SB19 and Kento Nakajima Finally Release Their Collaboration

Filipino five-member boy group SB19 and Japanese singer Kento Nakajima released their collaborative track, “GENTO with Kento Nakajima”. After making its live debut at SUMMER SONIC 2026 in August and generating considerable buzz, the highly anticipated collaboration is finally available on streamingStreamingListening to music or watching video on demand over the internet through platforms like Spotify and Netflix, rather than owning copies. Streaming has changed how artists earn and how audiencesGo to Streaming Glossary platforms. Alongside comments from SB19 and Nakajima, Rolling Stone Japan revisits the electrifying performance that brought the festival crowd to its feet.

At the forefront of the P-popP-popShort for Pilipino pop, a style of pop music made by Filipino artists, especially idol-style groups and soloists known for catchy songs, dance routines, and devoted fans. The movement hasGo to P-pop Glossary movement, SB19 have been steadily expanding their reach from the Philippines to audiences around the world. Their 2023 hit “GENTO” became a global sensation, propelled in part by a viral dance challenge that swept across social media.

The collaboration with Nakajima began with a dance video shared on TikTokTikTokA social media platform for creating, sharing, and discovering short-form videos, featuring music, trends, challenges, and personalized content.Go to TikTok Glossary in 2025. On August 15, during SB19’s set at SUMMER SONIC 2026 in Tokyo, held at Makuhari Messe, Nakajima made a surprise appearance onstage. Together, the six artists premiered “GENTO with Kento Nakajima,” sending the crowd into a frenzy. For the newly released version, Nakajima also wrote the lyrics for his own vocal sections. What began as an unexpected connection between artists from the Japanese and Philippine pop scenes has now become a fully realized musical collaboration.

^{SB19 ft. Kento Nakajima ‘GENTO’ Official Performance Video}

SB19 On kento

The Filipino pop group said they were “incredibly happy” to collaborate with Kento Nakajima.

“Both as an artist and as a person, he truly embodies what “GENTO” stands for, and that meant more to us than anything else. As we brought the song and its message to Japanese audiences, we wanted to work with someone who could genuinely represent those values. We believe our performance at SUMMER SONIC showed how artists can come together and create something meaningful through collaboration,” SB19 said.

Kento Nakajima on GENTO’S NEW LYRICS

There was added pressure for Nakajima, who wrote new lyrics for this version of the song. “I definitely felt some pressure adding my own lyrics to “GENTO,” which is such an important song for SB19. But the members were really supportive and told me to just be myself, so I poured whatever came to mind into the lyrics, just as I normally would,” he said.

“I hope everyone pays attention to this fateful meeting of GENTO and KENTO. Actually, I hope it makes you go “kyun”!” the Japanese singer added.

This story was first published in Rolling Stone Japan.