Bini (stylized as BINI) (Hyphenation: bi‧ni; IPA: /bini/, [bɪ.nɪ]) is a Filipino girl group under ABS-CBN's Star Magic that is formed through Star Hunt Academy (SHA), and is composed of eight members: Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena. The group's pre-debut single "Da Coconut Nut" was released on November 20, 2020. BINI officially debuted on June 11, 2021, with their debut single "Born to Win".
Name
Group name
The group's name was taken from the Tagalog 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."
Fandom name
Fans of Bini are known as "Bloom(s)", commonly stylized as BLM(S) with the infinity symbol replacing the Os taking inspiration from the group's tagline Walo hanggang dulo (Eight until the end). The name serves as a lovely reminder of Bini's story and journey, it stands for the beginning of springtime that there's always beauty after every cold trial. It was chosen by the Bini members among the name suggestions of the fans during a special announcement livestream on February 13, 2021.
History
2018–2020: Star Hunt Academy
For many years, believing that "the Filipino talent has a place in the global stage," Laurenti Dyogi, ABS-CBN's Head of Entertainment Production, thought of forming a training camp where youth aspiring to become superstars "can develop or further hone their talents." In 2018, ABS-CBN finally launched the Star Hunt Academy program, which had 250 auditionees between the ages of 16 and 19 years old from all over the Philippines. From this pool of auditionees, in addition to recommendations by talent scouts, the first set of female Star Hunt Academy trainees were selected, which was originally composed of 11 girls. While Dyogi initially planned to debut a 9-member idol girl group, the 11 girl trainees were eventually trimmed down to 8 girls: Maraiah Queen Arceta (Aiah), Nicolette Vergara (Colet), Mary Loi Ricalde (Maloi), Gwenyth Apuli (Gwen), Stacey Aubrey Sevilleja (Stacey), Mikhaela Lim (Mikha), Sheena Mae Catacutan (Sheena), and Jhoanna Robles (Jhoanna). Two members, Sheena and Gwen, were originally housemates from Pinoy Big Brother: Otso Batch 3.
The group was trained from 2018 to 2020 under esteemed local 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, as well as South Korean coaches from MUdoctor Academy.
On August 3, 2019, the group as SHA trainees were initially introduced on the online pre-show of the PBB Otso Big Night, in which they first performed and were debuted as Star Hunt Academy trainees. They also experienced performing in front of a live audience, showcasing the fruits of their hours of rigorous trainings in their first-ever mall show in Taguig and at least two ABS-CBN events. They also appeared in a 2019 National Youth Commission event, where they were proclaimed as Youth Ambassadors, and at the 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games thanksgiving celebration.
In May 2020, Laurenti Dyogi released a performance practice video of the group singing and dancing to 'Ngiti' 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, Blackpink's How You Like That and Twice's More & More.
2020: Pre-debut, Da Coconut Nut Era
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. MUdoctor Academy(뮤닥터아카데미) 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 Star Music.