BGYO: All the hard work was worth it

Practice makes perfect. This is especially true to Akira Morishita, Gelo Rivera, JL Toreliza, Mikki Claver and Nate Porcalla who put a lot of time and energy polishing their dance moves and strengthening their vocal power. If the names ring a thousand bells, well, that’s because the boys were initially known as the Star Hunt Boys, or SHA Boys, formed by ABS-CBN Star Hunt Academy.

It was only recently when ABS-CBN Entertainment had a grand launch for the boys to be officially known as the five-member P-pop group BGYO.

According to them, the early stage of being in a P-Pop boy group is about trial, error and survival. They recalled that honing their talent is a challenging task. They had to undergo daily trainings even while in the midst of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication with their foreign and local voice and dance coaches was mostly done through video calls.

Nate said they would spend three hours a day, twice a week for their voice lessons with Kitchy Molina as one of their mentors. Their schedule on perfecting dance choreographies, on the other hand, was set four times a week, six hours per session with Austrian-born dance choreographer and former PBB housemate Mickey Perz. They were also trained by South Korean coaches from MU Doctor Academy. On weekends, Akira added, they either rest or do self-practice.

The premiere of the music video of their debut single The Light was also presented during the group’s grand launch dubbed as BGYO: Be The Light.

Words like power, determination and hope flashed on the giant LED screen as the boys were introduced one by one during the event where they showcased their individual talent in singing, dancing and rapping. Nate and Gelo showed how effective footwork can be, Mikki did a rap number and Akira and JL wowed the fans with their vocal talent.

The Light speaks of empowerment, hope and self-love which echo the members’ aim of inspiring listeners to work hard for their dreams. It was co-written by the members with Distract, and was composed and arranged by Rogan and Ddank.

“All the hard work was worth it, now that I’m seeing the video for the first time,” said Akira.

Gelo, on the other hand, was teary-eyed while watching the video showing their journey leading to the completion of their work.

Meanwhile, fans of BGYO flooded social media with praises for the boys’ performances. One comment read, “Those vocals and choreo…plus points their visuals! Complete package. ABS-CBN hit a jackpot here.”

ABS-CBN entertainment production and Star Magic head Laurenti Dyogi praised BGYO for its continued commitment to their work and expressed his excitement for the group’s project in the coming days.

Mikki revealed that the plan to translate The Light into different languages is already on the drawing board so that fans outside of the Philippines can fully appreciate it.

Asked what makes them different from the other boy groups, Akira replied, “We’ve been through so much together – from the workshop down to going through the pandemic and having a lockdown. These solidified us as a group and made us better and stronger than before.”