Interview: BINI on Their Journey Breaking into the P-Pop Spotlight

In just a few short years, 8-member Filipino girl group, BINI, has done the unthinkable. Starting from humble beginnings, BINI has risen to the top of the music scene in the Philippines dominating the charts and earning the title of the “Nation’s Girl Group.” With members hailing from all over the country including Cebu, Bohol, Manila, and Isabela, the group has quickly become one of the biggest homegrown artists of all time. Turning their dreams into a reality, BINI has proven that hard work, passion, and dedication truly goes a long way. 

BINI is composed of members Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena. All were discovered through a worldwide audition process and selected by ABS-CBN Entertainment’s Star Hunt Academy after a vigorous training process. The name BINI is derived from the Tagalog word, “binibini,” meaning “young lady.” The group’s name was a nod to embracing the idea of the “modern Filipina” reflecting the elegance, strength, and dynamic vibrance that comes from both the group and each individual member. The group was formed in 2019 and released their pre-debut single, “Da Coconut Nut” in November of 2020. BINI’s early days were met with some challenges and took some unexpected turns with the pandemic, yet the group persevered through those times and managed to come out better and stronger than ever. 

The group made their official debut in 2021 with their single, “Born To Win,” a strong empowering anthem filled with a blend of pop and electronic elements. That same year, BINI announced the name of their fandom: Bloom(s). The fandom name reflects the growth that both BINI and their supporters will go through together through shared experiences, challenges, and successes. Relating to how flowers eventually bloom into something that is full of life, BINI will also be able to do the same with the loving support from their fans. The two “o’s” in Bloom(s) are usually stylized with the infinity sign representing the Tagalog phrase, “walo hanggang dulo,” meaning “eight until the end.” 

BINI’s music is described as P-pop (also known as Philippine or Pinoy Pop). Their sound is primarily modern pop music fused with electronic beats and danceable, catchy melodies. BINI uses both modern elements and inspiration from traditional Filipino music, to create a sound reflecting their youthful presence. Known for their strong vocals and dynamic choreographic elements to complement their songs, BINI has also delivered empowering and meaningful lyrics aimed to uplift and inspire their listeners. Although pop is their primary focus, BINI has also dabbled into other genres such as R&B, hip-hop, and ballads, showing their true versatility as a group. 

Currently, BINI has released a total of two studio albums, one extended play, fourteen singles, and three promotional singles. Their first studio album released in 2021 was entitled, “Born To Win,” and their second album released in 2022 was entitled, “Feel Good.” While “Born To Win” featured tracks with a strong dynamic sound, “Feel Good” contained tracks with a lighter tone, promoting a more pop centered vibe. The songs, “Lagi” and “I Feel Good” are some of BINI’s most notable tracks off of “Feel Good.”

BINI’s extended play, “Talaarawan,” released in March of 2024, houses three of BINI’s most popular songs, “Salamin, Salamin,” “Karera,” and “Pantropiko.” Although each of the three songs showcase distinct styles and sounds, it's their catchy and irresistibly upbeat melodies that have captivated listeners. The island-inspired track, “Pantropiko,” captures BINI’s carefree spirit and presents lyrics about enjoying the simple pleasures in life. The song topped the Billboard Philippines charts following its release earlier this year. Due to its infectious beats and addictiveness, “Pantropiko” went viral on TikTok amassing over one million videos featuring both the song and dance. 

BINI’s latest single, “Cherry On Top,” is the group’s most recent music release. This all-English single was released in July of this year and was targeted towards BINI’s global audience. The bubblegum pop song exudes a vibrant energy with playful and confident lyrics that promote embracing one’s uniqueness. The song’s music video reached one million views in the first 3 hours of its release and featured eye-popping visuals and choreography that incorporated sign language in the chorus.

This summer, BINI had the pleasure of being the first Filipino pop group to perform at KCON LA, the world’s largest convention and music festival celebrating Korean culture. The group  performed “Cherry On Top” at Crypto.com Arena during the M Countdown pre-show. Additionally, over 500 media attendees attended their KCON panel at their event breaking records. On October 3, 2024, BINI released a remix of the hit single featuring superstar AGNEZ MO from Indonesia entitled, “Cherry On Top (BiniMo Remix)." The collaboration is a celebration of Southeast Asia’s biggest artists and promotes the growing global presence of both artists.

Photo Credit: BINI and AGNEZ MO 2024

Although only a few years into their career, BINI has shattered records and achieved milestones that many artists could only dream of reaching. As a collective, the group has over 20 million social media followers, 200 million listeners, 100 million views, and nearly 3 million sound uses on TikTok. The group recently broke Taylor Swift’s 968 day streak as the number one artist on the Spotify Philippines Top Artist chart as well. Earlier this year, BINI was the first ever recipient of the “Rising Star Award” at the 2024 Billboard Philippines Women in Music ceremony. In addition, BINI also accepted “The Voice of Asia Award” at Billboard Korea’s K Power 100 event last month. It's clear that the girls have truly earned their title as the “Nation’s Girl Group.”

This summer, BINI kicked off their first solo concert tour with dates both in the Philippines and Canada. The tour began in the Philippines in June in Quezon City at the New Frontier Theatre before moving to Baguio, Cebu City, and General Santos. The tour will return to the Philippines in November for three shows. The shows will take place in Quezon City at Araneta Coliseum and will be part of a special edition of the tour entitled, the “Grand BINIverse.”

In August, BINI embarked on the Canadian leg of the tour by playing sold-out shows in four cities including Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Oshawa. The BINIverse tour stop in Vancouver at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts marked the group’s first international solo concert. The group performed a setlist of their own songs along with several special subunit stages that included covers of songs by SZA, Jeffrey Osborne, and Sabrina Carpenter. The crowd was absolutely electric, filled with nothing but excitement and enthusiasm for the girls. At times, it was impossible to hear anything over the screams and cheering before, during, and after each performance. There is no doubt that Vancouver will welcome BINI back with open arms when they decide to return to Vancouver again in the future. After BINI’s show in Vancouver, I had the pleasure of interviewing BINI on behalf of BroadwayWorld about their career, favourite memories as a group, and hopes for the future. Read the full interview below! 

Being referred to as the “Nation’s Girl Group” from the Philippines must be such an honour. Reflecting on the journey you’ve taken as a group to reach this point, would you all have ever expected to be where you are now? 

AIAH: We’ve always dreamt of a successful career, but never thought it would happen just shy of our 3rd anniversary as BINI.  All the years of sacrifice and hard work finally paid off! We hope we have many more years to continue sharing our songs and experiences to the world.

This year, you kicked off your first solo concert tour, "BINIverse," with tour dates in both the Philippines and Canada! What was it like to perform your very first international solo concert in Vancouver? Can you describe the feeling of stepping on stage in front of the sold-out crowd? 

COLET: It was nerve-racking! We performed abroad in the past (1MX Dubai, 1MX Sydney, and ASAP Las Vegas), but this was our very first international solo concert. We did not believe the shows were sold out until we saw the crowd. The experience was surreal! It felt great because the audience had such good energy and they welcomed us very warmly.

Joining the ranks of many powerful and inspirational women dominating the music industry, are there any other girl groups or female artists that inspire you? 

MALOI: As a group, we have always looked up to Filipino artists who have managed to stay relevant throughout their careers. Some examples include Sarah Geronimo and Lea Salonga who are both famous in the Philippines and have made a name for themselves worldwide. In K-pop, we admire Blackpink, Twice, and Red Velvet to name a few, as they also underwent the same kind of training that we did. Their stories have inspired us to keep pushing on despite the challenges that we’ve experienced.

Looking back on your career so far, describe a moment when you felt most proud to be a part of BINI. 

GWEN: Personally, I feel most proud to be a part of BINI when I see the faces of the audience, especially when they are dancing and singing to our songs. When I read personal testimonies of how people’s lives changed when they got to know us or how our group and/or our songs uplifted them during their dark times, I felt very proud to know that we somehow made an impact in people’s lives. 

As a group, how have your group dynamics changed from when you were trainees compared to now as idols? 

STACEY: As trainees, there were always misunderstandings between us because we didn’t know each other that well at the time. Now that we have been together for five years, we’ve formed a genuine sisterhood. We understand each other more and respect each other’s differences. The great thing about having 8 members is that you always have someone to go to when you need comfort.

P-Pop has been on the rise with groups like you bringing it into the spotlight. What sets P-Pop apart from other genres and what are your thoughts on the growing global interest in it? 

MIKHA: While the P-Pop sound has its Western and Korean influences, I‘d like to think we put a good twist on this through the topics we sing about and the visuals and choreography we present that infuses subtle references to our Filipino heritage. I am glad of the growing interest in OPM (Original Pilipino Music) globally. We have so many talented Filipino performers who deserve to be seen and heard on the international stage.  

What sets BINI apart from other groups in the music industry?

JHOANNA: What sets BINI apart from other groups is our genuine friendship and sisterhood.  It was somehow a blessing that we were forced to be together during the Covid lockdown. We also lived together for two years and this really forged a strong bond among us. What you see is what you get – how we treat each other onstage is how we treat each other in real life!

You have such a loyal and dedicated fanbase. The number of Blooms has been growing in size every year since your debut. A humorous aspect of your fans is that they love to create and share memes of all the members. Are there any memes, funny edits, or videos that you have seen from Blooms that have made you laugh? 

SHEENA: As long as it’s all in good fun, they all make us laugh!  It’s true, our fans have a great sense of humor. They particularly like it when they see us in our most natural state. The “BINI Core,” is what our fans call it, as it shows our life outside the stage. We appreciate that they take time to edit these things.  

If you had to switch bodies with a member for a day, who would it be and why? 

AIAH: I would switch with Jhoanna so I could see how she balances everything, including being the leader of BINI! She has done a lot in addition to performing in BINI including acting in a musical and dabbling in her journalistic passion. Jhoanna has done all of this while keeping a personal life with her family and friends as well. With everything she does, she always has so much energy and optimism, even at the end of a long week! 

Recently you performed “Cherry On Top” at KCON LA. What was that experience like for you all? 

COLET: KCON LA was a dream come true, especially for a K-pop fan like me! I used to watch videos of this event, so getting to perform in it was an unbelievable experience. We were all nervous as we didn't know how the audience would react to us. Seeing their reactions and hearing the cheers, pushed us even more to give our best performance. 

To follow, what was it like meeting other artists at KCON? Many fans saw your TikToks with ENHYPEN and KATSEYE! What was it like filming with them? 

MALOI: We were thrilled that ENHYPEN and KATSEYE agreed to collaborate with us. It was fun! At first, we thought this was impossible as we knew how strict their management could be. We were appreciative when they agreed to it. They were all really nice, especially Sophia of KATSEYE as she is also Filipino.  

From “Salamin, Salamin” to “Pantropiko,” “Karera,” and most recently, “Cherry On Top,” you have had many hit songs with very captivating music videos. What would you say is the most unexpected or funny thing that has happened either during a recording of a song or a shooting of a music video? 

GWEN: We have a lot of memories from every music video shoot. I would say some of our most memorable moments will always be from our first music video for our pre-debut song called “Da Coconut Nut.” At the time, we didn’t have a stylist on board, so we had to creatively source and make our own outfits! We had only one hair and makeup artist so we also had to do most of our own makeup back then as well. We would start preparing at 3 a.m. and this all took place during the pandemic. Despite that, we had a lot of fun as this was our very first music video shoot. The pool scene in that music video was really us having a lot of fun! 

Is there a concept or style that the group would like to try in the future? 

STACEY: Our style is always evolving. We’d like to try the girl crush concept in the future or a style that’s a little edgier than what you usually see from BINI.

If you didn’t become an idol, what career path do you think each of you would have pursued?

MIKHA: Most of us would have finished school before pursuing another career path. Colet, Maloi and I would have likely done something related to the music industry. Stacey would pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. Jhoanna would be a journalist or a broadcaster. Sheena would most likely be involved in dance in one way or another. Aiah would continue her pageantry exploits and would probably compete in several beauty pageants.

How do you think BINI will grow as a group in the future? What is next for the group? 

JHOANNA:  You will definitely see BINI for more years to come as this is just a beginning for us. We would like to keep reinventing ourselves through our music and fashion, while championing the causes we believe in. We would also like to take Filipino music all around the world, so I expect that we will have more travels to reach our global audience. We are super excited for the future! 

BINI is a Filipino girl group that is making waves globally with their music. With their rise in the P-Pop scene, they are breaking barriers and serving as an inspiration for future Filipino music acts. BINI’s iWantTFC and ABS-CBN News Original Docuseries, “BINI Chapter 1: Born to Win” is available to stream worldwide only on iWantTFC with “BINI Chapter 2: Here With You” coming soon. Download the iWantTFC app and register to watch. In November, BINI will hold their Grand BINIverse concerts at Araneta Coliseum on November 16, 17, and 18. For more information about BINI, their music, and upcoming endeavors, visit the link below! 

Top Photo Credit: ABS-CBN Music

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