Two weeks. That is roughly how long it took SB19 to go from performing at Grant Park to leading the nominee list for one of the Philippines’ biggest music awards. The timing captures the pace of the group’s year so far, with one major milestone quickly followed by another.
The Philippine Association of the Record Industry announced the nominees for the 39th Awit Awards on August 6, with SB19 leading all artists with 12 nominations. IV of Spades followed with 11, while Dionela received 10.
Several of SB19’s nominations are tied to “Simula at Wakas,” the closing chapter of the trilogy that began with “Pagsibol” and continued with “Pagtatag!” The release is nominated for Album of the Year alongside entries from Cup of Joe, Maki, and IV of Spades.
The group also earned nominations for its collaboration with Sarah Geronimo, “Umaaligid,” including Best Collaboration Performance, while “Kalakal” picked up recognition in technical categories.
SB19 has received 133 Awit Awards nominations since 2018. The 39th Awit Awards will be held on September 15 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, with organizers opening general ticket sales to fans for the first time.
On July 30, SB19 took the Allianz Stage at Lollapalooza Chicago, becoming the first Filipino act to perform as part of the festival’s main lineup.
Back in the Philippines, fans gathered at an open-air watch party at Rizal Park despite the livestream airing past 4 am local time.
SB19 opened its hour-long set with “DAM” and “GENTO,” followed by songs including “Emoji” and “MAPA.” The group also performed “Lawless” live for the first time, the same day the track was released as a standalone single.
One of the set’s most notable moments came when SB19 previewed a reworked version of Francis Magalona’s “Mga Kababayan.” The song, long associated with Filipino identity, was introduced to a new international audience through the group’s performance.
The track is set to appear on the soundtrack of “Forgotten Island,” an upcoming DreamWorks animated film inspired by Filipino mythology.
Pablo later said the group wanted to preserve the meaning and spirit of Magalona’s original while adding its own sound to the arrangement. Actress Lea Salonga, who voices a character in the film, reportedly contacted the group after an early screening and praised the track.
The set also featured a lighter moment when Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull joined SB19 onstage during “Dungka!” for a dance break. The group closed its performance with “Crimzone” and told the crowd, “see you next year.”
The performance drew attention beyond the usual Filipino entertainment coverage and added another international milestone to the group’s growing list.
Awards nominations and festival appearances usually arrive as separate stories, but in SB19’s case, the two developments came close enough together to underline the scale of the group’s year.
The 12 Awit Awards nominations were earned through the group’s recorded work, particularly “Simula at Wakas,” but the Lollapalooza performance gave SB19 another highly visible international moment just days before the nominations were announced.
By the end of July, the group had made history on a major U.S. festival stage. By early August, it was leading the field at home with the most Awit Awards nominations of any artist this year.
Taken together, the two milestones show where SB19 stands this year, expanding its reach abroad while remaining one of the most recognized acts in the Philippine music industry.