Even When It's Tough, Pablo and His Fans Move Forward

Members of the Pack. Credit: Keyk

Pablo posted a monochrome graphic forming the word "USAD" on his Instagram account as July began. A single line of caption accompanied it: USAD // SIYETE UNO SIYETE, USAD // seven one seven.

Thousands of comments flooded the post immediately. Pablo, stylized as PABLO, is the leader of the Philippine boy group SB19, and both his solo fans and the group's fandom responded at once, full of curiosity about what he was preparing. Soon, they came up with theories and predictions about what the single would be.

One subscriber of The Pack, Pablo's official Facebook hub, thought a fun profile picture frame would be a nice way for everyone to anticipate "USAD". Reimie Kaye Gaspar, also known as Keyk (like the English word "cake"), did not dare to expect that the campaign she created on Twibbonize would be a success. But the Twibbon was welcomed by so many, garnering 1,900+ supporters.

The people behind the Pack

Keyk, 23, is a fresh graduate who now works as an auditor. She spends her days in a finance role where, as she put it, "I can't be creative." The fandom is where the rest of her goes. "I can only exhaust my creativity on this side of me," she told Twibbonize in a conversation on Monday (7/20). "And it actually makes me feel alive."

Since college, she has been a supporter of all five SB19 members, Pablo, Josh, Justin, Stell, and Ken. She was not active as a fan during those years, given that she had no income yet. "After graduation, I have my work, and I have the money to support them." That was when she went all out as an A'TIN (pronounced like "eighteen"), the official name of the fandom.

That led her to a moment earlier this year, when she saw that the Pack had posted an opening for a Community Packer. "I applied because that's actually what I did back in college," confessed Keyk, referring to her time in the student council and many organizations. The announcement came on April 1, when she was chosen. "It feels like, oh my God, this is April Fool's."

Keyk at one of the Pack's offline events. Credit: Keyk

The Pack was created by Pablo. It is a paid-membership group on Facebook where the musician shares exclusive content. Four core moderators run it, two on Facebook and two on Discord, backed by four more Community Packers, including Keyk, who handles Facebook engagement. "Because of Pablo's busy schedule, he can't always be on the hub," she said. "So as a moderator and communicator, we are in charge of making the hub alive."

Asked whether being a Community Packer makes fandom feel like a job, she answered swiftly. "So maybe I consider it as a job. Because it requires effort, creativity. But I love what I'm doing." The Pack has become an outlet for what she cannot express in daily life.

Making the Twibbon

One of the organizations Keyk was a member of is R4-JPIA, a federation of accountancy students. One activity she worked on the most was setting up DP Blasts: everyone changes their display photo to a uniform Twibbon at a set time. "It's very good for marketing events," Keyk explained. "It makes the event loud, especially for people who are chronically online."

So when Pablo teased "USAD" on his Instagram, she wanted to bring the same idea to the Pack. Excitement on the hub was already high, since a solo project is rare for Pablo. Most of the time, fans only see him sharing the SB19 spotlight. "So whenever he embarks on a solo project, it feels extra special," Keyk pointed out.

She handed the concept to the resident editor, moderator Karen May. "I gave her the vision idea, and [she] just made it." The caption was written by Keyk herself, inspired by Pablo's first post of the era, a photo of him looking deep in thought:

"Tulad ni Pablo ay tulala dahil hindi maka-USAD." (Like Pablo, I am also dazed because I cannot move forward.)

It is a play on the title. In Filipino, usad means to move forward, but the photo Pablo posted felt heavy and melancholic, hence hindi maka-usad in the caption, as if the fans were unable to move forward, consumed by curiosity over what he was about to reveal.

The moderators posted the "USAD" Twibbon with a prepared caption. Credit: @ThePackMods

Keyk also knew how to start the Twibbon's chain of sharing. "We first shared the Twibbonize link exclusively inside the Facebook Hub so Packers could prepare in advance," she explained. "Then, at exactly 2:00 PM [GMT+8], the Pack Moderators published the link on our public social media accounts." It reached X as well, where it trended under tags like #PABLO and #WhatsUpOlbap.

A change of heart

SB19's fame is not in question. The group is one of the most prominent boy groups in the Philippines today, and considered a trailblazer of P-pop, Philippine Pop. The group has toured internationally, was featured in Teen Vogue's Favorite Boy Bands of All Time, and its members even founded their own company, 1Z Entertainment, staying closely involved in their projects, marketing, and branding.

But being a fan is not merely about loving someone's success. It's also a matter of something deeper and more personal. For Keyk, it was the group's relentlessness. Her interest began with the song "What?", and she was moved by how the group pushed forward despite the hardships they faced in the industry.

Eventually she gravitated toward Pablo. "I fell in love with the way his mind works," she reflected. She had thought she was never the type to stan anyone. "But Pablo, and SB19, became my only exception."

"It actually altered my brain chemistry," she said of her trajectory as an A'TIN. "There's someone out there who doesn't even know you, but they can actually inspire you to become better." At one of the Pack's events, she got a chance to read Pablo a letter, telling him she dedicates Taylor Swift's "Begin Again" to him, "not in a romantic sense, but because meeting him and becoming his fan completely changed the way I looked at love." 

Before the fandom, she loved writing sad letters and believed love was always meant "to break and burn and end." But after becoming a Pablo fan she realized there was another kind of love. "It's a love that asks for nothing in return, yet somehow gives you everything you didn't know you needed." Keyk also admitted, jokingly, her past self might have rolled her eyes at who she is now.

The turnout and showcase, both full of surprises

The teaser's "Siyete Uno Siyete" pointed at one date: 7/17, July 17, 2026, the day of both the single and Pablo's first solo showcase, The Middle. The frame got there first. Keyk's timeline was flooded with profile pictures using USAD with the Pack Twibbon, and it was not just Pablo's fans who used it. "I have a lot of friends who have different biases," she said of fellow A'TIN who prefer other members but were still hyped for Pablo's solo project. Keyk believed that the A'TIN she knows are all OT5, fans who support all five members equally. "I'm just glad to see that, oh my God, they are using the frame."

"I'm not happy because that's my idea. I'm happy because I was able to contribute to making this comeback of Pablo very loud." Numbers have never been her concern. She was surprised that the Twibbon had reached 1,900+ supporters, and only learned the figure after Twibbonize reached out to her.

The song itself was another surprise. Keyk expected a ballad, which would have been typical for Pablo, and she refused to stream "USAD" on release day, opting to hear it live at the showcase. "I will save my ears for the live [showcase]," she told her frustrated friends who wanted to have a listening party. What she expected to be a ballad turned out to be R&B with a touch of gospel. "I don't know why I still get shocked," Keyk laughed. "I'm shocked that it's good, even though I know he's that good."

Packers at Pablo's showcase The Middle (7/17). Credit: Keyk

"USAD" resonates with her and the fanbase. "At some point in my life, I felt stuck," she said. "The song is somehow healing because it actually validates your feeling that it's okay to feel stuck. You are just blinded by the thought that you are stuck. But you're not." The lyrics reassure you that you are moving forward, even if not immediately. Keyk also shared the pamphlet given at the showcase. It contains Pablo's own writing: thoughtful, intimate words that encourage readers that feeling lost is okay, you just have to "return to yourself".

Moving forward

As if mirroring the artist's words, the community Pablo built does not revolve around him alone. "Pablo doesn't want the Pack to be centered on him," Keyk remarked, pointing to activities where members gather for charity and events that have nothing to do with Pablo or SB19 at all. "He wanted to build a community where we can be a family, a safe space." And he did.

The Pack celebrating the athletes of Special Olympics Pilipinas. Credit: Keyk

The same is true of what made Keyk's Twibbon more than a decoration on a face. "A simple display photo can represent something much bigger," she stated. "It became a symbol of a community moving together, celebrating together." 

She may have written a caption about the Pack being unable to move forward, but the Pack looks more than ready to do exactly that. They started as a mix of people of all ages, there simply to see what Pablo had in store. Over time, admiration for one person became a desire to connect with like-minded people and create things together.

So perhaps Keyk's past self would be proud of her after all. To change, in the end, is just to move forward, and to grow past who you used to be.