Filipino pop group BINI reaches new audiences in US
Filipino pop group BINI closed the North American leg of their Signals World Tour on Friday night at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. Backstage, the group told ABC News that this tour feels like a victory lap.
"We became more confident and stronger mentally and physically compared to our first world tour," said Jhoanna, the group's 22-year-old leader.
The North American run opened Aug. 1 in Honolulu and moved through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Diego before Canadian stops in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.
The Signals tour is the group's second world tour, following the Biniverse World Tour in 2025. But the group says they are measuring their North American breakthrough by more than ticket sales.
"To be honest and transparent, we did not sell out all of our shows, but it did not stop us from giving our best and full energy to the audience," Aiah, 25, said. "We bring the love and the energy to them."
BINI formed in 2019 through ABS-CBN's Star Hunt Academy and debuted in June 2021. The group is made up of Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna and Sheena. At home, they are known as the "Nation's Girl Group."
In April, BINI became the first Filipino act to perform at Coachella, playing the Mojave stage both weekends. Their first-weekend set drew the second-highest online viewership of any performance that weekend, behind Justin Bieber.
"We know that all of our actions are being watched," Mikha said. "But we use that pressure as an opportunity to do better and to open doors for more Filipino artists to perform on international stages."
Next year, the Grammy Awards will include best Asian pop music performance as a new category. The award will recognize artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop recordings that feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.
BINI trained under South Korean coaches before their debut and are often measured against K-pop.
"I think our edge as Filipino artists is our storytelling, the way we put our emotions into every song we sing," Jhoanna said.
"In 10 years, we'll be in our 30s, and hopefully by then we have left a legacy and have inspired a lot of people, especially the kids," Aiah said. "We hope that no matter what we'll be doing, or where we are, we're happy, and that career-wise, it will still be flourishing."
BINI released another single, "A Parallel World" on July 23, their first original song for a Hollywood film. It appears on the soundtrack for the upcoming movie "Forgotten Island," alongside Lea Salonga, SB19 and KATSEYE's Sophia Laforteza.
"The whole movie is about the Philippines, the mythical creatures, the characters, the nuances," Mikha said. "To see that representation on an international platform ... we're very grateful."
