19, join the club — of their thousands of stans, that is. Dubbed A'tin, which means "ours" in Tagalog, SB19's fandom naturally originated in the Philippines. However, as the band is further embraced by international audiences, the fandom has grown rapidly — and its fandom's name is a reminder of both the group's origins and their acceptance and appreciation of their fans. SB19 introduced A'Tin as their fandom's official name because they wanted to share their successes with their supporters, which is so cute.

To keep in touch with SB19 and share the love with your fellow A'Tin, follow the band on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.