December 6, 2025 will be long remembered in the entertainment world here in Sydney. Filipino ppop boy group SB19 Simula at Wakas World Tour – Sydney delivered more than expected! Despite having performed the night before in Melbourne, getting up early and flying to Sydney, SB19’s legendary artists - Josh, Stell, Justin, Ken, and Pablo showed why they are called the Kings of Ppop!
SB19’s performance showcased their famous powerful vocals, exquisite harmonies, engaging lyrics which tell story about finding identity, love, family, pursuing dreams and expressing deep emotions. They had mesmerising stage presence, as they executed energetic, crisp and well-synchronised dance moves.
This was a concert of a different type. There were no front acts. Instead, the fans were treated to a live sound check experience with their idols, up and close on stage. The fans would have gone home feeling satisfied even just with the sound check part, and a bit later doing karaoke before the concert proper and the artists getting changed, but they had a lot more.
Then the excitement and electric atmosphere grew at highest crescendo at about 5:30pm with the band members came back on stage. The amazing screen background and lighting added to the out of this world effect on what was unfolding on stage.
I am thankful for having had the chance to be part of an event which I would remember for a very long time. I was truly blown away by the talents of the SB19 artists. It was touching to see the strong rapport they had with their fans, and their humility expressing their gratitude for their support. It was great to feel young again to be with the 'bagets' and the millenials who formed majority of the audience. There were also people of my era and young kids that the parents brought with them.
The music was loud but not hurting to the ears. The songs were in Taglish, with lyrics cleverly put together, swinging from happy, bombastic to touching emotions. There were 19 songs in the set. The stand out songs for me are as follows::
MAPA – the title of this song, refers to “Ma” (mother) and ”Pa” (father). It pays tribute to parents expressing a child's deep affection, gratitude, and concern for their mother and father. It has a lively melody too The song is divided into two parts, one pays tribute to the mother and her loving care, and the other to the father and his guidance setting the path for life. Pablo has been reported to say that the music was inspired from a lullaby that his mother would sing to him when he was still a child. At the concert, they guys dedicated the song to all the parents in the audience.
Thanks Chardd for sharing this video on Youtube.
Nyebe - Pablo shared in a press statement that he wrote the song 'Nyebe' which means 'snow' in Tagalog – “a long time ago,” explaining: “I was thinking about the feeling of hopelessness, knowing and accepting that things are changing too fast. It is a deeply emotional ballad about hopelessness, change, but exuding hope overcoming life's coldness and anxieties, using snow as a metaphor for fleeting moments and tears that eventually melt away, inspiring listeners to embrace life and find strength believing that things would turn out okay in the end.
At the concert, before the start of this song, the visualiser dramatically showed a series of questions being read with a haunting effect: “What is uncertainty? What is longing? What is hopelessness? What is….” The audience is truly engaged by the song.
You can view here the video posted on youtube, Thanks killjoy,
For their encore, SB19 had the audience thrilled to the end with the song Dam (meaning "Enough" or "So Much" in Tagalog). The song is about overcoming hardship, negativity, and self-doubt, with lyrics showing resilience ("Bawat hakbang laging may gulo / Pero di ako tumakbo" - Every step has trouble / But I won't run away) and defiance against haters ("Keep throwin' your two cents / I'm all ears with two hands ….
There were other factors that contributed to the successful event. The dynamic W3 back up dancers’ dynamic presence on stage added to the party atmosphere. As the artists gave energetic performance the audience responded accordingly with wild cheers, chants and singalongs with most songs. The people’s light sticks and electronic wrist band’s light displays controlled centrally created a sea of twinkling lights switching to green, purple and pink colours.
Oh, another aspect that differentiated the concert from most other ones, was the absence of an intermission. The concert started at 5:30pm and finished about two hours later.
Interesting Info on SB19
As I was not up-to-speed with SB19, I did some research about them and found pieces of interesting information which the uninitiated like me, would appreciate knowing. SB19 is a Filipino boy band formed in 2018, comprised of Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken and Justin. They are celebrated for their contributions to the Pinoy pop scene and became the first Southeast Asian act to be nominated on the Billboard Music Awards. They were also the first Southeast Asian act to make an appearance in the top 10 of the Billboard Social 50.
Following their success in elevating Philippine pop music at a global level, SB19 has been dubbed the "Kings of P-pop" by their fans, the general public and the various media.Their music is Pinoy pop, and part of Origial Pilipino/Pinoy Music.
My research showed that the group’s name SB19 was derived from two main sources: "SB" represents their management company, ShowBT, and also stands for "Sound Break," reflecting their goal to make a difference in the music scene. The "19" part of their name has been cleverly derived from adding up the digits of the Philippines' (+63) and South Korea's (+82) country codes (6+3+8+2=19), paying tribute to group’s K-pop-inspired training and the collaboration between the two nations in their formation.
Another interesting and clever derivation used is the A'TIN - Name of the SB19 fandom. The "A" originates from the first letter of the first name of the fandom previously termed as "Aurum" (meaning Gold in Latin.). A'TIN is a play for "atin", a Filipino possessive pronoun which means "ours", and the number 18, on which it is said, "If there is no 18, there is no 19.
As I walked into the venue, I was handed a small poster which shows: “Sydney A’tin MAHALIMA”. It turned out that the term Mahalima is a fan-created term, blending Tagalog words: “Mahal” (love) + “Halina” (fascinated/come) + Lima (five), symbolising love and fascination for the five members, created by their fans (A'TIN). It's a term of endearment and identity for the fanbase, reflecting deep appreciation for the group.
Talking about being fascinated by the group, I met and interviewed for Radyo Bayanihan an SB19 fan. Joy Tuazon who was introduced to me by Len Puzon came all the way from the Philippines and who has attended four of the group’s Simula at Wakas tour concerts plus other shows. Having watched them so many times, Joy had a good appreciation of the guys’ voices. She said that each of the guy has a distinct voice and commented- “Ken has a deep voice and can reach high notes; Pablo to her sounds like Michael Jackson, Josh is the rapper and Justin has the gentle voice”.
After Joy's interview Radyo Bayanihan's Head Broadcaster, Charles Chan, played "Mapa". The band's brilliance and humility both shining through.
The Movers Behind the Successful Tour
The producers for the Sydney concert Annabelle Regalado Borja of eTalent International and Liz Umali-Angeles of Angeliz Suites ought to be congratulated. Not only have they made all the arrangements to bring the talented SB19 Simula at Wakas World Tour over to us in the Oceania Region, they also put in place processes which ensured everything went smoothly for the day. A widely publicised meticulous schedule detailed the time for the steps to be followed by the SVIPs, and VIPs group of fans. Starting from 10am, the fans who are mostly young people, lined up to pick up their pre-ordered merch which included a t-shirt, electronic wrist band and a stick light, there was no hitch as the volunteers marshalled them through, in batches of ten people for the photo op with the group's five members. Then they were allowed to stay in the area near the stage to have a live sound check experience, giving them a taste of the amazing time they were to have.
Annabelle Regalado Borja and Liz Umali-Angeles
I was super excited to attend the concert and feel young again to be with the bagets and the millennials. Another special reason for the great anticipation was the opportunity to connect again in person with Bojie Yangco, the Tour Manager of SB19 Simula at Wakas World Tour. I have known Bojie since he was a young boy being the son of my close friend and former officemate previously Social Welfare Usec Celia Capadocia Yangco and hubby Bert. Bojie and I have kept in touch virtually and it was fantastic to see him personally and exchanged hugs with him.
The event was also made possible with the support of the sponsors and the volunteers. Thanks to all of you for the opportunity of witnessing top Ppop Filipino talents mesmerised the audience and for the audience made sure they loved them back.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Get your Christmas Presents!
There are two more shows left in the Oceania leg of Simula at Wakas World Tour = on December 12 at The Trusts Arena, in Auckland, New Zealand and on December 14 at The Red Hill Auditorium in Perth. There are more people to be impressed and feel proud of their talents for sure. Don’t miss the chance of watching an enjoyable and meaningful concert that would make you proud of these young talented artists. Get a ticket for yourself and your significant other or a friend as Christmas pressies for each other.