MANILA, Philippines — Times might be tough due to the pandemic, but it's a great time for Pinoy pop music!
With SB19 setting the bar so high with all its members being able to more than just carry a tune and break into synchronized dancing, fans and the public just can't help but adore and "stan" them.
It's not to say that they are the very first to have tried because like K-Pop, there are first generation and second generation Pinoy pop groups with the likes of Chicser, Pop Girls, Gimme5, Boyband PH and XLR8, but SB19 basically lifted the quality of sing-and-dance acts.
The good news is, like SB19, these groups sing mostly in Filipino and English.
We are now seeing more groups with the same promise as SB19. These are some of those groups we're putting our bets on.
1st.One
Apart from SB19, this is another group that is managed by a company led by Korean executives. The six-member group is composed of Jayson, Alpha, Joker, J, Ace and Max.
Like SB19, the group underwent two years of training, as revealed in an episode of "Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho" where one of its members, Jayson, was first spotted. Jayson is half-Korean, half-Pinoy and was from Aurora, who was looking forward to meet his two older brothers who were left in South Korea when his then pregnant mother decided to leave his Korean father.
Check out FirstOneEntertainment's YouTube channel where 1st.One's music videos, including the dancy "You Are the One (Ttak Maja Nuh)," ballad "One Dream" and Christmas tribute "Hold On" are uploaded.
Its management, led by chairman Patrick Jung and president Aaron Cha, has also been working on recruiting more groups. In its Facebook page, it announced that it will debut its first girl group, First Sight F/S, in "the first half of 2021." It also posted an audition call for females aged 17 to 24 to form the second girl group to debut in 2022.
BGYO
It was just last January 29 when ABS-CBN debuted its own male boy group as revealed in its various social media platforms.
Called BGYO, which some fans think stands for bagyo or storm, the group is a product of the network's reality talent search Star Hunt Academy.
Formerly called SHA Boys, BGYO is comprised of Gelo, Akira, JL, Mikki and Nate. BGYO is in advantage as it is handled by Star Hunt Management Entertainment Production and Star Magic, which are all under the media conglomerate ABS-CBN. It has been enjoying exposures in ABS-CBN's many platforms and shows such as "ASAP" where they are regularly seen.
Their song and dance performance of the Sarah Geronimo hits “Kilometro" and "Tala” on "It's Showtime" garnered around two million views, 75,000 reactions and 3,300 comments on social media in just one day. The group was also a part of the PBB Connect Opening night, the Christmas Station ID, the KTX Pre-show: P-Pop Rise and the last 2020 Christmas Special.
BGYO, whose members trend on Twitter every week, is poised to launch its debut single this month via a major online event on KTX.ph.
Alamat
One of the original starmakers, Viva, is also gearing up for its own boy group. It has already found its nine-piece band from its own "Pwede! The National Boyband Search" it held together with Ninuno Media.
Alamat is a nine-member act that has been showcasing their dancing and singing skills in their own YouTube channel (Alamat). They've also covered fellow Viva talent, Sarah Geronimo's hits, "Tala" and "Kilometro."
In November, Viva teased the public with the members' codenames: Gattok, Dawg, Timpukan, Lakan, Oragon, Sangkay, Yuhom, Mawumag and Bahani. Their names all give tribute to Filipino and Baybayin, which was heavily used in the group's promotional materials.
The member names were eventually revealed. They are Taneo, Mo, Jao, Kin, Tomas, R-Ji, Valfer, Gami and Alas.
Last January 15, they uploaded their cover of Jaya's "Wala Na Bang Pag-Ibig" with lyrics in Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bicolano, Waray-Waray, Hiligaynon and Bisaya.
PPop Generation
This is Viva's latest girl group, the next generation after Pop Girls. The latter had been through phases where they had different members. Some of them were Nadine Lustre, Shy Carlos, Rosalie Van Ginkel, Carlyn Ocampo and the twins Lailah and Mariam Baustria. Nadine, Shy and Rosalie have all pursued acting careers while Carlyn is now part of the international pop group Z Girls, mostly based in South Korea.
PPop Generation is comprised of 45 girls, all belonging to three teams, Team A, B, and C. It is similar to the popular Japanese girl group, AKB48, which has almost the same group members and sub-groups.
They have released songs like "Ikaw at Ako," "Boom Ganda," "Hanap-Hanap" and "Wrapped Around My Finger."
The girls underwent training under seasoned choreographer Geleen Eugenio and voice coaches Sushi Reyes and Zeb Zuniga.
MNL48
This is a group that has been around since 2016 as part of the live search on "It's Showtime." This is AKB48's sister group.
MNL48 has currently three groups, namely, Team MII, Team NIV and Team L. Like many big groups, MNL48 formed its first sub-unit, Baby Blue, in partnership with Tower Records Japan. The sub-unit is composed of Jan Elaurza, Coleen Trinidad and Amy Isidto.
MNL48 released its sixth single, "River," last November. Its music video has reached over 1.1 million views. Last December 23, MNL48 premiered the MV of its first original song "Hash Love."
BINI
Eight teenagers prevailed over 250 hopefuls and became members of BINI. This is another product of Star Hunt Academy.
BINI is comprised of Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna and Sheena.
The girls have been commended for their singing and dancing skills, especially when they released the reworked, electro-pop version of "Da Coconut Nut". The classic Smokey Mountain hit composed by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab is BINI's pre-debut single.
The group was trained by Filipino voice coaches Kitchy Molina and Anna Graham, and Austrian-born dance coach Mickey Perz. They were also trained under the South Korean training group MU Doctor.
Star Hunt Management head Laurenti Dyogi said BINI will perform a mix of original songs and classic revivals for their upcoming singles.