P-Pop has been thriving lately, within the Philippines and beyond. Our new column P-Pop Bites! is going to deliver brief and breezy news about the fast-rising industry every month. Here are some of our bite-sized P-Pop updates for the month of 3 November 2025:
20 October – P-Pop icons SB19 made their third appearance on the Japanese platform The First Take, where artists are challenged to sing live without any do-overs. The group performed their hip-hop track “Dam.” Today, the quintet marked their fourth appearance on the programme with the ballad “Time.” Just a few days ago, Thai actor Pittaya “Daou” Saechua praised SB19 on X, particularly member Stell Ajero, whom he described as “da best vocalist for me.”
23 October – Ben Adams of British-Norwegian band A1 posted on X that he wants to collaborate with P-Pop girl group G22. “🥳🤩,” member Alfea Zulueta replied. A day later, Ben teased that he and G22 are ready to “make a hit together.”
23 October – Through her company Becky Entertainment’s social media accounts, Thai actress Becky Armstrong announced BINI’s Aiah Arceta as a special guest performer for her upcoming 23rd birthday concert. The event, titled B New Era, will take place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok on 30 November.
Previously in February, Arceta also attended Armstrong and her on-screen partner Sarocha “Freen” Chankimha’s fan-meet event in Manila, Philippines. Armstrong and Chankimha are known as “FreenBecky” and have passionate fans around the world thanks to their hit sapphic shows and films together.
29 October – P-Pop girl group YGIG have uploaded audio snippets and Y2K-inspired visual teasers for their upcoming song, “Chicka-chick-a.” The catchy hip-hop track will be released as a part of a double-single comeback on 7 November. It has been a year and a half since their previous release, “Universe,” in April 2024.
31 October – Deadline Hollywood have confirmed that P-Pop soloist AC Bonifacio will star in the “Scream meets Black Swan” thriller Perfect Girl. The film is about an idol group whose debut preparations get blood-soaked when a mysterious new girl shows up. AC joins a line-up stacked with splashy names such as K-Pop Demon Hunters‘ Arden Cho and May Hong, as well as K-Pop idols like Cherry Bullet’s Chaerin and Billlie’s Siyoon.
So far, 22-year-old AC is the only P-Pop artist in the cast. In an interview from November 2021, the young singer-actress told ABS-CBN News’ Miguel Dumaual, “To be named as a P-Pop soloist is so cool. I will work hard to keep having that title, and to push to make P-Pop more international.”
31 October – For Halloween, Love at First Spike actor Bong Gonzales recreated Gwen Apuli’s teaser photo for the BINI single “Zero Pressure.” Gwen’s solo presence has surely been flourishing lately. She also starred in the emotional music video for “Wasak Na Puso” (Shattered Heart) by Six Part Invention on 17 October.
1 November – Vivoree Esclito and hiker Trei Altarejos, both 25, confirm their relationship through their Halloween couple’s costume as Harley Quinn and the Joker. The “hard launch” comes after years of persistent rumours linking Vivoree to high-profile celebrities like reality TV star Brent Manalo, who portrayed her love interest in three of her music videos.
Despite such rumours, the young singer-actress has only ever confirmed relationships with guys who are out of the limelight. On the Marites University podcast in 2023, she stated that she dated an unnamed man for “almost a year” in 2022, and he was not in showbiz either.
2 November – ALAMAT are on a roll with their steady stream of comeback teasers. Since 24 October, they’ve been releasing various images of the members inspired by everyday life in the Philippines, with creative direction and production by none other than their youngest, Jao Canlas. From 31 October until 2 November, they’ve also been posting handwritten lyric spoilers confirming that their next single, “LuzViMinda” (named after the Philippines’ three major regions Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao), will feature verses in each member’s native language. The song is out on all streaming platforms on 7 November and their new album, Destino, is out on 21 November.
3 November – MNL48 are enjoying a renaissance. Their disco-infused bop “Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie” (Love Fortune Cookie) has entered Spotify Philippines’ Viral 50 chart almost seven full years since it came out on 15 November 2018, peaking at #17 as of today. The new members for the group’s fifth generation were unveiled on 11 October.
“Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie” is a Tagalog-English cover of the AKB48 single “恋するフォーチュンクッキー” (Fall-in-Love Fortune Cookie); MNL48 themselves are one of the J-Pop group’s many sister groups across East and Southeast Asia.
3 November – VVINK have uploaded teasers for their third single “Baduy” (more or less “gauche” in English), out on 14 November. On their social media accounts, they’ve described it as a hyper-pop track that incorporates budots, an electronic genre with roots in the music of Mindanao and Visayas. One of the quintet’s members is Angelika Sam and their vocal coach is Pow Chavez, both songwriters for BINI’s smash hit “Pantropiko” (Tropical).
