The SexBomb Girls (also known as SB Girls, SBG, and SexBomb Dancers) is a Filipino girl group formed by dance guru Joy Cancio in 1999. Known for their novelty music and stage performances, they are credited as one of the leading figures of the Pinoy pop (P-pop) wave in the Philippines. They rose to fame as dancers of the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga! and eventually branched into singing and acting. The group achieved major commercial success in the early 2000s, releasing four studio albums, several of which earned multi-platinum certifications, becoming the best-selling girl group in Asia and in the Philippines in the 2000s, prior to the rise of K-pop. In 2007, they were elevated into the Hall of Fame of the Box Office Entertainment Awards after winning five consecutive times as the "Most Popular Dance Group". Beyond their commercial success, the SexBomb Girls became a defining presence in early-2000s Filipino popular culture, with their music, choreography, and catchphrases continuing to be referenced and revived in later media.
History
1999-2001: Formation In November 1999, a group of four female dancers from a group Danz Focus Dancers was formed by dance coach Joy Cancio under the name Chicken Sandwich Dancers as background of a Filipino noon time show, Eat Bulaga!. These four members included Rochelle Pangilinan (as "Akang"), Debra Ignacio (as "Pepay"), Cheryl Genove (as "Menggay") and Janine Ramos (as "Kikay"), dancers for "Meron o Wala" segment eventually morphed into the hit "Laban o Bawi" in later years. Between 2000 and 2001, Ignacio, Genove and Ramos slowly departed from the group prompting Cancio to search for new dancers for the said show, thus the search for SexBomb Dancers was introduced, early members who were introduced include, Aira Bermudez, Jopay Paguia, Izzy Trazona, and Mia Pangyarihan. Cancio was a former member of the Vicor Dancers of the 1980s. The name "SexBomb" came from the 1999 hit song of Tom Jones, a hit during the period. Pangilinan was the only member who remained out of the original members, thus landing her the role and title as the group leader.
2001-2002: Eat Bulaga!, The SexBomb Singers and Unang Putok The searched for SexBomb Dancers continued until 2001, the finalists, Mae Acosta, Grace Nera, sisters, Sandy and Cheche Tolentino and Weng Ibarra were then added to group. The group continued their skit as background dancers in Eat Bulaga! in the segment "Laban o Bawi". They provided energetic dance numbers and lively chants during the game, encouraging contestants and the audience. Their fame exploded through this segment on Eat Bulaga!, transitioning from backup dancers to stars.
The first attempt of creating a singing compartment for SexBomb occurred in late 2001 with Rochelle Pangilinan (the group leader), Jopay Paguia, Evette Pabalan (discovered in 2001 Eat Bulaga! singing contest, impersonating Alanis Morissette), Weng Ibarra, Sugar Mercado and Aibee Chiongson. However, due to Chiongson and Mercado's departure from the group, this first attempt dissolved quickly. In 2002, their management again attempted to form two groups separating the singers and dancers, hence, The SexBomb Singers and The SexBomb Dancers were formed. The SexBomb Dancers was headed by Aira Bermudez while The SexBomb Singers was headed by main leader Rochelle Pangilinan, with Evette Pabalan as the lead vocalist. The final singers consist of Rochelle Pangilinan, Evette Pabalan, Jopay Paguia, Weng Ibarra, Monic Icban and Izzy Trazona. However, collectively the group is still called as The SexBomb Girls including all release and promotional materials and projects of The SexBomb Singers.
Mid 2002, The SexBomb Girls released their debut studio album, Unang Putok, led by its first single, "Bakit Papa?". The song quickly gained popularity, in part due to its incorporation of the "Laban o Bawi" and "Get! Get! Aww!" chant from the variety show Eat Bulaga!, which contributed to its widespread recognition among Filipino audiences. Their first studio album, Unang Putok was a massive hit and included the hit songs "Crush Kita", "Pretty Little Baby", "Di Ko Na Mapipigilan" ("I Can No Longer Stop") and "Tulog Na Baby" ("Sleep Now Baby"). The album received quadruple platinum certification (4x Platinum) from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). Due to the massive success of Bakit Papa, the SexBomb Girls debuted in their own movie of the same title which was released in the Philippines in the same year. The Sexbomb Singers took the lead, with the SexBomb Dancers playing support. This was produced by Regal Entertainment, directed by Uro Q. Dela Cruz with casts include Allan K., Wendell Ramos, Epi Quizon, Chynna Ortaleza and Richard Gutierrez. Later that year, they released their first Christmas album Wish Ko Sa Pasko under BMG Records and was certified Gold in the Philippines and was nominated for Best Christmas Recording at the Awit Awards. By the end of the year, the group welcomed the addition of both Johlan Veluz and Sunshine Garcia.
2003-2004: Daisy Siete, Round 2 and Bomb Thr3at
In 2003, The SexBomb Girls released their sophomore album entitled Round 2 which marked a significant expansion of the group's mainstream popularity and commercial success. It was headlined by the novelty dance track "The Spageti Song" featuring Joey de Leon. This album catapulted SexBomb Girls into household name with The Spageti Song becoming a dance craze taking over Filipino audience of all ages and was frequently performed on television variety shows, community events, school programs, and public gatherings, contributing to its status as one of the most recognizable novelty songs in Philippine pop culture. Other songs released from this album were "Kiss Sabay Hug", "Loveless" and "Sige, Sige" featuring Janno Gibbs. This album received a more impressive quintuple platinum certification from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). New members, Jacque Esteves, Aifha Medina, Cynthia Yapachingco, and Jhoana Orbeta were all added afterwards.
Due to their unexpected popularity, The SexBomb Girls debut on their own Philippine television drama Daisy Siete produced by Focus Entertainment which aired on GMA Network starting 2003 and ending in July 2010, extending to 26 seasons (a total of almost 7 years). From 2002 to 2003, the girls also became a cast of Daboy en Da Girl, with Rochelle as Britney, and the girls as Japayukis. The group also appeared on different guestings on the GMA Network including their own life stories in Magpakailanman. Aside from dancing, recording and acting, the group has performed in night shows and concerts at The Library in Malate, Manila, Joketime in Pasay City and Cavite, Oblivion Bar and Longue, Dutdutan Tattoo Conventions by Tribal Philippines, Yamaha Philippines, and at Zirkoh and Klownz in Quezon City every week, and also traveled across the country to host festivals, special occasions, and requested town event guest shows.
In late 2003, new set of auditions were done in the search of new and young members of SexBomb with Mariam Al-Obaidi added as one of the SexBomb Singers. May 2004, The SexBomb Girls released their third studio album titled as Bomb Thr3at with the lead single "Halukay Ube". The album also featured other hits such as "Tong Song", "Echusa" and "Amoy ng Papa". This album is also considered a massive hit receiving a double platinum certification from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). However, Al-Obaidi left the group unannounced and was seen in the rival show Wowowee in ABS-CBN as the newest ASF Dancer. The group later saw new members, Danielle Ramirez and Jovel Palomo being added in the group to form a new singing unit known as "DJ Bomb", with younger members, Louise Bolton, Mycha Bautista and Cherry Ann Rufo all joining the dancers. Former member, Sugar Mercado also returned to the group this year.
In addition to their original recordings, the SexBomb Dancers also released a series of dance compilation albums in the early 2000s — Sexbomb’s Sexiest Hits (2002), Sexbomb’s Sexiest Hits: 2 (2003), and Sexbomb’s Sexiest Hits: 3 (2004) — which featured a selection of European Eurodance and pop tracks. The songs included in these compilations, performed mostly by international artists, were accompanied by choreography that the SexBomb Dancers popularized through mall shows and live performances held nationwide. The Sexiest Hits 3 received Platinum certification from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). These albums helped bring global dance tunes into the Philippine mainstream, with the group's routines encouraging audiences to learn and perform the dances at school programs, parties, community events, and social gatherings. Some of the tracks associated with this era included dance hits such as Lou Bega’s "Angelina", DJ Bobo’s "Chihuahua" and "Step Into the Rhythm" and T-Rio's "(Choopeta) Mamãe eu quero".
2005-2010: Sumayaw Sumunod album, dispute with Eat Bulaga & other ventures Early 2005, SexBomb singer Monic left the group and was replaced by SexBomb Dancer, Che-Che. The group also launched a new show in QTV, "Let's Get Aww" with Aira, Cheche, and Johlan as the lead members of the said show. However, the show was short-lived.
The fourth studio album of SexBomb Girls was then recorded and titled as Sumayaw, Sumunod: The Best of Sexbomb Girls which included new songs as well as their all-time hits and was released in 2005. This compilation album was certified platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). The group's fame continued to permeate with the said album releases, constant national television show guests, live shows in political campaigns and comedy bars and the ongoing episodes of Daisy Siete. The SexBomb Girls has been credited as the best-selling girl group in Asia in the 2000s during this time. During this time, they were declared as the best-selling girl group in the Philippines of the 2000s by selling over 12 million records (4 studio albums, 4 compilation albums and Christmas singles).
In March 2006, The SexBomb Girls left Eat Bulaga! due to a management conflict, stemming from a misunderstanding and perceived unfair treatment after one member, Sugar Mercado, gained significant popularity, leading to a rift with the show's management (TAPE Inc./Malou Choa-Fagar) and the group's manager, Joy Cancio. As a sign of protest against how the girls were being treated (being made backups to Sugar), Joy Cancio pulled the entire group from the show, leading to their temporary departure and the creation of the EB Babes. The group would later return as regulars to Eat Bulaga! in March 2007.