Episode 449 of Japanese YouTube channel THE FIRST TAKE welcomed SB19, the five-member Ppop phenom boy band from the Philippines. It has so far garnered over 670,000 views and is #18 Trending on YouTube in less than 24 hours.

SB19 is the very first Southeast Asian artist to be nominated as Top Social Artist at the 2021 U.S. Billboard Music Awards, and they performed their song “GENTO,” which became a hit on TikTok for its addictive phrase and unique dance moves.

Enjoy the song, which expresses the message that “it is the accumulation of small efforts that leads to success,” in a special version exclusively for THE FIRST TAKE.

It was a true first take, so we were very nervous and overwhelmed, but it was fun and an amazing experience,” SB19 shares. “Above all, we are grateful for this opportunity and for being able to represent the Philippines by performing our song here. We are honored to showcase our music and culture to the world through THE FIRST TAKE.”

THE FIRST TAKE is a Japanese YouTube channel that invites top singers and artists from all over the world to perform a song recorded in one take. Videos on The First Take are filmed in a studio, with shots of the performing artist and a microphone, set to a background that is usually white.

With the concept “capture the take. This moment. This sound. THE FIRST TAKE. It only happens once,” THE FIRST TAKE presents pure music in overwhelming quality with no exaggerated performance.

The channel started on 15 November 2019 and has now hit 9.69 million subscribers (as of 7 June 2024). Total views have exceeded 1.4 billion, and contents have been viewed from over 220 countries and regions around the world. Growing as a comprehensive music platform, new initiatives have been launched and become viral contents. THE FIRST TAKE INTERNATIONAL features international music stars such as Harry Styles, Avril Lavigne, V from BTS, Jason Chan and Jolin Tsai, having them to give their one-take performance exclusively on the channel.

SB19 on the other hand, is the first Southeast Asian group and the first Filipino to be invited in the influential music media outlet. After the initial announcement, HALA THE FIRST TAKE SB19 skyrocketed to nos. 1, 2, and 35 of X’s trend list in the Philippines, Japan, and Worldwide, respectively.

Aside from this recognition, the Philippines' five-member boy group also recently bagged a nomination for Favorite Asian Act in the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.