SB19 Receives Senate Recognition for Lollapalooza Debut
The Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 545 on Monday, September 28. The resolution honors SB19 for becoming the first Filipino act to perform at the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago. Sen. Bam Aquino sponsored it. The group was at the Senate to receive a copy.
Who was in the room
Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken and Justin are the members named in the resolution. Aquino filed it on July 31, a day after the group’s set. Sen. Joel Villanueva co-sponsored. Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan sponsored a separate resolution on the same milestone, Senate Resolution 573, which was filed on August 4, according to published reports.
The set in Chicago
SB19 played the Allianz Stage at Grant Park on July 30. The setlist included “Dungka,” “Dam,” “Gento,” “Mapa” and “Wakas.” They also introduced two new songs, “Lawless” and “Emoji,” a collaboration with Taiwanese singer Jolin. Sources disagree on how long the set ran. The Manila Times reported 48 minutes. Philstar called it an hour-long set.
Seven years since “Go Up”
Aquino traced the group’s path from its 2019 breakout with “Go Up” to later hits such as “Gento,” “Bazinga” and “Crimzone.” In Filipino, he said it took years of persistence and sacrifice to go from a group hoping to be noticed to one on an international stage.
Villanueva pointed to the group’s 2021 Billboard Music Awards nomination for Top Social Artist. He also said SB19 sold out the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena in under seven hours for the “Simula at Wakas” World Tour, and became the first local act to sell out two consecutive shows there. Aquino added that “Bazinga” topped Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart for seven consecutive weeks.
What Aquino said about identity
Aquino said the group did not have to leave its identity behind to be accepted abroad. He said SB19 is proud to be Filipino. He also said each Filipino artist on a global stage helps “open that stage a little wider” for the next one.
The agency proposal
Aquino has linked the performance to his push for a stronger creative economy. After the recognition, he said SB19 has been helping him shape a bill for the creative industries. He expects to file it soon with support from the Department of Trade and Industry. The bill would create a Philippine agency for the creative economy that supports artists going abroad. Aquino said he hopes the agency will be up within a year.
In July, his office described the agency as patterned after South Korea’s Korea Creative Content Agency, without details on structure, powers, funding or timetable.
Aquino earlier filed Senate Resolution 370 for BINI’s Coachella appearance in April. The Department of Tourism named SB19 tourism ambassadors on July 20, a role the group shares with BINI. Aquino also cited the group’s Summer Sonic 2026 performances in Osaka and Tokyo after Chicago.
