Leader. Writer. Singer. Alpha. PABLO is in The Zone

It was entirely in character for SB19's leader Pablo to launch himself as a solo artist without even a whisper of warning to the world. After all, he announced his name change from Sejun to Pablo during their comeback, Ikalawang Yugto, causing a stir of surprise among his A'tin. Fortunately, Pablo is closer to his birth name John Paulo Nase, so it was an easy adjustment for the fandom. His solo debut was a bit more of a shock.

From his childhood days in Imus, Cavite, to his university days at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines studying English, Pablo was known for being a dreamer, poet, and musician - always completely in the zone. In fact, SB19 named their studio "The Zone" in honor of Pablo and his penchant for being lost in thought and always "in the zone."

Starting at the Beginning

Pablo originally joined ShowBT as a solo act after winning the vocal category of Pinoy K-Pop Star in 2016. He'd always been interested in Korean culture and had initially shown up at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) to learn the language. Today, he's said to be fluent enough to write rap in Korean, which he showed off in the group's Korea Times interview1 early in their career. Since being "scammed" into becoming the leader of SB19, he's made a name for himself internationally as a lyricist, composer, producer, and outstanding singer, rapper, and performer. His win at the Spring Djooky Awards in 2021 was a welcome highlight and heralded in the later release of, 'Determinado' which rocked the hip-hop world with its unconventional mix of Gregorian chant-inspired music and hard-hitting rap. The co-written duet between brothers Pablo and Josue only underlined what the fans already knew: John Paulo Nase has a gift for creating music.

Since being "scammed" into becoming the leader of SB19, he's made a name for himself internationally as a lyricist, composer, producer, and outstanding singer, rapper, and performer.

More Music To Come

A'tin know Pablo has more than one unreleased song in his back pocket. He's performed several on SB19's live and online concerts like 'Kelan," and crowd favorite 'Kumunoy.' and his solo teaser music video '???' is still under heavy request. In true Pablo fashion, the simple black-and-white music video is still untitled, but features the artist himself and a cryptic time and date on a digital clock flashing to the left of the screen. Wild guesses that it was hinting at the release of another song proved right – and wrong. Instead of an emotional ballad like '???', we got 'La Luna,' and it could not have been more different.

One thing is clear: Pablo has a message for us, and he wants us to hear it.

The Hitchcock-esque music video, which was shot on location in the mountains of Lantawan, Negros Occidental, caused another stir, and rightly so. Pablo played on his moniker of Lone Wolf and transformed himself into The Alpha. 'La Luna' pulls heavily on the werewolf myth and speaks of allowing your true self to shine despite society's impossible expectations. With dramatic music intertwined with orchestral hints, 'La Luna' creates the perfect backdrop to theatrical, narrative rap. One thing is clear: Pablo has a message for us, and he wants us to hear it.

Even with the 2024 releases of 'Determinado' and 'Akala', Pablo continues dropping hints of upcoming new releases and even an album. He's always kept us on our toes, and more often than not, our guesses have been wrong. The only thing we're sure of? The Alpha is here to stay.