BINI, The Philippines’ ‘Nation’s Girl Group’ has just released their new single “First Luv”, along with a gorgeous music video. The Kajo-produced track heavily leans into the R&B silkiness, with a dash of trap. An interesting breakdown happens in the bridge. The first half is driven by dramatic, soaring synths and sparkly piano accents. One of the group’s main vocalists, Maloi, as well as lead vocalist Gwen, provide their signature sugary sweet, airy vocals. Fellow lead vocalist Jhoanna finishes the section, almost completing the group’s official vocal line. But it’s Stacey who appears in this section to sing one of the high notes.
It’s a testament to how talented the entire group is. Stacey has no official vocal position; she’s one of the group’s main rappers and is jokingly called ‘the Nation’s Can Opener’ by fans, as she usually starts BINI’s songs with her husky low notes. In “First Luv,” however, the honour of starting the song goes to Gwen, while Stacey displays a different side with her vocal highlights, showing off her pretty falsetto and strong belts.
The latter half swaps the “glitter” (delicately pattering percussion) heard in most of the song for a lively breakbeat. While Mikha is widely known for her “deep voice,” her delicate singing here sounds lovely. Colet, also a main vocalist, gets her moment as she wraps up the bridge, ever dependable with her impeccable vocal runs throughout “First Luv.” Sadly, the song ends shortly after Aiah and Sheena’s final chorus.
The chorus makes good use of Aiah and Sheena’s ethereal voices, and it gives fans a lot of BINI’s trademarks, like a high note from Maloi near the end and a bunch of ad-libs by the vocal line. The song’s Tidal page reveals that Leon Zervos, who’s also credited on all of the tracks on BINI’s all-English EP BINIverse, and frequent collaborator Chris “Moophs” Lopez, returned to work on this Tagalog-English single too. (Zervos mastered the song, and Moophs recorded it, as usual.)
The credits show fresh names too, like Michael Pratt for the mixing, as well as Rosemarie Tan and Shan Pooviriyakul for the vocal arrangements. They all did a great job here. But the song is under three minutes, with a runtime of only two minutes and 56 seconds. It’s quite short, but so addictive. We’ll just have to press play on “First Luv” again and again.
The stunning MV, directed by Jason Max, transforms BINI into literal pieces of art at a museum. These paintings come to life, turning the girls into corseted Cupids dancing on top of clouds. Armed with their bows, they take aim at various museum-goers to complete the mission given to them: “Seek Love in every Form” [sic].
The girls look gorgeous in ornate, ruffled bright pink ensembles. The video evokes the romantic splendour of rococo, with production design by Princess Anne Barretto and cinematography by Renz Gonzales.
Esnyr Ranollo, a Filipino actor and online personality, stars as a patron whom the girls shoot with a “self-love” arrow. Ranollo is openly queer and has stated that he uses any pronouns. The MV later shows her in a pink dress similar to the BINI members’, as well as a beautiful crystal headdress, embracing herself and gaining confidence.
The video also features Star Magic Freshies (up-and-coming talents from BINI’s agency) Lance Lucido, Miguel Vergara, Marc Santiago, and Andrez Del Rosario as young guys who get hit by the “friendship” arrow. A man hit by the “familial love” arrow reconciles with his wife, who carries their baby in her arms.
The most amazing storyline in the MV, however, is the one with Filipino singer Klarisse De Guzman and her real-life partner, Trina Rey. Although idols expressing their support for the LGBTQ+ community is nothing new, this perhaps marks the first time that a mainstream group has unambiguously portrayed same-sex romance—particularly between two women—in an official single.
De Guzman famously came out as bisexual in April this year. She also confirmed her years-long relationship with her non-showbiz girlfriend, Rey. The “First Luv” music video does not shy away from the fact that De Guzman and Rey are the ones hit by their “romantic love” arrow. BINI’s support for women-loving women was never a secret, especially considering how many of their hits have been penned by lesbian songwriter Nica Del Rosario. Still, it’s nothing short of incredible to see sapphic love be portrayed so explicitly in one of their music videos. With “First Luv,” BINI continues to break barriers and push P-Pop to new heights.
“First Luv” and its music video are out now on all digital streaming platforms.
