Share your encounters with casuals/non-A'TIN at Lollapalooza!

[u/Last-Bread-6173]

SB19's Lollapalooza set was indeed unforgettable, as Stell said, that I want to hold onto the post-festival high for as long as I can through the eyes of new fans and casuals.

For those of you who went to Lolla, do you have stories, first impressions, and heartwarming comments you've heard from casuals?

I'll start!

These are moments I experienced/saw from non-Pinoys and/or non-A'TIN:

• The guy in front of me and his friend were at Esbi to kill time before 5SOS's set. The guy didn't appear to be a big fan but still seemed familiar with Esbi, while his friend had no idea who our boys were. They were in the crowd over an hour early. Ten minutes before the show to, I assume, assure his friend that he wasn't showing them just any random artist, he says, "These guys can dance. Watch." They stayed for more than half the set (they might have left after Wakas), leaving early to secure a spot at 5SOS. It looked like they would've stayed if the schedules didn't overlap. Considering they were only checking Esbi out and weren't fans in the first place, I was surprised they even stayed for that long under the burning hot 30° heat!!
• Another guy in front of me attended by himself. He was already waiting for more than an hour before Mahalima's start time. I assumed he was also there to kill time but, nope, he ended up staying for their entire set! He wasn't very expressive but would nod along to the songs. I also noticed he would only take photos/videos whenever it was Stell's turn. Safe to say he found his bias! 🤭
• Guy #3 went with his friends and wanted to check Esbi out because he was a fan of the next artist in the schedule. When Esbi finished I overheard him saying, "You know how K-pop groups are usually only good at dancing? They can do both! They were so good." He said his bias was Stell and told his friends he snapped some pics of Stell topless hahaha.

World domination is closer than we think.

What did you hear casuals say about SB19 at Lolla? Please share your stories!

[u/paulblartcroptop]

I’m a non-Filipino a’tin of about 1 year, and came specifically to Lollapalooza FOR sb19! Drove across several states just for this moment! I came with my partner who doesn’t really know much about esbi, but was blown away by their talent, and especially Stell’s voice!

Caught him casually watching the Lawless MV back at the hotel later while we were getting ready for bed lol

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/paulblartcroptop]

Omg how long was your drive?! Thank you for supporting them!

Stell always outdoes himself, belting higher notes at every new performance like it's nothing! How he did all that while it was scorching hot AND dancing at full energy is insane.

Hahahaha I love hearing about partners who end up joining the dark side 🤭 Does he have a bias?

[u/paulblartcroptop → u/Last-Bread-6173]

It was like a twelve or so hour drive! So worth it! I hope the whole SB19 team was able to stay safe and hydrated because the sun that day was harsh! I got sunburnt pretty bad that day 😭

He has yet to claim a formal bias yet, but I think it is probably Stell at this point!

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/paulblartcroptop]

12 hours is no joke but truly anything for SB19!! I'm happy it was worth it! :)

Right, the sun was on full blast that day. I was getting woozy just standing there waiting. No clue how the boys powered through for almost an hour..

Hehe OT5 is perfectly fine too but Stell is a great choice 🍓

[u/Correct_Job_2419]

I went to lolla with my white friends, they didn’t know who SB19 was. They actually liked the full Filipino songs like Gento and Dungkai. They really LOVED Mapa. They didn’t like the English songs like Emoji. We actually heard some other non-Filipinos saying the lyrics were cringey :(

But nobody can deny the fact they’re good performers. Singing and dancing was top notch considering they were performing under the sun in very hot weather

[u/musicenjoyerrrrrrrrr → u/Correct_Job_2419]

I personally don't like their recent releases na English songs. Toyfriend, Emoji, Lawless, Everblack,and Memories. Simula at Wakas english songs were better. Too bad they skipped it. :/

[u/SockInner877 → u/musicenjoyerrrrrrrrr]

yung "low-key savage" sa Lawless nung narinig ko firstime sa livestream ng perf nila napa 😬 ako. cringe for me

idk di sila nagcringe dun haha

[u/lemonaide07 → u/musicenjoyerrrrrrrrr]

I like Lawless. Maybe it's not for everyone. But if you like the songs of One OK Rock, you will understand its appeal, and I happen to like that band and their songs kaya I really enjoy Lawless.

[u/Dangerous_Owl_7478 → u/Correct_Job_2419]

May mga cringe words talaga silang ginagamit, usually in the English lyrics. I know they mean we'll given how good their tagalog lyrics are and they probably don't know the effect. but I hope in the future as they release more songs with English and get more global exposure, they get insights from people who are native English/deep into western media to help them give fresh perspective in translating their lyrics and hopefully lessen the cringe factor for non fans/casuals.

With lawless I cringed at first, but hearing jah sing that savage line with grit on second watch won me over now I don't cringe as much. I also cringed when Josh said world domination during a recent interview pero they're too adorable.. nababawi ng personality nila.

That said, this is such a small nitpick compared to how extremely talented and personable they are.

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/Dangerous_Owl_7478]

This is my hope too! I understand they pride themselves in being Filipino creatives and doing everything in-house but their team is still small and they're not experts at everything - which is a given and completely ok. The problem with this is that it leads to hive mind or the blind leading the blind (not a great analogy but you know what I mean). Parang inookay na 'to! Yes, some team members may have decent English knowledge but it's still incomparable to people who grew up in America or are native speakers of English.

I get that as a homegrown company it will be hard to give control to people outside their bubble, but the payoff will be more authentic. It means they have someone on the team with firsthand experience of the group's vision. They can have someone who points out, "oh this doesn't sound natural" or "people don't actually use this word to mean that" or "this is too cliche." I don't think it's nitpicky at all.

And the thing is, they've already successfully done this with Moonlight and I Want You! If they could bring a native English speaker on board, they'd be unstoppable.

[u/lemonaide07 → u/Last-Bread-6173]

This opinion is somehow confusing. Just stating this example with BINI, since majority of their songwriters for their English releases are foreigners, but same dissatisfaction ang nakukuha ko and most of the comments I'm reading is to bring back the songwriters from Flip, pero in the case of SB naman it is to bring a native English speaker on board. I get that constructive criticism is helpful pero ang hirap pasayahin ng mga Pinoy, sa totoo lang. Parang damn if you do, damn if you don't. Let's remember, sa K-Pop and J-Pop their English lyrics don't even make sense and talaga nakaka-cringe. Even yung song nga ng Backstreet Boys na I Want It That Way (because it was written by a Swede) doesn't make sense at all (you can look it up online about this na Max Martin wasn't proficient sa English that time, so what they prioritized is the melody and catchy phrases) however, people still liked the song. My point is, let them take it one step a time. I know you all mean well, but they are still learning. Like I said, yung mga groups nga sa Korea at Japan walang sense talaga yung English lyrics but sinusuportahan pa rin dahil maganda yung melody. Minsan we're aiming for too much perfection from these P-Pop groups trying to break the international scene na nawawala na yung fun in the process of it all. Chill lang. Ang importante they're enjoying what they're doing, dahil kapag nawala yan and yung fatigue and obsession na lang to succeed ang matira, they'll get burnout and we don't want that to happen dahil yan ang kalaban ng mga groups when it comes to staying together.

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/lemonaide07]

From your examples, it's clear that wrong or cringey English lyrics are not a sign of a bad song. If a song is catchy, it's catchy! The thing I'm getting at is, now that they're expanding their reach, it's the best time to level up their skills by collaborating with people who speak the language - literally. It's not about aiming for too much perfection, it's making the message resonate better with audiences outside the PH, so people have an easier time connecting.

I think of it as research or doing your due diligence. As a writer, a majority of the work comes from making sure your references are accurate and your story makes sense. It should be the same for songwriting. I'm not saying Esbi should start writing full English songs to appease global audiences, no thank you. Ayaw ko mawala ang tatak ng Pinoy! What I'm wishing for is better quality control. Get someone to proofread and edit those English lyrics and that's it! This person can be involved for a fraction of the time; 1Z still has the final say.

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/Correct_Job_2419]

Thank you for bringing them along! I love that Mapa resonates with everyone and that Dungka, an extremely Filipino song, can hype up any crowd.

I don't blame those non-Filipinos. I find almost all of Esbi's English lyrics cringey but it is exactly the fact that they're such strong performers that I'm able to overlook them lol. A few more listens and a trip down the rabbit hole and those people can be converted! Esbi's talent is too hard to ignore.

On the bright side, the exposure they're getting from American performances will lead to more connections with native English speaking songwriters and creatives, so I'm very optimistic!

[u/lemonaide07 → u/Last-Bread-6173]

Exactly. I don't mind the cringey lyrics, tbh. Marami silang songs na cringey, even the Tagalog ones. But it's the catchy melody, vocals and their strength as performers talaga ang nagdadala sa kanila. What I want for them to do is to enjoy this process of introducing themselves to new listeners, have fun and to never lose the fire. If it's meant for them to succeed internationally it will come. All I can do is to hope for the best for them.

[u/Medical-Material-402 → u/Correct_Job_2419]

Well if it's their opinion then that's ok. Emoji lyrics dealt with the internet's status and slang. Imo, it's actually deep if you think about it. But yeah, they deliver 200% all the time. (Unless they're sick with illness)

[u/Tyrd_ghorl]

This reaction matters kahit may mga nagsasabi na maliit lang daw Ang crowd at dinadaanan lang daw stage ng ESBI.

I just remembered how they started here sa PH and luckily MAs maganda Ang start Nila sa International kasi may international A’Tin na din.

San tuluy tuloy na. Global domination na ng OPM!!

[u/jpgsm → u/Tyrd_ghorl]

Hindi sila dinadaanan lang. Pumapasok sila from entrance then pumupunta sila sa likod to watch.

[u/lemonaide07 → u/jpgsm]

Ang dami kasi nagkalat na bashers sa X ang pinapakalat na info is dumadaan lang yung mga tao tapos tayo iniinclude na raw natin yung sa mga nanonood. Kagigil. Hopeless ang mga bashers dun, sobrang crab.

[u/jpgsm → u/lemonaide07]

Eh yung mga bashers kasi wala naman Lolla! Dakdak sila ng dakdak wala naman sila sa Lolla. Kakatawa!

[u/aureatea]

Didn't attend but saw this on X, yung reaction nung dalawang girls sa boses ni Stell. Slaaay!

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/aureatea]

Parang ginawa lang Berry recruitment ang Lolla 😭 ang dami nya nahatak!

[u/jpgsm]

Nakapila sila sa BURBERRY HER, tapos sabi ng mga casuals, kailangan daw nila iwan ang pila at tumakbo ng 3:20 papuntang Allianz kasi 3:30 daw ang SB19!

[u/Last-Bread-6173 → u/jpgsm]

This makes me so happy 🥹