BINI

Built inside a television academy

BINI were put together in 2019 through Star Hunt Academy, the ABS-CBN talent programme that trains and screens performers on camera before assigning them to groups. Eight trainees came out of it: Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna and Sheena. The group's first public outing was a cover of 'Da Coconut Nut' in November 2020, and they debuted properly on 11 June 2021, a week after the single 'Born to Win' arrived on 4 June. They remain signed to Star Music, with management through Star Magic.

The first three years were not a rocket launch. The debut album 'Born to Win' landed in 2021 into a pandemic-era live market with no touring to support it, and the follow-up 'Feel Good' came in 2022 without the group breaking much beyond a domestic fanbase. That record's commercial life turned out to be long rather than fast: it was certified gold by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry in August 2024, more than two years after release, once the audience had caught up.

The records that turned a slow start into a national act

The turn came with the 'Talaarawan' EP on 8 March 2024, which topped the Billboard Philippine Songs chart and produced the run of singles the group is still known for — 'Pantropiko', 'Salamin, Salamin', 'Cherry on Top', 'Karera' and 'Lagi'. In June 2024 BINI became the first Filipino act to top Spotify Philippines' Daily Top Artists chart. In November 2024 they won Best Asia Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. By March 2025 the catalogue had passed a billion Spotify streams.

'Biniverse', released on 27 February 2025, was their first all-English record and the clearest signal of an export strategy: the title track has since become the tour's opening video cue and one of its most reliable singalongs. The third studio album, 'Flames', followed on 20 November 2025, trailed by the singles 'Shagidi' in June 2025, 'First Luv' in October and 'Paruparo' in November. 'First Luv' entered the Billboard Philippines Hot 100 at number 73.

'Flames' is where the critical consensus splits, and it is worth being honest about it. Billboard Philippines and the Manila Bulletin placed it among the best Philippine albums of 2025; Positively Filipino and Esquire Philippines called it the group's weakest record, while still singling out 'First Luv' and 'Shagidi'. The album was given physical CD and LP editions on 20 January 2026. Nine days after its release, on 29 November 2025, the group played a year-end show, 'Binified', at the Philippine Arena — the largest room they had headlined to that point.

Coachella, and what the reviews actually said

BINI played both Coachella weekends in April 2026, on 10 and 17 April, the first Filipino act on the festival's bill and the first P-pop group of any nationality. The weekend-one set was on the Mojave stage, scheduled early enough in the day that Philippine viewers watched it at breakfast time, and it ran eight songs: 'Shagidi', 'Zero Pressure', 'Out of My Head', 'Karera', 'Salamin, Salamin', 'Blink Twice', 'Cherry on Top' and 'Pantropiko'. They opened in gold outfits and salakot headdresses, discarded the hats almost immediately, and were in turquoise by the second number. Filipino instrumentation was written into the arrangements rather than bolted on: kudyapi textures under 'Salamin, Salamin', kulintang percussion introducing 'Pantropiko'. The billing around them included Central Cee, Ethel Cain and Blood Orange.

The reviews were warm but not uncritical. Rolling Stone's Althea Legaspi picked the set as one of the fifteen best moments of weekend one, praising the choreography and noting the group switched between English, Filipino and a mix of the two. Rolling Stone Philippines was more granular: strong vocal range on 'Cherry on Top', visible nerves, some fumbled lines, a couple of hand-gesture moments it judged close to tacky, and a group that covered the gaps with collective charm. That is a fair description of an act playing the biggest stage of its career for the first time.

Signals, and a tour that lost six cities

The 'Signals' EP arrived on 9 April 2026, the day before the first Coachella set, and it is short and deliberate — six tracks, just under eighteen minutes. 'Unang Kilig' led on 5 March 2026 alongside a surprise B-side, 'Honey Honey'; the rest is 'Blush', 'Tic Tac Toe', 'Sugar Rush' and 'Step Back'. The production credits reach further out than previous records, taking in Sweater Beats, Lindgren, Moophs, Davidior, Jacob Munk, Jeremy Glinoga, Kikx and Shintaro Yasuda, with recording at Academy of Rock and Studio Z in Quezon City. The writing moves across bubblegum pop, new jack swing, R&B and UK garage without settling, and the reception in the Philippine press was strongly positive.

The tour was announced on 13 April 2026, two days after the first Coachella set, as nineteen shows across four continents running from 20 June to 15 November. It opened with two sold-out nights at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on 20 and 21 June, moved to the newly opened SM Seaside Cebu Arena on 11 July, and then to North America in August, starting in Honolulu and taking in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Brooklyn. The group also played Summer Sonic in Osaka and Tokyo in August.

On 1 July 2026 the European leg was postponed, the promoters citing unforeseen circumstances beyond their control. Six shows went: Amsterdam on 30 August, Rome on 1 September, Paris on 4 September, London's OVO Arena Wembley on 6 September, Zurich on 9 September and Düsseldorf on 11 September. Ticket holders were refunded and the organisers said they were working to reschedule. As of the end of September 2026 no replacement dates have been published, which makes the unsold European inventory the loudest unanswered question around the tour.

Where things stand at the end of September 2026

The Australia and New Zealand run went ahead as planned through September — the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, then Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland on 25 September, then Sydney. Support duties across the tour have been shared between Ashley Mehta, JMKO, Rafi and Acoya rather than handed to a single opener, with the local act varying by market.

Two dates remain on the itinerary: Singapore in October and New Taipei City on 15 November, which closes the tour. Beyond that, the group has trailed 'A Parallel World', a song written for an animated film soundtrack, which has already been aired live in Manila and Las Vegas ahead of release.

The wider case for BINI in 2026 is not really about chart positions, which remain largely Philippine. It is that a group built by a broadcaster's training programme has turned into a functioning international touring business inside eighteen months — nineteen shows, four continents, sold-out arenas at home and 2,000-to-3,500-capacity theatres abroad. The European postponement is the reminder that the logistics have not fully caught up with the demand.