SB19's Justin goes solo and announces debut track Surreal

Boyband member releases surprise trailer to reveal the news

Justin De Dios is following in the footsteps of other group members by releasing solo work. Photo: 1Z Entertainment

Another day, another Justin from one of the world's biggest boybands is going solo.

Away from Timberlake and NSync, Justin De Dios from the Filipino group SB19 will release his debut single Surreal on February 29.

He announced it in a surprise three-minute cinematic trailer. It shows the singer walking through a forest and a field of flowers before finding a tent and going inside.

Last month, Justin made his acting debut in the ABS-CBN series Senior High. He played Jared, who attended the school’s prom as the date of another character.

This isn’t the first time a member of the group, made up of Pablo, Stell, Ken, Josh and Justin, has released solo music. In the past few years, Josh, Pablo and Ken have also worked on individual projects.

Josh, who is the lead rapper and vocalist, released Wild Tonight in February last year. Pablo, considered the leader of the group, who is also a vocalist, main rapper, chief songwriter and creative director, presented La Luna in January 2022. Meanwhile, Ken who is a lead vocalist and main dancer, released an original song called Palayo (Away) in 2021. He followed it up with 2022’s Bulan.

SB19 formed in 2016 after the members participated in a talent contest held by ShowBT Philippines, a subsidiary of the South Korean company ShowBT.

The members were originally selected to be performers for company events, but former ShowBT chief executive Jung Sung-han saw their potential and decided to turn them into a boyband.

The group have become the new face of pop music in the Philippines. They are the first Filipino act to be nominated in the Billboard Music Awards for Top Social Artist and the first South-East Asian act to enter the top 10 of Billboard’s Social 50 charts. They also broke a record set by BTS for longest No 1 reign on Billboard's Trending Songs chart.

In June last year, they left their agency and created their own company 1Z Entertainment. They said they hope to have more creative freedom over their music but also help other musicians in the country be successful, too.

"Our main goal is to contribute to the Philippine music industry and help make Filipino music more recognised globally,” Ken previously told The National. “Also, to uplift and inspire people. We established 1Z Entertainment for these [reasons].”