After the recent banning of accounts of some of its members over the weekend, the all-girl singing group Bini said Star Magic, their talent management group, is already “working closely” with TikTok Philippines.

“We have no control over what happened. Even we were surprised when we found out, but our management is already handling the issue for us. Rest assured that we are already working on it,” said Bini leader Jhoanna Robles. “We also felt sad because we couldn’t post new stuff on TikTok.”

The accounts of Aiah Arceta, Colet Vergara, Maloi Ricalde, Gwen Apuli, Stacey Sevilleja, Mikha Lim and Sheena Catacutan could not be accessed on Saturday afternoon, June 15. They have since been recovered, but now Jhoanna’s account is inaccessible.

“We’re working closely with Tiktok Philippines to address the banning,” Mikha said.

The P-pop group also explained its decision to stop their Independence Day show after the audience became unruly. There were reports of viewers climbing posts and crossing barriers to get a better view of the stage, as well as of a fan fainting as a result of overcrowding.

Thankful

“We prioritize the health and safety of our audience. As much as we still wanted to perform, we decided to cut it short for everyone’s safety. We just hope that, next time, there will be stricter security and that the crowd will be more disciplined,” Sheena said.

“We’re thankful to everyone who attended the show. We really felt their support for Bini that night. We wanted all of them to enjoy our performance but when we learned of the situation, we said we didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Jhoanna said.

The eight-member group was at the Trinoma Activity Center recently for their launch as ambassadors of fast-food chain Jollibee’s Cheesy Yumburger. The event also coincided with the online premiere of the product jingle to the tune of Bini’s hit single “Pantropiko.” The girls sang, danced, played games with some of their supporters, and answered questions from the media. They said the endorsement deal was a manifestation of a longtime dream. When Inquirer Entertainment asked Gwen what other personal dreams she would like to “manifest,” she said she hoped for the group to get a shoe brand endorsement soon. “It’s important to us. We use it for training or during performances,” she said.

“We also want to be part of Coachella!” interjected Mikha.

“We want more collabs [with other artists],” Sheena added.“I ‘manifest’ that we will soon have our own billboard up there along the Pasig River (in Guadalupe, Makati). We always pass by there and find it amazing,” Jhoanna said.

“I hope for us girls to be physically healthy in time for the concert,” Colet said.

Colet and Maloi hope to have the time to pursue a college degree, too, since they just finished senior high school this year. “We’re fixing our schedules to include time for school because it is also important to us,” Colet said.

“As much as possible, we really want to go to college. We talked about this in our previous interviews. We will pursue it no matter what happens,” Maloi added.

Three-night concert

For now, there’s no rest for the Bini members because they are preparing for their three-night concert starting June 28, titled “BINIverse_TheFirstSoloConcert,” at New Frontier Theater in Quezon City.

“We train from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. We personally requested for extra time for concert rehearsals to make sure that our performance during those nights will be OK,” Maloi said.

“Yes, we don’t have time to rest just yet, but we continue to accept offers for work because we don’t know how long people’s interest in us will last,” Jhoanna pointed out.

Bini will perform at the LGBTQ+ event titled “LoveLaban2Everyone Pride PH Festival 2024” in Quezon City on June 22. The “Bini Run,” a 5-kilometer run dedicated to the Blooms, will be held along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay the following day. “We’re excited and looking forward to these events. We don’t want to just spend fun times with the Blooms (Bini supporters). We want them to be with us for the sake of fitness, as well,” Maloi said. The girls will likewise take their concert to Cebu, Baguio and General Santos City after their Manila performances. Also, they are promoting their new single, “Cherry on Top,” which will be released soon. “The Blooms should watch out for it. We allowed ourselves to explore artistically for this. You will be surprised to see what else Bini can do,” Jhoanna declared. INQ