WHEN seven brilliant and talented boys gathered together a year ago to form a singing group under AQ Prime and Frontrow International, the boys christened themselves Bilib (Believe).

The group was mentored by entrepreneur, producer and actor RS Francisco, with lawyers Honey Quiño and Aldwin Alegre.

“AQ Prime has been supporting us for a year now,” said Carlo. “They guide us constantly and we are learning a lot the longer we stay in this business. We are so thankful of the three of them.”

“When Bilib had their first interview before their launch, RS taught us how to face the public, the audience and especially their fans,” RC said.

Members of Bilib are Rafael (main vocals), Zio (rapper), Yukito (leader), Jmac (lead dancer), Carlo (vocals), RC (visual) and Clyde (main dancer).

The boys are set to do their best to achieve the success of P-pop group, SB19, now a very popular all-male singing group.

“Isa sa mga ini-isip namin is what we can contribute to the local music industry, instead of thinking about the competition,” Yukito explained. “We are aware that P-pop idol group here in the Philippines is still in its infancy stage.”

“Bilib, as a group, we really want to exist and be a support system to our fellow artists who want to dream to become an idol group here in the Philippines.”

“Regarding the competition, we don’t really see any competition,” maintained Carlo. “We don’t think about it. In the P-pop community, our biggest competitor is ourselves. As a group, Bilib wants to inspire P-pop fans.

“Not just P-pop fans but all the people who want to support us and listen to our music. We want to show them that we put so much effort on our group. We want to inspire and motivate through our music.”

Rafael would rather not think about competition as long as they do what’s best for Bilib. “We have our goal to go outside the Philippines,” he said. “So we can promote what’s proudly Filipino.”

Yukito is proud of Bilib’s “support system,” who are their bosses at AQ Prime and their partners. “That is what we’re mostly proud of,” Carlo beamed. “We are most proud of that. They’re the reason we’re here today.”

Before they came together as a group, the guys of Bilib already knew each other. “Mas naging solid ‘yung bond namin as a group,” said Rafael. “Mas nag work kami as a group.”

Carlo described Bilib’s growth as a group as really huge. “After we did our debut, I thought everything would be all set,” he said. “But I guess that was only the start of our success, the real ladder.

That would only be the start.

“For me, our first year in the music industry gave us a lot of growth and learnings. I thought I already knew a lot of things, but I was wrong. There was still so much to learn.

“We are very grateful to our mentors because they really hone our personalities. We learned a lot and we really grew after only one year.”

Clyde added, “As a group, we learned a lot from each other. Based on our ages, we learned a lot. We’ve been through a lot. We went through so many things.”

The past year, the challenge for Bilib is the different personalities of the members. “We need to communicate and look after one another,” Yukito said. “Our bond strengthened and we became more open with each other.

“We communicate in order for us to get to know each other more and bond together. We overcame our problems and became more solid as a group.”

The Bilib guys underwent a tough and rigid training process before they were presented as a group last year.

“The training that we did was something that was out of our comfort zone,” said Yukito. “From our auditions and our background, we could really sing and dance. We were engaged into performing and honed into a cohesive group.

“Unfortunately, iba-iba kami ng levels as a performer, experiences, training. The hardest was how we could manage to become one as a group. We had our music coaches who taught us the basics in performing to remind us everything important.

“From there, we displayed our mannerisms in performing and dancing. So everyone went back to zero. We started working on a black canvass. We managed to perform together as a group.”

Asked about their music influences, the Bilib guys individually mentioned the artists who inspired them.

“To me, it’s SB19 for local artists,” said Clyde. “International, it’s Justin Bieber.”

“For me, it’s also SB19, because I believe in their goal in the music industry,” said Jmac. “I think that’s also the goal of our group to become known and really popular.”

“For me, I idolize Gloc 9 because ever since I was young, I really looked up to him until now,” said Zio, the rapper in the group.

“My influence regarding music is Bruno Mars,” shared Rafael, who hails from Bohol. “Ever since I was young, I really listened to him.”

“For me, hindi siya nagbago,” said Carlo, who bravely relocated to Manila from Pangasinan. “Sarah Geronimo pa rin. When you see Sarah and she’s not performing, kalmado lang siya. But when she performs, lumalabas ang pagka halimaw niya onstage. That inspired me. Hindi lang siya singer or dancer, performer talaga si Sarah.”

“I like Charlie Puth,” RC maintained. “Sobrang galing talaga siya when it comes to those flavors that he sings.”

“I think pareho kami ni Carlo because we idolize Sarah Geronimo,” Yukito said. “She became an example to me na local at naging international.”

Bilib recently came out with their new single, ‘Say What You Want To Say,’ available in all streaming platforms.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Leah C. Salterio