Since tomorrow marks the start of Filipino Heritage Month and AAPI Heritage Month, it’s perfect timing that I finally got to see a girl group that represents their Pinoy Pride to the fullest: BINI! I saw them last night, which happened to be their first North American stop in their BINIverse World Tour, so I hope that if you do plan on seeing them shortly, this blog post will help you! See below for more info and pics from the show as well as some I have already posted on my social media (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook), and don’t forget to follow as I will be posting more concert/music content! For a visual preview of what to expect, watch the video below!
About
BINI is a Filipino girl group that debuted in 2021, and their name is derived from the Tagalog word “binibini” meaning “young lady”. A mission of the group is to embody what they believe is the modern Filipina (sweet, fierce, independent, and informed), which can be identified in their lyrics and style. What drew me into their music was their great vocals, but also the variety of dance-type music they do, from bubblegum to more mature/dark, which is a great gateway to girl groups and P-Pop (Philippine pop). The group consists of eight members: Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Sheena, and Jhoanna (leader). Over the years, BINI has achieved success, including being the first Filipino pop group to top Billboard’s Philippine Songs chart and the first Filipino act to perform at the KCON music (K-pop) festival. Fun fact: I did see a few fans with armybombs (BTS lightsticks).
The fandom name for BINI is called “BLOOMs,” stylized as BL∞M(s), which aligns with their group’s tagline “Walo hanggang dulo” (Eight until the end), similar to Ateez. It’s very sentimental and motivational, especially since it pays homage to their journey and that after every trial and tribulation, beauty can be found, flaws and all. During the concert, they shared several motivational messages like this. I also thought it was cool that their official fandom color is teal because of the clear and calming waters of the Philippine Sea! This not only once again shows how they are always representing the Philippines, but also reflected in their merch, which you will see below!
Merchandise
Since I mentioned merchandise, it only makes sense to talk about that next. I initially didn’t want to spend extra money on this, but by the end of the concert, I couldn’t resist. The merchandise overall was really pricey, with the hoodie being $125, the lightstick being $95, the t-shirts being $70, and the truck cap being $50. All prices are in Canadian dollars, and you can zoom in for more details and options. I did like the lightstick, but had to pass on that, but ended up getting the concert black and teal t-shirt that they wore during their encore stage, which was legitimately more expensive than the actual concert ticket (will review in the next section). The t-shirt design was cool, and I liked that it had Toronto on the back. Just a warning, it does have a more snug fit to it. I was hoping they would have some special vinyls or something like that, but mainly just apparel and accessories.
Tickets and Venue
I know BINI performed in Oshawa, Ontario, last year, but I remember seeing the tickets being sold out, and the resale amount was around $250, which is insane for that venue and location. Therefore, when I saw that Live Nation announced BINI was coming again this year, I knew things would be different, and it surely was, since they performed at Coca Cola Collesium this time around, a venue I have been to before to see The Rose and P1Harmony. However, this was the cheapest I have ever gotten tickets for here, as I only paid $50 for section 117 row CC. This was a great deal, and I got it through the presale, so there was no rush. However, I did feel the stage set up for BINI could’ve been better, and the camera work for this concert was the worst, with one member being constantly cropped off and the wrong member being focused on during another member’s part. The one time when they walked in the crowd, the camera person couldn’t even locate them, which was disappointing. Also, even though the tickets were way more affordable, there were still a lot of empty seats, which was surprising.
Performance
Because I had another appointment that day, I was actually running a bit late to the concert, so I ended up going to my seat around 8:10 p.m., and they were performing “Salamin, Salamin” which I believe is the song they open their concerts with. The show ended around 9:37 p.m., so I guess the entire concert was about an hour and a half, which was pretty short compared to other concerts I’ve been to, but BINI weren’t really taking many breaks, and frankly, I did like it. I think this concert solidified what got me into them in the first place: the vocals. Each member does give effort, and you can tell they are passionate about what they do. I truly did appreciate the live vocals, and of course, they also had cool dance breaks in between. For example, when they performed “Zero Pressure,” you can tell that it didn’t sound exactly like the audio when listening, which I appreciate, especially since it’s one of their favourite songs.
I also liked the fact that with their live vocals they were still doing a lot of choreography and knew how to bring out the crowd’s energy. For example, during this snippet below of when they performed “Cherry On Top” you can hear the crowd’s engagement which is really loud given that it wasn’t a fully packed venue.
I also appreciate the fact that they were also adding more to their actual performance such as the grand finale of the concert being an extended version of their hit “Pantropiko”. It was a bit over seven minutes with a great use of drums, call and response and dance to get people excited and moving. They were some things that could’ve been better such as the lighting of the stage, and having a bit more props or secondary stage for BINI to really engage with the crowd. I know that they did have one part of the concert where they did go to the floor level but the camera people didn’t even properly film them so we had no idea where they were. Throughout the concert, the camera work was not great at all and I think the stage set up could’ve been better for more fans to really appreciate the talent BINI has. It still was a great performance overall and I am happy I went!
Overall
All in all, I think there is somethings that could’ve been done better by the venue and stage production from the company, but I really enjoyed the performances BINI gave, especially for the price! I am happy that I finally went to see BINI live and I will admit, I was already feeling so tired from the week so I wasn’t sure about going last night but their energy and performances definitely removed that fatigue for me! I recommend you checking out BINI if you have the chance and have a listen to the songs that I talked about in this blog post. Let me know if you went or plan on going in the near future in the comments below or by following on social media (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook) as I post more concert/music content!