Celebrated Pinoy pop group SB19 honored their parents through their latest rousing ballad “MAPA.”
Released under Sony Music on Sunday, the title is a Filipino term that translates to “map” in English, is a portmanteau of “mama” and “papa.”
The track is a tribute to every parent out there, who has brought direction to our lives every time we feel lost and in need of a north star.
Pablo wrote the single to “inspire people to be appreciative of everything that our parents did for us and to give back.”
To date, it is the group’s “most emotionally expressive element.”
“It implies that our parents serve as our guidance and direction in life. We released this song to show gratitude and appreciation for helping us survive all the challenges and difficulties that we’ve encountered growing up,” Pablo said.
The group was promoted to honor the love for their parents through a pop song since they experienced having lesser time with their families before COVID-19 pandemic as they were mostly on concert tour.
“Pablo first composed the melody, getting inspiration from a lullaby that his mother would sing to him when he was a child,” SB19’s Josh said.
“He wanted to make a song that conveys the feeling of being taken care of by one’s parents. He proceeded to write lyrics that equate our parents as the ‘map’ that guides us to be the best versions of ourselves,” he added.
The acclaimed Filipino boy band started the #DearMAPA campaign to express their gratitude to their parents and encouraged A’TIN to do the same in time for the Mother’s Day last week.
The hashtag trended on Twitter Philippines, and launched thousands of touching messages from their fans.
SB19 also revealed the logo trailer for “MAPA” a few days before the song’s actual release.
The single was also released after the quintet was nominated at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards for Top Social Artist category along with some of the world’s most celebrated pop acts BTS, Blackpink, Seventeen and Ariana Grande.
Voting race for this category opened last week and will last until May 21. —Rosette Adel
RELATED: Fans of SB19 join voting race for ‘Top Social Artist’ award at Billboard Music Awards
