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The members of SB19 are no strangers when it comes to being trailblazers. Amid the sweltering Chicago heat at Lollapalooza, the band emerged full throttle in fiery leather outfits to rep its culture.
The Filipino group — comprised of Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken and Justin — introduced its July 30 set with high-voltage hit single “DAM,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart (which has been discontinued) in March 2025. Throughout the hour-long performance, the group performed its global breakout “GENTO,” songs from latest album Wakas at Simula and latest single “LAWLESS” — a track that is a testament to all of SB19’s grind and dedication — for the first time.
The performance has been a long time coming for the boy group, who debuted in 2018. From laying down the foundations of its own company, 1Z Entertainment, to climbing the Billboard charts and touring the globe. And when SB19 took the stage at Lollapalooza, the band made history as the first group from the Philippines and Southeast Asia to perform at the music festival launched by Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell in 1991.
So of course, the five members embraced their Pinoy pride on stage for the rest of the world to see. The crowd who caught the set in real time waved Philippine flags, sang all the lyrics in the Filipino language and enthusiastically jumped and danced to every beat.
Despite the latest history-making high, SB19’s mission is far from over — in fact, it’s only the beginning. Just days before its set, the group, alongside fellow P-pop girl group BINI, was appointed as Philippine tourism ambassadors by the archipelagic country’s Department of Tourism. “I just hope that the people who saw us, fellow Filipinos, remember we did it, not to make ourselves, SB19, big,” Josh tells Billboard a couple of days after their performance. “We’re so proud and honored, but we want to make it a norm for Filipino talent, music or culture to step on different stages all over America and all over the world.”
In the midst of all the achievements, the group’s fans, A’TIN, are aiming to win Billboard’s Fan Army Face-Off title for a fourth consecutive year. Currently, A’TIN is tied with T-ara’s Queens with a three-year winning streak after taking the title since 2023. If A’TIN wins the 2026 competition, the fan army would hold the record for the most wins to date.
Below, SB19 talks to Billboard about the group’s experience performing at Lollapalooza, the message behind “LAWLESS,” the cover song for upcoming DreamWorks Animations film Forgotten Island and how fans fuel the group.
How was performing at Lollapalooza?
Justin: It was really fun because of the audience. We saw a lot of our fans, A’TIN, but there were tons of casual listeners and locals watching us for the first time. It was really great to experience that kind of big stage. But it was really hot and very, very tiring.
Was it stressful preparing for the festival?
Josh: Not really. This was one of the biggest opportunities we’ve ever had. But we treat every performance and every festival like it’s our last. We’re performing the best that we could. I felt like most of the struggles were the logistics.
What part of the logistics was hard?
Josh: We had to bring our dancers, and we had to bring the team. We had to make sure that the costumes were set and how we would interact with the audience because it’s a different kind of audience that we would be interacting with.
I saw the livestream, and I could feel all the energy coming from the screen with everyone singing along and shouting. What was it like seeing all your fans, A’TIN, and casual listeners blended in, in front of you at that moment?
Pablo: I think it’s a different experience for everyone. Because for me, I was so focused on my performance. I was trying to remember the choreography at the same time. The heat was really hot, and the sun was facing towards us the whole performance, so our eyes were squinted.
When I saw the crowd on social media, it was really great. I thought, “We had this crowd?” But during the performance, I thought, “I’ve got to do better; I’ve got to do my best right here.”
Stell: When we were backstage, it was the first time that I got a mental block. All of a sudden, I forgot all the choreography and all the blocking. I was asking Pablo, “I forgot this choreography. Can you help me remember it?” I don’t know what happened. Maybe it’s just because I’m nervous since I’m seeing a different set of audience. I mean, there are a lot of Filipinos, but it’s all new faces for me, so I was very nervous at that time.
When we stepped on stage, everything changed. I was like, “Game face on! Let’s do this!” I’ll just do whatever I want to do and always remember the things that I practiced.
You guys absolutely killed it. During your set, and you debuted your latest single, “LAWLESS.” What was it like performing that for the first time in front of everyone, especially in front of a foreign crowd? And what was the difference from when you were in the studio recording that song?
Josh: A lot of it has to do with breaking barriers because this is our first time at Lollapalooza, and people don’t really see the behind-the-scenes of SB19. They only see the success, but for “LAWLESS,” it was symbolism of our breakthrough moment.
It’s a symbol of all those rejections and hardships. Now we’re not afraid of trying to not follow the rules. We don’t really care anymore if we’re going to please the people or follow the system. There was no system for us; we built our own system. So the song was a definition of our experiences throughout the years.
Performing “LAWLESS” in front of everyone at Lolla was really amazing. It really just felt like a state of “lawless.” It was like us saying that this was the result of the little decisions we made. And now this is going to go faster and more lawless in the future.
Justin: In terms of recording, it was much more tiring compared to performing at Lolla. During the recording, we had to repeat it over and over to get the best take. But during the performance, that’s when you actually feel more “LAWLESS.” It’s just one take. You just have to enjoy it and have fun! And this was our first time performing it ever.
Like Josh said, the song is like a good statement of where you are right now. What lyrics and message stuck with you the most when you were writing and performing?
Pablo: “I’m an outlaw!” That certain phrase could be taken negatively because an outlaw is someone who breaks rules. But for me, it means someone who’s willing to break all the barriers and break all expectations — someone who is ready to create their own path regardless of what people would say.
Justin: One of my favorites would be the bridge: “I’m always on the run all these shadows calling out my name/ But I was born to break the chains.” I’m not a person who is aggressive; I’m more on the chill, calm, playing-it-safe side. But I realized that I’m always on the run, even though it’s not as messy or wild as the others. There are always shadows that are trying to move me to a different path, and I realized, well, I was born to achieve and be on the right path because I’m not doing anything bad.
Josh: When I wrote the original lyrics “No the boxes can hold the gods,” it was actually “beasts” instead. I changed it to “gods” because I realized that I wanted to keep it really above everything else. I was kind of hesitant at first because maybe people might think it symbolizes another thing. But for us, it feels like we should be proud of this or we should actually own this. We have to be the gods of our creations. It feels like we’re unstoppable.
Stell: “Watch me ride and lose control.” We’ve been in the industry almost eight years now. And
I think we’re just very blessed to have this opportunity, and it’s been our dream, to not only represent our country, but also to represent our music to the world. We’re here right now, and we’re very excited to show the world who SB19 is and what Filipinos can really do. I mean, Filipinos are very talented, but we’re not given a lot of opportunities. So we’ll just ride and lose control. We just want to do everything that we can do and make our country proud.
Ken: “The road is rough. The road is tough.” I think it’s really based on our experiences, since we don’t have a backing from a very big company. We started and established everything ourselves. It wasn’t really smooth for us to build everything. It wasn’t easy; it was tough.
I love how you guys represented Filipino culture on stage, from the subtlety in the costumes to asking people what their favorite Filipino dish is. How was it important to have all those details embedded in your creative direction and performance?
Pablo: I think we have to be smart in terms of that. Like, if I try to approach someone who doesn’t know anything about Filipino culture, they might feel overwhelmed. So we try to keep it subtle just for them to appreciate the little details. But, of course, we want to represent Filipino culture, but we have to think of a way that will be effective.
Our team thought of the smallest pieces, even the buttons that we used. They came from Ifugao and Surigao. … But even the fabrics that we used, all of them really represent the Filipino culture. You wouldn’t see us in a bahag [loin cloth]. [Laughs]
Stell: I think wearing leather in hot weather is a very Filipino thing — [laughs] — because it’s really hot in the Philippines. We still wear hoodies and everything. For us to make a statement of, “Let’s wear leather in hot weather,” yeah, that’s a very Filipino thing.
You have a cover of “Mga Kababayan” that’s coming out soon for the upcoming movie Forgotten Island, and you performed a snippet of it during your set. What was it like being approached with that opportunity?
Pablo: To be honest, we were so excited, and it was when we were rehearsing for our concert. So we only had a few times to create everything and make the track. But it was really fun covering one of the greatest songs from one of the legendary rappers from the Philippines, Francis Magalona. It was such an honor, and when we were reading the lyrics, it was straight to the point: Filipino culture. When we were trying to modify it, we didn’t want the vibe to be an entirely different thing. We wanted to keep the same message and the same vibe. We just wanted to put a little SB19 into it.
We’re happy that the Forgotten Island team really liked it and it was full of energy. It was a great experience.
Stell: We got a message from Lea Salonga [who voices The Dreaded Manananggal] saying that she went to a screening for Forgotten Island, and she said it sounds incredible. So it was amazing to hear that from her.
A’TIN has won Billboard’s Fan Army Face-Off for several years in a row, and is still currently in the running for this year’s race. How do you look at your fans’ dedication to you all as a group?
Pablo: Actually, it’s unbelievable how they support us. I mean, how do you explain that?
Stell: They’ve been very dedicated since day one. Actually, since day two because the first day they didn’t know us yet. [Laughs] But on day two, they finally got to know us. I think they’ve been very supportive of us ever since. Just like Pablo said, we didn’t know that we have a lot of fans not only in the Philippines, but also all around the world. We’re just very thankful and touched every time we see them. Anywhere we go, there’s always an A’TIN who’s willing to support us. We’re just very happy to have them in our lives.
Pablo: I just want to say we don’t have the biggest fandom, but we have the most dedicated ones. When they come together, it creates ways — like how we were at Lollapalooza. There were Filipinos flying in from different places just to watch us. I saw the tickets, and they were so expensive. The dedication is really unbelievable. To have that kind of support whenever you release something or whatever you do, it’s truly amazing. It keeps you calm and at peace.
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