Gisulat ni Samantha Radaza • June 8, 2026

Non-fiction • Reviews

Move, tabi, tabi! XONARA’s “TABI” is one of the best P-pop debuts ever, perhaps the best so far. The title alone tells you everything about the posture of this song. “Tabi,” the Tagalog word for “step aside” or “move,” is a clear command. From the first percussive hit, XONARA means it in a way nga mabal-an gyud nimo.

The track operates in a tight, high-impact collision of pop, hip-hop, trap, and EDM, laced with militaristic beats and chant-like hooks that feel almost ceremonial. Hard-hitting 808s drive the momentum forward with the urgency of a march, and the pacing never loosens its grip. It’s the control underneath the aggression that strikes you. The chaos is calculated; every element earns its place. Ma-consider nako ni siya nga anthem. Not to mention the Y2K nostalgia.

Now, let’s talk about the energy. “Outta ten went from zero just to ace / So raw we be makin’ our wave” — makahunahuna ka, is this manufactured bravado? But, no. Paminaw nako gimugna kini nga anthem after the struggle, not before it. There’s a difference between what our generation calls “performative” vs. confidence that’s owned and earned over the years of extensive training. Obviously, the single lives entirely in the latter. In fairness, ha, rare na siya for a debut.

What elevates the song beyond the expected debut formula is the cultural weight it carries without announcing it too loudly. Daghan ug symbolism! The entire aura of “TABI” echoes the spirit of the Katipunan, the Philippines’ underground society that organized resistance against Spanish colonial rule. That energy lives in every layer: women taking space rather than asking for it, voices that refuse to be absorbed into the background, a movement that feels both tactical and symbolic. The use of red color grading says it all!

Na-amaze pud ko sa music video. It opens on a game called Salpakan or Game of the Generals, the Filipino-invented tactical war game from 1970. Diha pa lang, kabalo na ko nga the choice is not decorative because every move in that game is deliberate. Every piece has a rank, a function, a role in the larger strategy. XONARA frames themselves within that logic. They are not performers hoping to be noticed, but players who already know how the board is arranged. This kind of conceptual clarity is actually rare at any stage of a group’s career, let alone at its beginning.

Ug nakabantay ba mo sa isa sa major easter egg sa start? There will be a follow-up track, “Pula,” suggesting that a larger narrative universe is already being built. Such foresight embedded in a debut, the willingness to think past the first impression while still making the first impression count, is astonishing. They are ready!

That runs through the songwriting itself, which XONARA actually took part in. Their autonomy bleeds through. Elsewhere in the track, Sisyphus surfaces: “Landas na para bang Sisyphean role / Pasan ang pasakit.” The journey is framed as cyclical labor, resistance met not with collapse but with recalibration. And then this: “Uhaw ko’y naging panggatong sa nanlalamon na alon.” Desire as fuel. Thirst as a weapon. Strong figures of speech!

Naa pud mga lines in Cebuano like “Pagdali kay naa nami diri,” ug “Ayaw pataka,” directly translating to “Hurry up because we’re here,” and “Don’t assume” respectively. In a space where regional voices are routinely smoothed over for a more palatable national market, this group embeds the language into a high-powered debut track and lets it stand. Hopefully, in the next releases, mas daghan pa ug Cebuano lines.

Behind the execution, SB19 took part. Director and creative visionary Justin de Dios for the MV, with Ken Suson on styling, and producer Pablo handling the sonic architecture with both clarity and force, served us not only their first girl group but a preview of what 1Z Entertainment’s vision is for the future of the industry. Makita gyud nimo ang ambition nila ug ilang determination nga makab-ot na. Usa pa, sharp kaayo ilang choreography for a girl group! Maka-amaze!

Although, I have to say, I had one of the most insightful conversations with our editor-in-chief, who pointed out that yes, “TABI” is a competitive debut track, but it’s not yet groundbreaking like VVINK mixing aggressive Pinoy techno with K-pop-inspired melodies in “Baduy”; or, ALAMAT adding indigenous instruments to their hip-hop tracks like the gabbang and kubing in “LuzViMinda.”

Their debut is definitely not going to be their prime, right? Kani nga pulong gyud ang nitatak sa ako during that conversation. But they’re already promising. So… maybe the next releases will cement their landing? Let’s see!

Overall, “TABI” is a battle cry wrapped in an encore-ready anthem. Literal nga the show is over! It merges sonic aggression with cultural depth, sharp visual storytelling with lyrical weight, and delivers all of it with a precision that most groups spend years working toward even after debut.

And in a P-pop landscape that grows more saturated by the month, wala niingon ang XONARA nga, “Pansina mi!”

They say, “Move! Tabi!”

Thus, we make way.

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