- Source: Pagtatag! World Tour
The Pagtatag! World Tour was the second world tour headlined by the Filipino boy band SB19, launched to support their second extended play (EP), Pagtatag! (2023). The world tour comprises 18 shows that commenced on June 24, 2023, in Quezon City, Philippines, stopping by in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The tour concluded on May 19, 2024.
The boy band began sharing details about the tour's development in 2022 while embarking on their first world tour with WYAT (Where You At) Tour. The tour was announced via the band's social media accounts, initially having 12 dates, after posting a trailer revealing their EP's release. The boy band began rehearsing for the tour a month before the EP's release, which they stated would have a longer production from their previous tour. The tour's two kickoff shows at Smart Araneta Coliseum were sold-out.
The tour's set list consists mainly of songs from the boy band's catalog, including all from Pagtatag!, and featured solo performances from each band member of songs from their own solo discography, which all spanned around two hours in run time. Band members Stell and Justin performed cover versions of songs from Idina Menzel and One Direction, respectively. The tour received positive reviews from critics, who praised the boy band's stage presence and concert performances.
Background and development
The Filipino boy band SB19 embarked on their first world tour with the WYAT (Where You At) Tour in 2022. Amidst touring, the boy band revealed plans for 2023 in an interview with CNN Philippines, hinting over a new music release and embarking on another concert tour, describing the latter as a "bigger" one. In a press conference, the band's leader, Pablo, revealed that their forthcoming music release would revolve around the word "pagtatag" (lit. 'establishment') and is said to continue to explore more genres and life experiences.
On April 29, 2023, the boy band posted a trailer, revealing the title for their second extended play (EP), Pagtatag!, and its release date. Later, the Pagtatag! World Tour and its concert dates were announced officially on April 30, 2023, through SB19's social media accounts to support the EP. The concert tour initially consists of 12 concert dates, starting with two shows at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on June 24 and 25, 2023, with stops across the United States and Canada. TicketNet handled the tour's opening nights' ticket sales, with prices ranging from ₱1,000 up to ₱6,500. Eventually, both shows were sold-out. Various ticketing outlets, including SM Tickets, AXS, and Ticketmaster, handled the ticket sales for the remaining shows.
The boy band gradually announced additional dates for the tour in the Philippines and parts of Asia. On May 24, 2023, the group announced added shows for Davao City and Bacolod. The group made multiple announcements for additional shows in Asia; on October 3, 2023, they announced additional shows for cities Singapore, Bangkok, and Dubai, and on October 30, 2023, for Tokorozawa.
Sony Music Philippines released the boy band's second EP, Pagtatag!, on June 9, 2023. The EP spanned various music genres, which included songs with pop, hip hop, EDM, soul, R&B, ballad, and acoustic elements. In a press launch for the EP, band member Justin revealed that the group began rehearsing for the tour a month before the EP's release and commented on the development of the Pagtatag! World Tour, assuring a longer production and would exceed performances they had on their previous tour for the upcoming tour: "The preparation, compared [from] our WYAT Tour, it is a bit longer [...] we always accompany that with rehearsals, so we can ensure that what we expect for ourselves in our upcoming tour would exceed, or we can surprise everyone—levelling up from before."
To further promote the Pagtatag! World Tour, SB19 made appearances on television, performing at variety shows All-Out Sundays and ASAP Natin 'To. The tour was produced with a production team based in the Philippines. Each concert has a run time of approximately two hours.
Concert synopsis
Each concert begins with a brief video introduction of SB19 at a gold mine. The boy band opened each concert with a performance of "Gento" (2023), accompanied by yellow stage lighting and visuals resembling a cave. A dancer then performed an interpretive dance routine, after which Ken and Pablo returned on stage to begin performing "Mana" (2021)—followed by the rest of the band members. The boy band followed it with slower numbers, performing their ballads—a mashup of "Hanggang sa Huli" (2020) and "Tilaluha" (2018), "Ilaw" (2023), "Liham" (2023), "Mapa" (2021), and "Nyebe" (2022). They changed into black and neon green outfits and later performed upbeat tracks, "Crimzone" (2023) and "Bazinga" (2021).
Each band member proceeded with their solo performances. Stell performed a cover of Idina Menzel's "Defying Gravity" (2003), followed by Josh's performance of "Get Right" (2023) and his debut single "Wild Tonight" (2023). Ken then performed his songs "Criminal" (2023) and "Straydogs" (2023), after which Justin performed a cover of One Direction's "Little Things" (2012). Pablo finished the act with his performance of "La Luna" (2022). The rest of the band members returned on stage to perform "I Want You" (2023), accompanied by sensual choreography. Afterward, they performed their earlier releases, "WYAT (Where You At)" (2022) and "Go Up" (2019), followed by a performance of "Freedom" (2023). SB19 closes each concert with an encore performance of "What?" (2021).
Critical reception
The concert tour was met with positive responses from critics. Rafael Bautista of Nylon Manila praised the boy band's stage presence on the tour's opening nights in Araneta Coliseum, writing, "the concerts proved again that SB19 will always command that stage". Bautista also commended the looks, choreography, production, vocals, and storytelling, arguing that the boy band "rocked the Big Dome". Chlarine Gianan of Mega magazine described the tour's opening nights as "filled with the group's individual and collective talents" and commented that the tour proved that the group is in the right place for P-pop. For the show in Davao, SunStar Davao's Allan Joseph Albior remarked that the boy band "delivered an intense show", asserting that they delivered "breathtaking performances" and "[had] left the audience with awe".
Set list
The following set list is from the June 24 and 25, 2023 shows in Quezon City. It is not representative of all shows throughout the tour.
Film
Pagtatag!: The Documentary is a Philippine documentary concert film directed by Jed Regala, documenting the Pagtatag! World Tour. It released in theaters in the Philippines on August 28, 2024.