K-pop? Try P-pop: from SB19 to Ben&Ben, 4 Filipino artists challenging South Korea’s dominance of Asian airwaves

May 17 , 2021

P-pop boy band SB19 members, from left, Justin, Sejun, Ken, Stell and Josh – part of the new wave of Filipino acts making a name for themselves internationally. Photo: handout

Lea Salonga, Rachelle Ann Go, KZ Tandingan and Journey’s Arnel Pineda are among the country’s most famous OPM artists – but there’s a new generation rising

SB19 faced down BTS, Blackpink and Ariana Grande at the Billboard Music Awards, and K-pop queen Sandara Park covered Pinoy pop star Iñigo Pascual’s first single

Filipinos have a notorious, and often well-earned, reputation for being good singers – even Google’s first search recommendation for “why are Filipinos …” auto-completes with “ … good at singing”. Whether at karaokes or internationally acclaimed singing competitions, Filipinos will rarely back down from a chance at the mic.

Popular Pinoy singers that have achieved recognition overseas in years past include Lea Salonga, Rachelle Ann Go, KZ Tandingan and Journey’s lead vocalist Arnel Pineda. But with a new generation of artists is on the rise, so who are the young Filipino voices bringing pride to the country through their music?

SB19

Trained under media company ShowBT Philippines, five-member boy group SB19 is one of the Philippines’ most popular acts – bringing Original Pilipino Music (OPM) to the world through the emerging subgenre of Pinoy pop, or P-pop.

Members Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken and Justin got their big break in 2019 with their second single Go Up after gaining attention for their dance practice video. Since then, SB19 became the first Filipino act to appear on the Billboard Next Big Sound Chart and the Billboard Social 50 Chart, reaching No 6 on the latter by the end of 2020.

SB19’s Ken is also the first P-pop idol to have a birthday ad at one of South Korea’s subway stops. Recently, the group was nominated for the Billboard Music Awards’ Top Social Artist along with BTS, Blackpink, Ariana Grande and Seventeen – marking several firsts for the Philippines: the first nomination for a Filipino artist, the first Filipino group to be nominated, and the first Southeast Asian act to make it to the BBMA list.

Their new single Mapa just dropped on May 15, and hopes are high it can match, or even exceed, the success of March release What? which has clocked 10 million YouTube views and counting.