Josh Cullen Santos of SB19 (middle) worked with his cousins Ocho The Bullet (right) and Carrot Mayor (left) for the single “Sofa (Remix)” in September. Image: YouTube/Josh Cullen
Since the start of 2023, Josh Cullen Santos has been making a name for himself as a solo artist apart from his activities with SB19. Earlier this year, he collaborated with his cousins, rising music stars Ocho The Bullet and Carrot Mayor, to produce the groovy track “Sofa (Remix),” which was released in September.
Working with different artists is about bringing a string of ideas together into one, which can sometimes be a challenge for those who can’t meet halfway through. But Josh told INQUIRER.net in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Manila International Book Fair that working with his cousins felt natural, which makes him grateful as a result.
“Super fun, honestly. Itong ‘Sofa (Remix),’ lahat ng ginawa namin, very natural lang. Ito ‘yung siguro pinakamadaling [ginawa ko] out of all the songs na na-release, and of course, it’s with them,” he said. “And ‘yung help na kasama ko sila, iba rin talaga, like conceptualizing and everything.”
(It was super fun, honestly. Working on “Sofa (Remix),” everything that we did, it was very natural. This is the easiest thing I’ve done out of all the songs I released, and of course, it’s with them. And the help that I had while working with them was different, including conceptualizing and everything.)
Ocho, whose real name is Ace Santos, said being “close” to Josh and Carrot, allowed them to be “more open” in bringing the “puppy love song” to life. “I guess it’s because we’re related and we’re close, we get to be more open with each other. You know what I mean? It’s not just because of work.”
“‘Sofa’ just came out of nowhere. We had the song, then Josh was like, Hey do you wanna do the remix? And I was like, yeah,” he continued. “He sent the vocals, we mixed it, and it was perfect… because we’re tight, when we do work, we do get to share [our insights] and we’re more open with each other compared to an artist I don’t know.”
When asked about making her mark in the industry as a solo artist, Carrot, who’s known as Camille Santos apart from her persona, said she’s “not really focusing on solos” for now, but she’s enjoying the process of learning from a lot of artists.
“Honestly, I’m not really focusing on solos [at the moment] because I’m collabing with a lot of artists so that I can learn different genres and different methods of others in their songwriting process,” she said. “I think it’s really interesting, and we do get to meet a lot of people. Working on music is what I love to do so that’s what I’m doing.”
(From left) Ocho The Bullet, SB19’s Josh Cullen Santos, Carrot Mayor. Image: Hannah Mallorca/INQUIRER.net
Josh, who’s watching his cousins with a proud smile throughout the interview, said he’s “thankful” for the opportunity to work with Ace and Camille throughout the process of the single.
“I’m thankful for everything and I just want to give back. I want to include them in my promotions and hopefully, marami pa kaming (we’ll have a lot more) stages together,” he said, while referring to Ace and Camille. “Maybe a lot of fans could expect more songs from us in the future.”
Taking care of his mental health
“Oh wow, that’s hard. Honestly, that’s hard,” Josh immediately said in response when the topic shifted to how he takes care of his mental health despite his busy schedule. After all, being on top of the P-pop industry as a solo artist and a member of SB19 is a tall order as it requires a lot of stability mentally and emotionally.
While seemingly deep in thought, Josh noted that while he has his own way of caring for his mental health, he pointed out that everyone copes with their inner demons in a different manner.
(From left) Ocho The Bullet, SB19’s Josh Cullen Santos, Carrot Mayor. Image: Hannah Mallorca/INQUIRER.net
“For me, I have my own because iba-iba [ang pag-alaga ng mental health per person]. Personally, ginagawa ko, even from before, na if you know how to take care of yourself, siyempre you know how to make yourself happy,” he said.
(For me, I have my own way. Because there are different ways of taking care of one’s mental health per person. Personally what I do, even from before, is that if you know how to take care of yourself, you surely know how to make yourself happy.)
But for Josh, aside from stealing hearts during performances or getting in the grind of his solo activities, playing video games or watching “random videos” are some of his favorite hobbies to take care of himself. He also noted that it’s okay to take a break as long as it helps you to try again.
“Ako, by [playing] video games or manonood ako ng random videos. And if I really am not in a good state, iniisip ko na physical din siya,” he said. “Maybe pagod ako or hungry, I eat chocolates or I get some sleep. Pero minsan, mahirap na labanan ‘yung pagiging bothered mo sa ibang bagay. Take a break, then laban lang ulit.”
(For me, by playing video games or watching random videos. And if I’m not really in a good state, I’m thinking that it has to do with my physical state as well. Maybe I’m tired or hungry, I eat chocolates or I get some sleep. But sometimes, it’s hard to fight it when you’re bothered with a lot of things. So take a break, then fight again.)
(From left) Ocho The Bullet, SB19’s Josh Cullen Santos, Carrot Mayor. Image: Hannah Mallorca/INQUIRER.net
With solo tracks up his arsenal, it’s inevitable that Josh would drop his solo album when the right time comes. He shared that he initially planned on putting it out in 2023, but since “a lot of schedules” came up, he moved the release to “early next year.”
“I’ll be releasing my EP soon. Dapat ganitong season but a lot of schedules ang pumasok sa’min. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to release it na but I’ll move it to early next year. Hanap ng tamang timing lang (It should be released this season, but a lot of schedules came up. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to release it now, but I’ll move it to early next year. I’ll look for the right time),” he said with a big smile.