Sheena, Mikha, Colet, Maloi, Aiah, Gwen, Jhoanna, and Stacey wear LOUIS VUITTON. Photographed by Renzo Navarro for the November 2024 Issue of Vogue Philippines
P-pop girl group BINI manifested that they’d one day play to sold-out concerts. Now that they’ve done that and more, what’s next?
BINI’s Jhoanna Robles is a firm believer in manifesting.
She tells the crowd this at ABS-CBN’s ASAP Natin ‘To special show in California, where she is performing with her fellow members Sheena Catacutan, Colet Vergara, Maloi Ricalde, Gwen Apuli, Mikha Lim, Stacey Sevilleja, and Aiah Arceta.
As the leader of the P-pop girl group, she’s tasked to lead the spiels at their performances and keep the energy high. Tonight, this spiel involves a question directed at the thousands of fans who filled the Toyota Arena. “Naniniwala po ba kayo sa manifestation?” [Do you believe in manifestation?], she asks, referring to the practice of thinking, writing, or speaking aspirations to reality.
Early on in their journey together, the members could only dream that they’d one day sell out concert halls and dance alongside their favorite K-pop idols. Their powers of manifestation apparently worked, because they got to fulfill both on this trip.
Back in Manila nearly a month after California, Colet, the group’s main vocal, lead dancer, and lead rapper recalls how they would put it into practice: “We used to edit pictures of BINI on a stage with a lot of people watching,” she says in a mix of English and Filipino.
“I also said that we’ll have five million monthly listeners on Spotify by 2025. It happened, but earlier,” adds Jhoanna. “So it’s working. You just need to say it.”
The other members agree; many of their recent major milestones were once pipe dreams sent to each other on their group chat and written on their practice room’s mirror, said over and over until they were willed into existence.
To trace the group’s journey means bearing witness to the coming-of-age of eight girls who’ve managed to hold on to their core values despite the craziness of the past few years.
“Aside from their music, BINI is relatable and authentic. That’s why people from all walks of life and across the age spectrum gravitate towards them,” BINI manager MQ Mallari tells Vogue Philippines. “While they are definitely not perfect, they really have a good head on their shoulders and good hearts. This makes the team working with them (including me) love them all the more,” she adds.
Seeing the girls now, they display a closeness that’s akin to sisterhood where they finish each other’s sentences and steal each other’s potato chips. “Like a high school barkada [friend group],” says Stacey, their main rapper and lead dancer.
“We’re not doing this for show. It’s really us, and that’s what people love, our true selves.”
Sheena Catacutan
“We’re not doing this for show. It’s really us, and that’s what people love, our true selves,” says main dancer Sheena in Taglish. And despite the whirlwind of events in the months since their single “Pantropiko” went viral, the eight members assure me that this will never change.
While BINI is known best for their closeness, they’re also the first to admit it wasn’t always that way. Counting the training period, Jhoanna, Sheena, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Mikha, Stacey, and Aiah have been working together for five years. Being with wildly different personalities all the time has taught the members to handle all kinds of people and situations.
Their roots are all over the country, from Bohol, Bicol, Cebu, and Laguna to Batangas, Isabela, Albay, Nueva Vizcaya, and Metro Manila. Their differing backgrounds and stories are shared by many Filipinos: Jhoanna and Maloi have OFW parents, Gwen is the only girl among four brothers, Sheena’s mother passed away when they were training. It was only natural for them to have some sort of adjustment period.
“Napagsabihan po kami dati na ‘parang wala kayong chemistry,’ so nag-adjust lang kami sa isa’t isa, nakilala namin isa’t-isa, ano bang ayaw niya, ano bang gusto niya,” shares Colet. “Kailangan mong mahalin kung anong flaws ng ibang tao para intact talaga kayo.” [We were told that we didn’t have chemistry before, so we adjusted to each other, we got to know each other and our likes and dislikes. You need to love the flaws of other people so you can emerge as a whole.]
In some cultures, the very idea of a pop idol is synonymous with perfection. Putting yourself out there for the world to see via social media and official contents means unintentionally subjecting yourself to unattainable standards.
This is why many idols choose to stay quiet and perhaps where BINI and many other Filipino P-pop idols differ. Now in their 20s and living separately, the girls are very much in control of their lives. They don’t have to ask permission to post things on social media or to go out with friends. If they have any issues with each other or the management, they approach them head on.
As performers, they do aspire to perfection, but acknowledge that they have their limits, too. Stacey shares that music legend Gary Valenciano once reminded them that they don’t have to be perfect. “‘Yun po talaga ‘yung pinanghahawakan namin, na you don’t have to be the best all the time. Gawin mo lang ‘yung makakaya mo,” she says. [That’s the advice we hold close, that you don’t have to be the best all the time, as long as you do it to the best of your abilities.]
The group’s early days were filled with anxiety and uncertainty, a consequence of being one of the pioneers in media giant ABS-CBN and Star Magic’s venture into global stardom.
“Music, it’s beyond language, it’s beyond the culture. We communicate through our songs.“
Maloi Ricalde
The idea for BINI came when Laurenti Dyogi, head of their talent agency Star Magic, wanted to create a Filipino group that would represent the country on the world stage. But since it was the first time they’d ever be doing this, there was no set path for success.
The group was a pandemic baby of sorts, training through the Covid lockdown and surviving the ABS–CBN’s network shutdown in 2020, a period that was particularly difficult for Sheena and Aiah, who were 15 and 18, respectively, at that time.
But the eight of them endured, and eventually, flourished. Since debuting, BINI has released two studio albums (Born to Win and Feel Good) and one EP (Talaarawan), 14 singles, and a ridiculous amount of video content through livestreams and vlogs.
The process for the group, they say, has always been collaborative. Their managers, producers, dance and vocal coaches, stylists, and visual director act as guides for the girls to find their own voice and branding over the years. Gwen says this has allowed them to shine. “During the process, parang talagang makikilala mo rin yung sarili mo. Like ‘Ay, parang this is not for me.’ Or, ‘Ay, parang strength ko to‘,” she elaborates. [During the process, you’ll really learn more about yourself. Like, this is not for me, or this is my strength.]
Despite appearances of a meteoric rise, BINI wants people to understand that the journey has not been without effort and that the behind-the-scenes reality is a lot less glamorous than what the public sees.
The docuseries BINI Chapter 1: Born to Win, which had cameras following them 24/7 in preparation for their concert, is meant to show this side. Chronicling the days leading up to their three-day sold-out concert at the New Frontier Theater, it also contains footage from the group’s beginnings as trainees under Star Magic’s Star Hunt Academy.
“’Yung struggle namin na pinakita dito is a way para makita ng tao na sinasaktan din kami, napapagod din kami,” Maloi says. “Lahat ng magagandang product na nakikita niyo sa stage, sa photos, sa videos, lahat yun may kasamang iyak, may kasamang pagod, may kasamang everything because we’re human.” [The struggle that we showed in the series is a way for people to see that we also get hurt and tired. All the beautiful products you see on stage, in the photos and the videos, those come with tears, fatigue, and more because we’re human.]
Glocalization has helped push songs sung in local languages up the charts, displacing the dominance of English-language hits. BINI is just one of the acts leading that movement in the Philippines. In June, BINI became the first Filipino act to enter Spotify’s Global Top Artists chart, and in August and September, they performed at KCON in LA and Billboard Korea’s K Power 100 in Seoul.
“I feel like what BINI is doing right now, it’s not only to show off or prove our talent, but it’s also the whole Philippines that we want to represent.”
Mikha Lim
Maloi still can’t wrap her head around the fact that people from different countries are listening to BINI despite not understanding Filipino. But this is how she knows OPM will flourish. “Music, it’s beyond language, it’s beyond the culture,” she says. “We communicate through our songs.”
With their recent releases, they have found their identity in the bright colors and youthful energy of bubblegum pop. And more music is already in the works. After the release of the mostly Filipino-language EP Talaarawan, the members and management have decided to release English songs such as “Cherry on Top” to reach an international market. “That’s just how we make it easier, and we have a wider reach,” says Mikha. “But that doesn’t make us stop doing Tagalog songs. We’re definitely still going to do Tagalog songs.”
BINI is now manifesting a future where OPM is given its due recognition around the world. “I feel like what BINI is doing right now, it’s not only to show off or prove our talent, but it’s also the whole Philippines that we want to represent,” Mikha says.
The work, they say, involves the support from all sectors, from fellow artists to listeners. Jhoanna says that this is why they take every chance to support their fellow Pinoy artists, whether it be through adding their songs to their Instagram posts or appearing in their music videos. The songs “Misteryoso” by Cup of Joe, “Dilaw” by Maki, and “Sining” by Dionela (whose music videos BINI members have appeared in) are all rising on the Billboard charts. “Kasi feeling namin, andun yung nagtutulungan kami,” she says. “Ang sarap lang makita na pinagtatrabauhan niyo together.” [We feel that it works to help each other out. So it’s the best feeling to see that we’re all working toward this together.]
If working together toward a common dream sounds familiar, it mirrors BINI’s own rise: a shaky beginning built on shared aspirations, evolving from talented individuals to global superstars. It’s the stuff of teleseryes. And, while Filipinos love an underdog story, it’s clear that the secret to lasting success lies in building a strong foundation. Manifestation is powerful, but the real magic happens when you do it together.
YOU CAN SIT WITH US
By GABY GLORIA. Photographs by RENZO NAVARRO. Fashion Director PAM QUIÑONES. Beauty Editor JOYCE OREÑA. Fashion Editor DAVID MILAN. Makeup: Carell Garcia, Julius Cabanisas, Mark Qua, Theresa Padin. Hair: Bill Watson and Cherry Reyes of Toni &Guy. Art Director: Jann Pascua. Production Design: Justine Bumanlag. Executive Producer: Anz Hizon. Associate Producer: Bianca Zaragoza. Beauty Writer: Bianca Custodio. Nails: Extraordinail. Digital Associate Editor: Chelsea Sarabia. Digital Content Writer: Daphne Sagun. Multimedia Artist: Tinkerbell Poblete. Photographer’s Assistant: Alexis Wang, Dominic Pamatmat. Stylist’s Assistants: Neil de Guzman, Ticia Almazan. Hair Assistants: Glenda Eugenio, John Al-rey Valencia, Lindsay Agapito, Noel Muncada. Production Design Assistants: Gabrielle Mantala, Geber Cunanan, Jan Abal, Jonel Navarro, Olderico Bondoc.
Shot on location at Balara Content Studio.
