SB19 Almost Hits No. 1 With New Project, Which Earns A Great Start

It’s a big day for SB19, one that may mark the start of an exciting chapter for the musical act. The Filipino boy band dropped its new EP Simula at Wakas on Friday (April 25), and within hours, it was clear that this latest release is headed for real, quantifiable success in the United States. Based on some promising initial placements, the project is off to one of the group’s best starts yet.

SB19 Scores One of the Top Debuts on iTunes

Fridays are always crowded on iTunes. The beginning of a new tracking frame typically brings with it a flood of exciting releases, as artists rush to drop singles and full-lengths to maximize their seven-day window for streams and sales. Even with the typical weekly chaos, SB19 manages to stand out.

Simula at Wakas rises to No. 2 on the iTunes Top Albums chart in the U.S., as of the time of publishing. That positioning makes it the third-bestselling title in the country on that one platform on Friday. While iTunes doesn’t account for all purchases in the U.S., it still serves as a helpful early indicator of which projects are resonating most with fans in real time, as well as which titles may perform well on the Billboard charts in a few days.

SB19 Trails Only Ghost and Final Fantasy XVI

The only new release managing to outperform SB19 on iTunes this frame is Skeletá by Ghost. The Swedish metal group’s latest set bolts to No. 1, easily becoming the to-performing new release this week, at least initially.

For some time, SB19 was also beaten by the Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack. That album sat in between Ghost and the Filipino musical troupe for a while, after slipping from No. 1. That’s not the case as of the time of writing, as it declines to third place, while the boy band advances.

Elsewhere on the ranking, other notable arrivals include new efforts from Machine Head, Coco Jones, Shaboozey, and the 2024 Broadway cast recording of Gypsy.

SB19’s First Single From the EP Is Already a Chart-Topper

Before Simula at Wakas arrived in full, SB19 pushed one tune from the project to one of Billboard’s rosters. The EP’s first single, “Dam,” rose to No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart earlier this year. It became the band’s first champion on that tally, which is often dominated by international stars.

The cut marked SB19’s second top 10 on that list to date. The group’s earlier single “Gento” previously peaked at No. 8 two years ago. The success of both “Dam” and the early warm welcome enjoyed by Simula at Wakas may be a sign that a new foreign boy band is about to become the hottest thing in America, changing the look and sound of what’s huge in the music industry.