P-pop took over Japan as BINI and SB19 brought Filipino music to Summer Sonic on 14 and 16 August, performing across the festival’s Osaka and Tokyo editions.
For BINI, the weekend marked the eight-member girl group’s Summer Sonic debut. They first took the Mountain Stage at Expo ’70 Commemorative Park in Osaka on 14 August, before heading to Tokyo’s Mountain Stage at ZOZO Marine Stadium and Makuhari Messe on 16 August.
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Across their 40-minute sets, BINI ran through fan favourites including 'Cherry on Top', 'Zero Pressure', 'Out of My Head', 'Blush', and 'Step Back'. They also gave the Japanese crowd something made especially for the occasion, performing a Japanese version of 'Born to Win' and incorporating Japanese lines into 'Salamin, Salamin', before closing with 'Pantropiko'. Osaka also heard 'Sugar Rush', while the Tokyo audience got 'Unang Kilig'.
The performances travelled beyond the festival grounds, too. BINI reached No. 1 and No. 3 on X’s global trends during their Osaka and Tokyo appearances, respectively, while also topping Philippine trends on both days.
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Over at Summer Sonic Osaka, SB19 brought their high-energy live show to Expo ’70 Commemorative Park on 14 August. Pablo, Josh, Stell, Felip, and Justin opened with 'DAM', worked 'Quit' and 'Memories' into their set, and closed with 'Crimzone'.
“We stepped onto the stage ready to give it our all, and you gave us even more energy in return,” the group shared after the performance. “Osaka, thank you for an unforgettable Day 1.”
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SB19 returned for Summer Sonic Tokyo on 16 August with a special surprise: Japanese singer and actor Kento Nakajima joined them for 'GENTO', delivering his own Japanese verse and taking on the song’s choreography alongside the group. The collaboration followed a previous meet-up between the artists, which SB19 teased ahead of the festival by saying that “something might be in the works.”
The Tokyo set also saw SB19 add 'I Want You' and 'Moonlight' to their festival repertoire. Their Summer Sonic run came a month after another international milestone, when they became the first Filipino group to perform at Lollapalooza.
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Together, BINI and SB19’s Summer Sonic appearances put two of P-pop’s biggest names in front of audiences in Japan on the same festival weekend — each bringing their own sound, performance style, and fandom energy to the global stage.
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