Pinoy-pop group SB19 has been promoted by a government commission following their historic nomination as Top Social Artist at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on Monday raised awareness about the quintet’s inclusion in the roster of musical artists vying for the award granted to those with major fan interactions with music, including streaming and social engagement.
“SB19 is the lone and first Filipino act to be nominated in the Billboard Music Awards (BBMA), running for the Top Social Artist award alongside USA’s Ariana Grande, K-pop giants BTS and Blackpink, and Seventeen of Korea,” it said on a Facebook post.
The commission also shared how the P-pop group has contributed to some of its activities.
“SB19 has been a mainstay of the annual Philippines-Korea Cultural Exchange Festival, which the NCCA co-organizes with the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines in Manila, and the United Korean Community Association in the Philippines (UKCA),” the NCCA said.
It then shared how Filipinos can support their countrymen by the following: Tweeting @SB19Official + #BBMAsTopSocial and/or by visiting the BBMA’s official website, billboard.com/BBMAsVote up to 10 times per day, per platform.
“As the prime agency that safeguards, develops and promotes Filipino arts and culture, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) encourages everyone to support mainstream Filipino artists,” the commission said.
The NCCA said that Filipinos can get to know the group more by watching their interview and performances on its weekend online cultural magazine show, “Padayon: The NCCA Hour,” this month.
This was welcomed by Facebook page SB19 Philippines, an association of individuals patronizing the group and Original Pilipino Music or OPM.
It also shared an infographic detailing how Filipinos can vote for the group.
Voting for the Top Social Artist category ends on May 21 and winners will be announced on May 23 during the BBMA show that will be live streamed from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, USA.
SB19 is the first Filipino and Southeast Asian group to have been nominated for the Billboard’s Top Social Artist category since it was launched in 2011.
They previously landed on Billboard’s Top Social 50 Artists of 2020 as sixth placers, the only Filipino act to have reached the top 10 of the list.
The group also made it to Billboard’s Next Big Sound Chart in 2019 which lists musical acts for their fast-rising popularity.
SB19 gained the public’s attention after a dance practice video for their now-hit single “Go Up” went viral on social media in that same year.
They debuted in the industry in 2018 and are considered the first Korean-trained Filipino idol group to have earned international recognition.
