Interview by Denise Mallabo

Meet BGYO, a Pinoy-pop band with infectious, uniquely Filipino tunes.

It's abundantly clear that there has never been a more diverse time in music than the present. The success of internationally acclaimed artists who hail from a variety of cultural backgrounds demonstrates that listeners worldwide need not be fluent in a common language to appreciate the music of others. Consider the Pinoy-pop GROUP BGYO who are actively working to include more songs in Tagalog in their setlist. “Almost all our songs are Taglish but right now, we're aiming on doing purely Tagalog songs. It’s because of our market. We want to tap on our local market first,” says leader of the 5-piece group Gelo Rivera. 

They were formerly known as the SHA Boys, having emerged from ABS-CBN’s Star Hunt Academy, the entertainment training ground of the aforementioned Philippine network. The acronym BGYO (B – Becoming the change, G – Going further, Y – You and I, and O – Originally Filipino) now serves as their moniker since their debut in 2021. “We all participated in nationwide auditions before being scouted. We were once a large number of trainees, then we were reduced from thousands to hundreds, then to seven, then six, and now to five,” shares Gelo. BGYO consists of Gelo, Akira Morishita, JL Toreliza, Mikki Claver, and Nate Porcalla. Most of the members of BGYO are just in their early 20s, and the group has only been performing together for a little over two years. Despite their youth, the members of BGYO are eager to prove their worth as a unit and embark on this journey. While it would take some time to list the group's current achievements and chart-topping singles, since becoming BGYO the group has released two mini-albums: The Light in 2021 and their recent offering Be Us. 

For this interview, ABOOKOF woke up the Aces of Pop BGYO, and the tireless band sat down with us for a short conversation in which they discussed the negative and positive effects ON THEM of their network's shutdown, defined "P-Pop" in their own words, and discussed the group's latest album.

Hi guys. How are you? What were you all doing before this interview?

Gelo: We just woke up. Aki just finished online school. He’s very hard working. 

You’re currently one of the most successful groups in the Philippines. What impact has your success had on your life?

Gelo: I believe that the success we've had so far has given us the confidence to explore what else we can do, such as dancing, singing, and everything else. It appears that a larger avenue has been opened for us to improve our abilities as solo artists and as a group.

How would you describe the sound of P-pop?

Nate: Aside from J-pop and K-pop, it's the stories behind our songs, our wardrobe, and our culture. For us, we had the ABS-CBN shutdown, which was not something K-Pop experienced. We incorporate that into everything we do. That's how we keep it exclusive and uniquely Filipino.

We were all trainees at the time, and we shared a house. We were just practicing; we had no set goal and no idea when we'd make our debut. We were shocked to learn of ABS-shutdown. CBN's That was crazy because we were all training and then we went outside with our coach and we were like "What are we going to do? What will happen?" We weren't sure if we were going to make our debut anymore. We had no idea where we were going. We were shocked and felt hopeless, but we kept going, kept training even though they didn't tell us to, and kept going until we got a sign. It was terrifying.

Gelo: The budget of the entire company, as well as the people who can work within our team, were both affected by the ABS-CBN shutdown. People on the team double their efforts even if what they're doing is no longer their job...for example, they can be an RM and a photographer at the same time. We're so fortunate because the team has done everything possible to ensure that we don't feel the effects of what happened in the company and that we still have goals that we strive to achieve every day.

Nate: It became even more difficult because, in addition to the shutdown, we were also under lockdown. We had to stay safe. That made it more difficult for us to show ourselves to people and get our names out there in ways other than digitally. It was more difficult to create and find our Aces.

You released you single “Magnet.” What is your backstory? Who did you collaborate with on the single?

Gelo: The one who wrote Magnet is Kuya Mike (Conchada) and the overall producer of the song is Flip Music.

Nate: It's about your love and how it's attracting you, going back and forth.  

Aki: We also have full Tagalog songs but there are more Taglish songs.

Can you tell us about Be Us? The concept of this album and who did you work with in this album?

Gelo: This album contains more Tagalog songs than our first. What I can say about the album is that it has a variety of emotions and flavors. It's as if all the emotions you're looking for can be found in the songs on Be Us. We're pleased that we were able to collaborate with a variety of producers and writers, and I believe the songs are appropriate for us.

Aki: We'd also like to thank our Team BGYO for putting in the time and effort to create this album. As well as Flip Music and Star Music for making this happen because it would have been difficult to do if it was just us.

Where do you get your inspirations whenever you create music?

Aki: We help each other on some of our songs. If there are any lyrics that need to be changed or if we can come up with lyrics that fit the song better, we will put them out there. We start throwing words and ideas at each other. It all depends on your inspirations. Because I can write on the spur of the moment when I'm sad. My emotions serve as a source of inspiration for me.

Mikki: It depends on whether the song is intended for the group. I also consider what each other has gone through; their experiences. That's where I get my ideas, but I usually write from personal experience.

Does music run in the family?

Aki: My mother used to be a singer in Japan, and my father used to perform in a band.

JL: My entire family is a musical family. I competed against some of them in singing competitions. That's how bad it was. They are also my inspirations, which is why I enjoy singing and music.

Nate: My lolo always wanted to be a rockstar.

Gelo: Just a few in the family like to sing.

Mikki: My family simply enjoys jamming. My inspiration came from my brother, who is a DJ.

It must not be easy working on songs with five people in the group. What’s your creative process like?

Aki: We have a voice coach who works with us on the lyrics. He'd say, "It's fine, but something seems to be missing," and we'd try to fix the song with him. We would piece things together using our creative thoughts.

Which artists have you been listening to nowadays?

Nate: BTS, Steve Lacy 

Aki: Ed Sheeran, Adie

JL: Joji, Arthur Nery, Zack Tabudlo

Gelo: Lana Del Rey

Mikki: Justin Bieber, Yung Blud

What are you the highs of your career so far?

Aki: The emergence of P-Pop conventions is one example. We've seen how the community has grown. People support more than just BGYO; they also support other P-Pop groups. When we saw our ACEs and how they all screamed when we came out on stage, we thought, "Wow, they're really getting bigger."

Nate: Billboard's number one. Aside from the awards and conventions, I enjoy watching our ACEs grow. When we arrived in Zamboanga, the bleachers all the way to the end were packed with people screaming for us. That was the first time we had seen so many people screaming for us. And I think that's a huge accomplishment because when we first started, the crowd was very small, so it's been a long road to that many people.

Aside from music, what else keeps you guys busy?

Nate: Individually, we go live on KUMU (a streaming application) and we do it every week.  

What are you excited the most this year?

Gelo: I'm looking forward to our solo show and a variety of other things that are still not allowed to be said.

Any message to your Aces?

Mikki: For us, our fans are the aces, because without them, we would not be able to achieve our goals. They are the true MVP.

Aki: We appreciate your love, support, and all that you do for us. You are all very making such a huge effort. You travel a long way to see our performance. We still have a long way to go and are far from our goals; I hope you will remain with us forever.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

Gelo: Adventure. We like to try new things and are always together as a group; we're all in this together.

Aki: A magical type of story. The music comes alive and we change into different forms when we perform so it's magical.

Gelo: That's right.