BINI

**Bini** (stylized as **BINI**) is an eight-member Filipino girl group formed by ABS-CBN Star Hunt Academy, consisting of **Aiah**, **Colet**, **Maloi**, **Gwen**, **Stacey**, **Mikha**, **Sheena**, and **Jhoanna**. Their pre-debut single "Da Coconut Nut" was released on November 20, 2020.

The group officially debuted on June 11, 2021 with the release of their debut single Born To Win.

## Name

The group's name was taken from the Filipino word *binibini* which means "young lady", a nod to the group's vision to "embody the idea of a modern Filipina — sweet, fierce, independent, and informed."

## Background

Believing the Filipino talents are world class and inspired by the success of Korean Idol industry, ABS-CBN Head of Entertainment Productions Direk Laurenti Dyogi in envisioned forming groups of individuals who can totally perform through singing and dancing.

In 2019, ABS-CBN launch Star Hunt Academy, the training ground for young aspiring talents to hone their talents in singing and dancing and develop them holistically and nurture them physically, emotionally and mentally.

## History

### 2019-2020: Star Hunt Academy Trainees

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.

They were officially introduced as Star Hunt Academy Girl Trainees on August 2019.

While it is initially planned to debut a 9-member idol girl group, the 12 girl trainees were eventually trimmed down to 8 girls: Maraiah Queen Arceta (**Aiah**), Ma. Nicolette Vergara (**Colet**), Mary Loi Yves Ricalde (**Maloi**), Gweneth Apuli (**Gwen**), Stacey Aubrey Sevilleja (**Stacey**), Mikhaela Janna Lim (**Mikha**), Sheena Mae Catacutan (**Sheena**), and Jhoanna Christine Robles (**Jhoanna**).

The group was trained from early 2019 to 2020 under renowned Filipino coaches like professional vocal coach and former chair of the Department of Voice, Music Theater and Dance at the University of the Philippines College of Music Kitchy Molina, and Austrian-born dance coach Mickey Perz. They were further trained under 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. They also appeared in a 2019 National Youth Commission event, where they were proclaimed as Youth Ambassadors, and invited to perform at the 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games thanksgiving celebration.

In May 2020, Direk Lauren Dyogi released a performance practice video of the group singing and dancing to 'Ngiti', sung by Young JV and Gary Valenciano on Twitter to show their progress in training.

In August 2020, the group participated in the Philippine Kpop Convention's Happy Hallyu Day 4 event, performing K-pop dance covers, including Red Velvet's *In & Out*, Twice's *More & More* and Blackpink's *How You Like That*.

On October 10, 2020, the last 8 remaining members SHA Girl trainees from the original 12 members, officially graduated from the Academy and announced to be pre-debuted on November 2020.

### 2020-2021: Pre-debut

For the group's pre-debut single, MU Doctor Academy and Korean music production group VO3E collaborated to transform the popular novelty song 'Da Coconut Nut' into an electro-pop remake, originally composed by Filipino musician and National Artist Ryan Cayabyab. MU Doctor(뮤닥터) also collaborated with choreographers Moon Yeon Joo(문연주) and Kwak Seong Chan(곽성찬), who formerly worked with big groups from South Korea like Twice, BTS, Red Velvet, and Seventeen, to create the choreography.

On November 6, 2020, the official lyric video of their pre-debut single 'Da Coconut Nut' premiered on the group's official YouTube channel following the release of various teasers and the announcement of their group name, **BINI**. The official music video then premiered on November 20.

On November 21, 2020, Bini performed their first live performance of 'Da Coconut Nut' on the noontime variety show It's Showtime.

On December 4, 2020. Bini signed a contract with Star Magic and announced that the group will have its official debut in 2021.

### 2021: Official Debut

BINI officially debuted on a two-part event BINI: The Launch.

The first part is "The Runway" held on June 4, 2021, which they showcased outfits designed by Filipino international fashion designer **Francis Libiran** and released their debut single *"Born to Win"* on all streaming platforms.

The second part is "The Showcase" on June 11, 2021, where they are officially launched as one of ABS-CBN Entertainment's idol groups. A VTR about their journey as trainees and as a pre-debuted group was shown and they released the official music video of their debut single.

## Gallery

See more of BINI's photos on: *BINI/Gallery*

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/BINI\_ph/status/1331164632073916416 *BINI\_ph Twitter* Retrieved July 30, 2021
2. ↑ https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/11/24/20/kilalanin-p-pop-girl-group-na-bini *ABS-CBN News* Retrieved April 22, 2021
3. ↑ https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-news/star-hunt-academy-set-to-make-more-p-pop-idols-shine-worldwide-12780 *ABS-CBN Entertainment* Retrieved April 22, 2021
4. ↑ https://www.abs-cbn.com/newsroom/news-releases/2020/11/7/star-hunt-academys-new-rookie-girl-group-bini-t?lang=en *ABS-CBN Corporate* Retrieved April 22, 2021
5. ↑ https://music.upd.edu.ph/kitchy\_molina.html *music.upd.edu.ph* Retrieved April 22, 2021
6. ↑ https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2020/11/09/star-hunt-academy-launches-all-girl-pinoy-pop-group-bini/ *tribune.net.ph* Retrieved April 22, 2021
7. ↑ https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/12/04/20/star-magic-shines-on-what-happened-who-signed-whos-new *ABS-CBN News* April 22, 2021
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OLcHVT4MuE *Youtube: The BINI Chronicles Part 1* Retrieved April 23, 2021
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbA-jd91VJc *Youtube: The BINI Chronicles Part 2* Retrieved April 23, 2021