Article | A Year with SB19 and Their Concerts

 By Eddlynn Jennifer Mangaoang

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I found myself becoming SB19's, a Filipino P-pop boy group, fan since last year. Although my twin sister was their fan from the very beginning, it was only last year that I became a total fan. I didn't have any excuses besides not trying to look into them more. 

However, this year, the group gave so many gifts to their fans by throwing not only one but three concerts! Previously, they mentioned that they were in the middle of a nationwide mall shows when the pandemic came and halted their activities. Many people in the music and performance arts industry have to halt their in-person activities, but found online concerts to compensate.

(c) Official SB19 Twitter Account

SB19 threw their first concert this year, their second concert in total, on August 1st, titled Back In The Zone. Their guest performers were Alex Bruce, 4th Impact, and Mona Gonzales. Alex Bruce worked with our youngest, Justin, with her 'Yakap' music video, the song which she sang in the concert in addition to 'Fake Friends'. 4th Impact, a veteran in the fields, was a nice surprise since they apparently signed up with ShowBT, SB19's management. I love the girls since they joined that one Korean music show and X-Factor, and I was one of those who wanted to see a collaboration between them and the boys. 4th Impact sang 'Never Enough' from The Greatest Showman and 'Bang Bang' by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj. Mona Gonzales was a YouTuber who was well-known for her covers of Japanese anime songs. She was the last-minute surprise at this concert, thought the first to perform. She sang LiSA's 'Gurenge' from  Demon Slayer.

(c) Official SB19 Twitter Account

SB19 sang songs from their Get In The Zone album, like 'Tilaluha', 'Love Goes', 'Hanggang Sa Huli', and 'Go Up', and from their Pagsibol album, like 'What?', 'Mapa', 'Bazinga', 'Mana', 'SLMT', and so on.  In addition to their group performances, the boys also did some solo production. Justin sang 'The Scientists' by Coldplay, while Stell went with 'All By Myself'. Both performances gave me shivers. Josh performed One Direction's 'Drag Me Down,' and Pablo sang 'Kelan' with his brother Josue. The highlight of the solo productions was the then-unreleased original song by Ken, 'Palayo'. I felt incredible excitement and enjoyment with all of these performances. 

The Back In The Zone concert was the base layer of the cake and the Forte: A Pop Orchestra Concert was the filling on October 17th. Forte, for short, the online concert was a perfect combination of pop and classical music. The Battig Chamber Orchestra played the music for 4th Impact and SB19, and the SSC Chamber Choir acted as their background singers, creating a magical moment. 4th Impact opened the event with 'Queen of the Night' by Whitney Houston, followed by SB19's 'Mana'. Then, soprano Nicole Pugeda and tenor Isaac Iglesias sang 'Araw Gabi' and 'Sana Maulit Muli'. 

SB19, Sir Tabanda, 4th Impact, and the Battig Chamber Orchestra
(c) Bandwagon PH Twitter Account

After the wonderful performances by these two, 4th Impact came back to the stage to perform 'Ikaw Lamang', 'Kailangan Kita', 'Ngayon at Kailanman', 'Sanay' Wala Nang Wakas', and 'Emotion.' They were so great at harmonizing, and their powerful voices have such a great impact while singing most of these original Filipino songs. 

After such a wonderful performance, Isaac and Nicole sang 'Please Be Careful with My Heart' originally by Jose Mari Chan, and 'Ikaw at Ako' by Moira and Jason. These songs were really great and I knew how to sing them. I couldn't help myself singing along. 

SB19, Battig Chamber Orchestra, and SSC Chamber Choir
(c) Bandwagon PH Twitter Account

The second performance by SB19 was 'Tilaluha.' It was then followed by 'Hanggang Sa Huli." 4th Impact returned with 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', then the very beautiful and emotional 'Mapa' and similarly beautiful 'Ikako' were sung by SB19, 4th Impact, Nicole, Isaac, and the SSC Choir. 

Now, our icing and decoration was the final concert by SB19 - the Our Zone Third Anniversary Concert on November 27th and 28th. Yes! The online concert was 2 days long! 

On the first day, the guest performances were from 4th Impact and AC Bonifacio. 4th Impact opened the stage with 'Leave The Door Open' and then sang their original 'K(no)w More'. Their performances were as hot as they were and their outfits. After some performances from our kings, AC Bonifacio came in with her original song 'Fool No Mo!' and ended her performance with 'Uptown Funk.' Her performances were so fun and uplifting. During her second performance, SB19 joined her, which made the song more fun. Then, the boys and AC played Hula Labi in a game segment of the concert. Yes! A. Game. Segment. 

4th Impact (c) @lurazweisieben

AC Bonifacio (c) @lurazweisieben

SB19 with AC Bonifacio
(c) @lurazweisieben

Back with our boys, they sang 'Mana', 'Tilaluha', and 'Go Up' at the very beginning, right after 4th Impact's performances. Then, in the latter half, they sang 'Nyebe', one of their new, unreleased song. In addition, they sang 'What?', 'Mapa', and 'Ligaya', another unreleased song. While singing 'Mapa', our Ken squeezed out a tear, and it was heart-wrenching but still beautiful. They sang 'SLMT' last.

Josue (c) @lurazweisieben

On the second day, the guest performers were Josue and The Juans. Josue sang his original 'Agos', while The Juans sang their new single 'Anghel'. The Juans sang a mix of their past songs as well. Like with AC, SB19 joined The Juans and played Hayop Sa Tunog game. It was fun and funny. 

Like the first day, SB19, on the first half, sang 'Mana', 'Tilaluha', and 'Go Up.' In the latter half, they sang their new unreleased song 'Where You At?', or 'WYAT' for short, 'What?', 'Bazinga', 'SLMT', and 'Ligaya'. They sang 'Mapa' last. 

The Juans (c) @lurazweisieben

On both days, the boys sang N'SYNC medley - they mentioned that most fans requested that they cover the boy group's songs, and they did. They have relatively similar songs on both days, but their outfits differ in them, especially during the latter half. And the 'Mapa' performance for the second day became so emotional when family members of the groups came on the stage. Our Ken cried so hard when his sister and uncle came. He said he didn't expect anyone from his family to come. "I thought I'll be the only one without his family again," he said (translated, of course). He fell on his knees while sobbing, and it was so beautiful and sad at the same time, I found myself crying. The families came right before his part in 'Mapa' so the emotional tone of his voice when he sang, although it didn't tremble like the first day, made me emotional as well. 

This year was really something for SB19 and for A'Tins, their fandom. More happiness and blessing to our boys and everyone who made these concerts possible for them and for the fans!

SB19 First and Second Day
(c) @lurazweisieben