Josh Cullen

Quick Facts

Photo: JOSH CULLEN – ‘1999’ Official MV

About Josh Cullen

A Hard Road to the Stage

Josh Cullen Santos was born on October 22, 1993 in Las Piñas, part of Metro Manila. His childhood was far from easy. He was raised by a single mother alongside an older sister, and never met his biological father.

Money was tight throughout his youth, and his schooling was frequently interrupted. He eventually finished high school later than most through the Alternative Learning System (ALS), then took on ordinary jobs to get by, working as a computer technician and later as a call center agent.

Music and dance were the constant thread through all of it, as he was already performing in local dance circles. This would build the discipline that would later define his career.

Becoming Josh of SB19

In 2016, the South Korean company ShowBT held auditions in the Philippines for a new boy group trained in the K-pop system. Josh made the cut and entered a grueling program of vocal, dance, and performance training, complete with weekly evaluations.

That group became SB19, which officially debuted on October 26, 2018 with Pablo, Stell, Justin, and Ken (later known as soloist FELIP). Josh took on the role of lead rapper, lead dancer, and sub-vocalist.

When their 2019 single “Go Up” caught fire through a viral dance-practice video, SB19 became one of the biggest names in P-pop. The group went on to make history as the first Filipino and Southeast Asian act nominated for a Billboard Music Award.

Stepping Out on His Own

Josh launched his solo career on February 24, 2023 with the single “Wild Tonight,” a moody hip-hop track he co-produced with his cousin, Ace Santos. A steady run of singles followed, from the swaggering “Get Right” to the heartbreak anthem “Yoko Na” with rapper Al James.

His influences run straight through Filipino hip-hop, with names like Loonie, Gloc-9, Shanti Dope, and Smugglaz shaping his flow, alongside global favorites G-Dragon and BTS. As a soloist he leans harder into rap and raw storytelling than his group work usually allows.

The recognition came quickly. He was named Top New Artist of the Year at the 2023 PPOP Awards and Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2024 Wish Music Awards, then took home Wish Hip Hop Song of the Year for “Get Right” in 2025.

“Lost & Found” and a Vulnerable New Chapter

On September 6, 2024, Josh released his debut solo album “Lost & Found” under Sony Music Philippines. Across nine tracks that move from pop rock to pop-punk, he revisits old wounds, anxiety, and the long road toward self-acceptance.

Songs like “1999,” “See Me,” “Silent Cries,” and “Sumaya” turn deeply personal memories into something listeners can hold onto. He staged his first solo concert that same month at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City.

Josh has described the album as a message of hope for anyone carrying similar pain. In his words, it explores “the pain that never truly goes away, the trauma that lingers long after we think our wounds have healed, and discovering strength within ourselves.”

Videos

Albums

• Lost & Found (2024)

Singles

• Wild Tonight (2023)
• Pakiusap Lang (2023)
• Sino Ka Ba (from “The Iron Heart” Season 2) (2023)
• Get Right (2023)
• Yoko Na (feat. Al James) (2024)
• Sumaya (2024)
• Silent Cries (2024)
• Honest (2024)
• 1999 (2024)

Song Collaborations

• Sofa (Remix) (Ocho the Bullet & Carrot Mayor – 2022)
• Yoko Na (Al James – 2024)
• Get Right (Yuridope Remix) (Yuri Dope – 2024)
• Re: Thinkin’ About You (H1-KEY – 2024)

Awards

Wish Music Awards

• Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2024)
• Wishers’ Choice Award (2024)
• Wish Hip Hop Song of the Year (Get Right – 2025)

PPOP Awards

• Top New Artist of the Year (2023)

Spotify Philippines

• Mr. Up Down Up Down Award (2024)

Nominations

Awit Awards

• People’s Voice Favorite Male Artist (2023)

Wish Music Awards

• Wish Hip Hop Song of the Year (Wild Tonight – 2024)
• Wish Collaboration of the Year (Sofa – 2024)

Perspective

Josh Cullen makes music that sounds like someone finally saying the thing out loud after years of holding it in. There is real grit under the polish, a rapper’s edge sharpened by hip-hop and a storyteller’s willingness to bleed on the track. Press play on “Lost & Found” and you hear an artist turning his hardest memories into something that might just help someone else feel less alone.

Praise for the Artist

Josh treats vulnerability as a form of refuge: it stings and lingers, but its effect only fuels his spirit as a storyteller.

– adobo Magazine
SB19 lead rapper and vocalist Josh Cullen gets vulnerable in his solo debut album ‘Lost & Found’
adobo Magazine

‘Lost & Found’ shimmers with tension and pull, and surprisingly rolls with the effortless transition from one sound to another.

– adobo Magazine
SB19 lead rapper and vocalist Josh Cullen gets vulnerable in his solo debut album ‘Lost & Found’
adobo Magazine

Contact

• facebook.com/JoshCullenOfficial
• x.com/JoshCullen_s
• instagram.com/josh_cullen_s
• youtube.com/@JoshCullenOfficial
• tiktok.com/@joshcullenn

Bookings

• Josh Cullen – 1Z Entertainment

Listen

• Spotify – Josh Cullen
• Apple Music – Josh Cullen

Apple Music

On Instagram

Trivia

• Fans know him by several nicknames, including “JC,” “Joshie,” and “Ssob,” which is simply “Boss” spelled backwards.
• He is a serious gamer whose favorites include Call of Duty, Dead by Daylight, and Overwatch. He won Favorite Viral Game Streamer at the 2022 Nylon Manila BBB Awards and even joined a Valorant showmatch in 2024.
• Before SB19, he sharpened his dancing in a cover group called SE-EON alongside his future bandmate Stell.
• His 2024 team-up with the Korean girl group H1-KEY on “Re: Thinkin’ About You” was one of his first cross-border P-pop and K-pop collaborations.
• He has a pet dog named Ibubu.
• His favorite animal is the lion, and his lucky number is 1.

Posted: July 23, 2026