How Bini made history as the first P-pop act at KCON LA
P-pop girl group Bini is truly the “Cherry On Top” that KCON LA 2024 needed.
Dubbed as the Philippine “Nation’s Girl Group,” the eight modern Filipinas graced the world’s biggest K-pop music festival by opening the pre-show of the “M Countdown” stage on Saturday at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles with their latest all-English single, “Cherry On Top.”
Initially only invited as panelists, moderators decided to unleash the “cherry-mania” by adding Bini as a pre-show performer. The girls were on their Baguio City stop for their first-ever solo concert tour, “BINIverse,” in the Philippines when they received the news that would mark a monumental feat for P-pop.
“That’s when they told us we’re performing in the pre-show,” Mikha, the group’s main rapper and visual, said at the KCON LA panel discussion, “Meet the Rising Stars: BINI,” on Sunday. “We were all just shocked. We were speechless. It’s such an honor to be here really.”
Flaunting their signature denim blue and pink looks, Bini’s “herstoric” performance drew unexpectedly loud cheers in the arena from their fans, affectionately known as “Blooms.” Many Blooms attended KCON LA this year solely to support the girls, including Camille Roldan, a 29-year-old teacher from South Dakota. Roldan, the organizer and representative of Team Bloom USA — an official fanbase dedicated to Bini — admits that she spent all her time at the three-day festival promoting and supporting Bini along with other admins by handing out flyers and banners and talking to attendees about the P-pop girl group.
Roldan discovered Bini through their pre-debut song “Da Coconut Nut” but became a fan after their performance at the UST Paskuhan Concert in 2023. She started stanning them on March 10. Drawn to the girls’ humor — largely showcased through videos edited by Blooms on TikTok — Roldan started organizing Team Bloom USA in April, recognizing the presence of other U.S. Blooms, before officially launching on May 10 with only 30 members.
“Our followers on X have grown rapidly. Before KCON, we only had 1.4k followers, and now we’re at around 6,000. We’re still very overwhelmed,” Roldan tells NextShark, adding that her team were also “shocked by the crowd’s reaction and the screams for the girls at the pre-show, including from those who didn’t know Bini.”
Best friends Victoria Strong, 28, and Eve Smart, 24, who drove about 700 miles to Los Angeles from Colorado, flaunted matching crochet outfits inspired by Mikha and Maloi’s outfits during their live performance of “Pantropiko” on the Filipino musical-variety show “ASAP.”
“Because I’m into beach-y concepts, my friend showed me ‘Pantropiko’ and it kind of just spurred from there. I listened to their whole discography the next day, and they quickly became my favorite group,” Strong shares. “Their vocals and dancing continue to surprise me. Also, their music is so uplifting and empowering. It’s about self-love and understanding life. I also just love the girls’ chemistry and what a good team they are.”
At the panel, Strong won a cherry plushie from Maloi and had the opportunity to hug her – a “surreal” and “magical” moment that she says is the “highlight” of her KCON LA experience.
Although Bini leader Jhoanna Robles was not able to join the group’s activities at KCON LA due to “unanticipated health issues,” she offered support during a livestream on Monday, praising her fellow members’ successful performance and eloquent answers to panel questions while proudly showcasing their individual personalities. Robles said she was recently discharged from the hospital after suddenly falling ill at the airport before her flight to the U.S. However, she assured fans that she is now “doing well” and will be joining the girls on Saturday for their performance at ABS-CBN International’s concert “ASAP Natin ‘To” in Ontario, California.
The excitement and fangirling did not stop with Blooms as Bini themselves experienced their own starstruck moments meeting K-pop groups backstage, including Katseye, Nmixx, P1Harmony and Enhypen, and South Korean actress Park Min-young. Bini’s Sheena and Colet, who consider themselves “Engenes,” took to X to share their signed Enhypen albums. The two, along with Stacey, also managed to collaborate with Enhypen’s Jay, Heeseung and Sunoo in a TikTok dance video to the boy band’s song, “XO (Only If You Say Yes).”
“They were so kind… and handsome,” Sheena admitted during their panel, drawing laughs and cheers from the audience.
Bini’s panel had the highest attendance out of all the panels of the three-day convention, filling a 500-capacity room to three-fourths full, according to KCON moderator and emcee Lai Frances, who became the key to giving the P-pop group a chance to showcase their talent in the K-pop festival.
The inclusion of Bini was inspired by KCON’s recent trend of showcasing Japanese acts, making it a perfect moment to add in Philippine representation. When the announcement for “ASAP Natin ‘To” was made, Frances saw a chance to bring the girls to KCON LA, believing it was fitting given their love for K-pop and training that included Korean mentors.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen KCON and K-pop evolve and go beyond Korea, so why not bring P-pop in? We’re at the forefront with this girl group renaissance happening right now, and Bini is at the front of it,” Frances says. “P-pop has kind of rejuvenated the music scene in the Philippines as well. Filipinos pride themselves in their vocal talent, but pop was never really on the forefront compared to rock bands, balladers and soloists. So seeing this now — where they’re taking inspiration and how they are taking advantage of the talented youth now and making them solely focused on the pop scene — was just a perfect moment to have Bini there. They’re representing the country as a national girl group, and they’re doing so well with it. It really came to the right people at the right time.”
Team Bloom USA was surprised by the unexpectedly large turnout for their panel, with Roldan noting that even the ushers were astonished. Frances attributed this turnout to the passionate support of Filipino fans and their effective use of social media to promote Bini.
“We did not expect there to be this many people, and we’re so thankful,” Mikha said during the discussion, promising to “continue to represent Pinoy pride.”
Frances believes Bini’s performance at KCON is just the beginning for the group and P-pop as a whole. She sees this moment as the start of a global takeover for Filipino pop music. The live singing and dancing by Bini at KCON, without a backtrack, showcased their talent and set a high standard. Frances is confident that the group’s hard work and the support of their fans will continue to propel them forward, making significant strides in the global music scene.
“P-Pop has already existed in the Philippines a long time ago, but this is a new generation,” Frances says. “You could consider SB19 and Bini as the first gen who has set the tone of what can happen and what’s to come for other P-pop artists who are on the rise. Of course, this is just the beginning for their global takeover. But with the momentum that it’s gotten right now, especially from KCON, P-pop is here to stay.”
Following “ASAP Natin ‘To,” Bini will embark on their North American tour, with stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. With the group’s growing popularity, U.S. Blooms hope the girls receive more recognition for their determination and perseverance to showcase Filipino talent on the global stage. Looking ahead, many Blooms wish for the girls to tour across the U.S. and aspire for them to become the first P-pop act to perform at Coachella.
“But aside from the girls getting whatever they manifest, I hope that as they achieve greater things, they will still stay grounded and look back to where they started as well,” Roldan says.
“I also hope they continue to do things that inspire them and that they always love their work,” Strong adds. “And with whatever fans that they get a chance to meet, I hope they always know that they are loved.”
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