SBTOWN, the company that put together and trained the successful P-pop group SB19 (photo), is now holding a search for the next Filipino K-pop singer.

SBTOWN, a Filipino entertainment company known for bringing the P-pop boy group SB19 to life, has announced auditions for the next Filipino K-pop singer, to be held at Robinsons Malls.

The SBTown Universe search is looking for aspiring K-pop “idols,” from 13 to 20 years old to audition on June 1 at the Robinsons Metro East Co-Events Space in Pasig, and on June 2 at the Robinsons Las Piñas Co-Events Space in Las Piñas.

The auditions will be judged by SBTown Chief Executive Officer Geong Seong Han, a.k.a. Tatang Robin, and SBTown vice-president Adelaide Hong, the trainer of SB19. The grand winner will get P300,000, the 1st runner-up will get P200,000, and two 2nd runners-up will get P50,000 each. More importantly, the judges will also select who will be sent to South Korea for K-Pop training and who will train locally under the SB Talent Camp.

The final round of SBTown Universe auditions will be held at Robinsons Galleria’s FunPark on June 8, with a concluding mall show featuring SBTown’s homegrown talents YGIG, PLUUS, and Darlene.

SBTown’s K-pop audition is but one of many being held around the world as the genre evolves, proof of the exchange of Korean culture and talent with other countries.

The company is on a roll this summer, having just hosted a slew of rising K-pop “idols” and Korean actors — X:IN, QueenZEye, DIGNITY, Jang Hyeri, and Danny Lee — who performed at the SBTown Music Fiesta in Manila on May 26.

SBTown recently announced that P-pop groups PLUUS and YGIG will perform at the upcoming Waterbomb Festival, a well-known K-pop festival, in Korea in August.

SBTown’s most successful creation is arguably the boy group SB19, now self-managed under 1Z Entertainment, SB19 has attracted over 1 million followers on its Instagram account after having released its latest single, “Moonlight,” and its accompanying music video. The group has had two world tours, and just wrapped up the second, the Pagtatag! World Tour, with two concerts in Quezon City earlier this month. The tour saw the group perform in 15 cities in Asia and North America. The group will be releasing a documentary on the year-long tour later this year.

Music market research company Luminate has reported the Philippines to be fifth-largest K-pop market in the world as of October 2023. — BHL

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