SB19 vies for Grammys nomination with smash hit ‘Gento’
SB19 members (from left) Justin, Stell, Pablo, Ken, Josh. Image: Sony Music Philippines
SB19 has once again made history as its hit song “Gento” was announced as an approved entry to the 66th Grammy Awards, Sony Music Philippines confirmed on Friday, Oct. 13.
The music label made the announcement on their X (formerly Twitter) page, where SB19 is aiming for a nomination at the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category.
“A’TIN!!!! Mag ingay (Make some noice)!!!! @SB19Official’s GENTO is an approved entry to the GRAMMY’s [emojis] Share until it gets to the voting members of the Recording Academy before Oct 20,” the post read.
A’TIN!!!! Mag ingay!!!! @SB19Official‘s GENTO is an approved entry to the GRAMMY’s ⚠️💙
Share until it gets to the voting members of the Recording Academy before Oct 20 🫶🏼💠#GetSB19GrammyNominated#SB19RoadToGrammyNomination pic.twitter.com/g1XYzO4YP3
— Sony Music Philippines (@sonymusicph) October 13, 2023
The final list of Grammy nominees will be announced on Nov. 10.
Meanwhile, the first round of voting will take place on Oct. 11 to 20.
Entry vs Grammy nominee
The 66th Grammy Awards, which is scheduled on Feb. 4, 2024, is shaping up to be one of its most competitive editions yet, as artists from different countries, including SB19, are aiming to be considered by the US-based Recording Academy.
The organization is composed of musicians, songwriters, producers, and music professionals which determines whether the entries released from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 15, 2023 are eligible for nomination.
SB19’s “Gento” was released in May 19, 2023 as the lead single of their second EP “Pagtatag.”
“Entries that meet all eligibility requirements are included in the first ballot, which goes to the Recording Academy’s Voting Members, who then vote for the entries they believe should receive a nomination,” according to the Recording Academy’s website.
This means that the Recording Academy will hold “review sessions” involving “recording industry experts” to determine whether the considered entries are worthy of a Grammy nomination.
But while Grammy nominees are solely up to the music-based organization, one of the crucial factors to be considered is the proper use of “For Your Consideration (FYC) communications and advertisements,” or in other words, the proper campaigning by the involved parties.
Among the prohibited campaigns include “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing recording” where any tactic that “singles out the “competition” by name or title is not allowed,” “exaggerating or overstating the merits of the music,” and “misrepresenting honors or awards, past or present, received by either the recording or those involved with production.”
SB19 members (from left) Ken, Pablo, Justin, Stell, Josh. Image: Sony Music Philippines
‘Gento’s’ achievements
Since its release last May, “Gento” is one of SB19’s biggest hits to date. It has over 25.5 million streams on Spotify, 1.8 million posts on Tiktok, and its music video has over 30 million views, as of this writing.
It also entered Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart last June, which was determined through the platform’s “most popular downloaded songs of the week.”
The song also became a social media sensation where K-pop’s biggest stars including NCT’s Taeyong, Super Junior’s Eunkyuk, former 2NE1 member Minzy, and ENHYPEN’s Jungwon joined in the “Gento” dance craze on Tiktok.
SB19 members (from left) Justin, Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken. Image: Twitter/@SB19Official
Following its achievements, SB19 expressed gratitude for its overwhelming success, where Ken admitted during a press conference that the recognition had been “unbelievable.”
“Sobrang unbelievable. Sobrang lucky namin kasi hindi naman lahat ng artists at kanta, nagva-viral sa social media. It all feels like a dream for us and we’re very, very thankful and grateful to our fans for supporting us,” he said. To recall, Ken made an appearance at the Recording Academy’s “Global Spin” series in July 2022, where he performed his solo track “Bulan.”
SB19 — consisting of Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken, and Justin — debuted in October 2018 with the single “Tilaluha.” Some of their biggest hits include “Mapa,” “Where You At (WYAT),” “What?” and “Bazinga,” among others.
The group officially launched their own company 1Z Entertainment in October, months after confirming that they transitioned into self-managed artists. EDV
