| “ | 2,3, Mabuhay, we are BINI! | ” | |
—BINI | |||
BINI is an eight-member Filipino girl group under ABS-CBN, Star Music and Star Magic.
Dubbed as the nation's girl group, The group is composed of ex-Star Hunt trainees Aiah, Maloi, Jhoanna, Mikha, Sheena, Colet, Gwen and Stacey.
History[]
2018-2020: Auditions and pre-debut[]
In 2018, ABS-CBN held a nationwide audition caravan dubbed as "Star Hunt: The Kapamilya Grand Audition". From these auditions, which held throughout the country and overseas, Direk Lauren Dyogi commenced the Star Hunt Academy Program. They selected 250 aspiring individuals to undergo a 5-day boot camp and trim them down to 50 aspirants. After few weeks the management further trim them down, and with addition of aspirants recommended by talent scouts and former contestants from their reality shows, the first set of female Star Hunt Academy trainees were selected, which was originally composed of 12 girls.
Later on, the trainees were trimmed down to 8 girls, namely, Maraiah Queen Jaraula Arceta (Aiah), Ma. Nicolette Florenosos Vergara (Colet), Mary Loi Yves Kipte Ricalde (Maloi), Gweneth Llaguno Apuli (Gwen), Lindstey Stacey Aubrey Casumpang Sevilleja (Stacey), Mikhaela Janna Jimenea Lim (Mikha), Sheena Mae Manuel Catacutan (Sheena), and Jhoanna Christine Burgos Robles (Jhoanna), with Gwen and Sheena also having been a part of Pinoy Big Brother: Otso 's third batch.
The group, as trainees, trained from 2019 to 2020 under local coaches, who include Kitchy Molina, the professional vocal coach and former chair of the Department of Voice, Music Theater, and Dance at the University of the Philippines College of Music; Austrian-born dance coach Mickey Perz; and South Korean coaches from MU Doctor Academy.
Throughout their training, they were occasionally invited to perform in various ABS-CBN mall shows to gain confidence in front of a live audience, while showcasing the fruits of their hours of rigorous training, such as a mall show of The Gold Squad, the 2019 National Youth Commission event and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games thanksgiving celebration.
However, during their training, two unfortunate events defined 2020, namely the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed restrictions across the country, as well as the network's shutdown due to its expired franchise, in which the trainees faced uncertainty of their careers, as well as restricting their performances during their debut year.
2021: Debut[]
The group debuted on June 4, 2021 with their debut single, titled "Born to Win". The group followed up with two singles, titled "Kapit Lang" and "Golden Arrow", and released the Born to Win EP, on the same day as the music video of "Golden Arrow".
2022: I Feel Good era[]
When restrictions eased up in March 2022, BINI made their live event debut in the PPOPCON 2022, held in the following month, which was also the first for most P-Pop groups since a majority of them debuted during the pandemic years.
In 2022, BINI released their second EP, featuring the singles "Lagi", "I Feel Good" and "Strings".
2023-present: Domestic success, "Pantropiko" craze and Talaarawan, BINIverse concert[]
In September 2023, BINI released a single titled "Karera".
In early 2024, BINI rose to fame with their viral hit "Pantropiko", which was released on November 17, 2023 Some time later in 2024, it was revealed BINI will have a concert at New Frontier Theater, to be staged on June 28. Due to extremely high demand after the tickets being sold out in under 2 hours, a second night was added, followed by a third night through a TV Patrol announcement. Tickets for both shows sold out in less than 2 hours.
In April 2024, BINI, along with G22, were invited to perform in the Chinese survival show, Show It All. which is hosted and produced by EXO’s Lay Zhang. Their guestings were aired in the fourth and fifth episodes of the show.
Following the success of the BINIverse concert, it was announced that the BINIverse would be staged again at a bigger venue, titled The Grand BINIverse that was held from November 16 and 18-19 (19 was originally going to be held on 17, but postponed due to Super Typhoon Pepito) at the Araneta Coliseum. Tickets for the first two nights sold out to exclusive members, resulting in a third day being also added, but tickets for that night quickly sold out as well.
After having successfully sold out 6 concert nights at both Araneta Center venues, it was revealed on the last day of the Araneta Coliseum leg of the Grand BINIverse, that the Grand BINIverse would have a repeat, which will take place February 15, 2025, at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, as the original venue, Araneta Coliseum is set to stage a show of The Corrs. This will make the group the first local act to stage a solo concert at the said venue.
Members[]
| Name | Birthday | Position(s) | Color | Emoji | Year Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiah | January 27, 2001 (age 23) | Visual, Main Rapper, Sub Vocal | Sky Blue | 🐶 | 2020 - present |
| Colet | September 14, 2001 (age 23) | Main Vocal, Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper | Green | 🐺 | 2020 - present |
| Maloi | May 27, 2002 (age 22) | Main Vocal | Yellow | 🐼 | 2020 - present |
| Gwen | June 19, 2003 (age 21) | Lead Vocal, Lead Rapper | Orange | 🐨 | 2020 - present |
| Jhoanna | January 26, 2004 (age 20) | Leader, Lead Vocal, Lead Rapper | Royal Blue | 🐥 | 2020 - present |
| Mikha | November 8, 2003 (age 21) | Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Visual | Red | 🦊 | 2020 - present |
| Sheena | May 9, 2004 (age 20) | Main Dancer, Sub Vocal, Youngest (Bunso) | Purple | 🐰 | 2020 - present |
| Stacey | July 13, 2003 (age 21) | Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Sub Vocal | Pink | 🐱 | 2020 - present |
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- Born to Win (2021)
- Feel Good (2022)
Extended plays[]
- Born to Win (2021)
- Talaarawan (2024)
Singles[]
- "Da Coconut Nut" (2020)
- "Born to Win" (2021)
- "Kapit Lang" (2021)
- "Golden Arrow" (2021)
- "Na Na Na" (2021)
- "Pit A Pat" (2022)
- "Lagi" (2022)
- "Love Yourself" (2022)
- "I Feel Good" (2022)
- "Karera" (2023)
- "Pantropiko" (2023)
- "Bata, Kaya Mo!" (2024)
- "Salamin, Salamin" (2024)
- "Cherry on Top" (2024)
Trivia[]
- Prior to being a part of BINI, Gwen Apuli and Sheena Catacutan were housemates in Pinoy Big Brother: Otso.
See also[]
