SB19’s ‘pinuno’ Pablo on providing platform, voice for ‘Visa’ woes

MANILA, Philippines, March 23 ------ SB19’s Pablo is attuned to the struggles of songwriters and his fellow Filipinos, so he pens words that they can relate to. One of the P-pop group’s latest releases is “Visa,” a title that immediately resonates among most Filipinos’ travel woes facing challenges going in and outside the country, even if they have the financial capability as proof.

Pablo, the leader of the P-pop group, wrote the dance pop track with his brother, Josue Nase. Together, they form the songwriting duo called RadKidz. “Sobrang personal siya. Alam ninyo naman po, we’ve been touring for how many months tapos kakabalik lang po namin and nagawa po yung kanta habang nag-shoot kami ng endorsement sa brand. It's something that people really like to talk about and really like to, introduce sa mga tao para pag-usapan. Doon naman nagsisimula lahat,” Pablo told select reporters, including Philstar.com, at last month’s launch of Sony Music Publishing Philippines. “Marami po kasing times na may mga na-deny po sa amin. It’s really hard for Filipino representatives, sa mga ATINs (their fans) natin gawin ang best nila kapag nagkakaroon ng ganoong klaseng aberya,” the singer-songwriter said.

The song does not only literally — and playfully — draws in its listeners to its bop beats, but it cleverly pokes at how Filipinos would have to go through great lengths just to have their visas approved.

Pablo and his fellow SB19 members, Josh, Ken, Justin and Stell, are known to create songs that are not only going to be certified hits, but also talk about important issues. Pablo acknowledged this conscious decision as a group with a platform and a global following.

“Gusto po sana namin na, parang we’re urging the system… maybe kung sinuman yung pwedeng makatulong sa mga ganitong klaseng diskusyon,” the singer-songwriter said. “Kami naman po, we’re always… hindi naman kami ever naging safe. But if we have something to say, we’ll say it. We have platform, we’ll use it para makatulong sa kung sinuman sa Philippines kasi siyempre gusto talaga namin makilala ang Philippines all over the world. That’s what we’ve been doing for the longest time since we started as SB19,” Pablo ended.

Source: philstar.com