Filipino-Argentinian Chanty on what it takes to become a K-pop idol

MANILA, Philippines — What is it like to be trained into becoming a K-pop idol?

Filipina-Argentinian Chantal Videla, also known as Chanty, trained for eight months to become part of the newest South Korean girl group Lapillus.

Lapillus is composed of Shana, 19, leader and lead vocalist; Chanty, 19, vocalist; Bessie, 18, main vocalist and rapper; Haeun, 13, lead rapper, vocalist and maknae; Yue, 18, main vocalist and dancer; and Seowon, 15, main rapper.

The girls are in the country for their first international appearance.

The newly-formed pop group is under MLD Entertainment, the same agency that launched girl group Momoland and boy group T1419.

Chanty was a Star Circle Batch 2018 artist and made appearances in different ABS-CBN shows such as Reawaken, Hiwaga ng Kambat and Starla.

“Depending on our schedules. Some of the girls go to school, so they come pretty late in the afternoon,” she recalled during a recent press conference held in Quezon City. “For me, I start training at 11 a.m. with Korean class, and then eat lunch and have (another) class. And the rest is just personal practice. You practice your singing and then dancing. And then at night, we practice dancing like we have dance class.”

“(I’m) kind of (fluent in Korean). I’m still learning, although I’m proud to say that I improved quite a lot in the span of eight months but there’s still a long way to go for me,” she added.

Chanty’s training period might be one of the “shortest” compared to her co-members. Japanese singer Shana trained for two years, Bessie for six months, the youngest member Haeun for a year and a half, Seowon for two years and Chinese-American Yue for almost two years.

Chanty’s Korean singing idols include Wonder Girls, 2NE1, BTS, and many others.

The all-female act debuted last June with the single Hit Ya! It will release the mini-album Gratata on Sept. 22 and hold a Fan Meet at Market! Market! today (Sept. 10) and at Ayala Fairview Terraces tomorrow (Sept. 11).

Chanty is “happy, glad and humbled” to be promoting their music in her home country.

“I am grateful and blessed. I have so many words to describe how I feel right now,” she told the press.

“But I’m just really, really happy that I get to promote Hit Ya! (and) promote our group here in the Philippines, my home country. (It is such) an honor. And I’m really happy and grateful because the Filipino people are so warm and accepting of our group and so supportive. I’m really, really happy for that.”

Bessie shared, through a translator, “When we were in the dorm, Chanty also talked about (the Philippines) to the girls. We were really excited to come to the Philippines. Even though this is our first show, Chanty also said (that) it would be a big pleasure to be in the Philippines promoting events (of) Lapillus.

“That’s the reason why I am really excited to be here because that’s a dream come true for the girls and we are really happy to be here,” she added.

One of the things that Chanty liked about Lapillus is each member’s individuality. Describing the group, she said, “All of us are really different in a way. We have our own colors obviously. We have our different ways to express ourselves while performing. I feel that that’s what makes our performance more interesting to watch, to just see and listen to I guess.”

Meanwhile, Sam Oh, the favorite host and occasional interpreter for fan meets of Korean stars in the country, commented how “sweet” the young ladies of Lapillus are.

On the sidelines of her hosting the presscon, she told The STAR, “They are so humble and they are more adorable in person. And I hope to see more of them. I have a feeling they (will be more) visible because Chanty is from the Philippines. I wish them all the best. They are so young.”

Sam Oh was born in South Korea and moved to the Philippines when she was six. She landed her first hosting job with ETC in 2005 and has been hosting various events ever since.

On how it was like hosting Korean fan meet events and meeting celebrities, she said, “A lot of the fans think that… it’s the fact that I get to meet them and of course, it’s really exciting.” But it’s “nerve-wracking” for her at the same time, “It’s a lot of pressure and I get really nervous even to this day. Even if it’s not a K-celeb show, any sort of event will always make me nervous.”

“Seeing them in the flesh and sharing the stage with them, all of that is super exciting but I think the best part is when I see the fans getting so excited. They are really the easiest job in the sense that I really don’t have to do much work to get the people worked up and excited about the show,” she shared.

Sam Oh is a K-drama enthusiast. One of her memorable fan meet events in Manila was that of K-drama superstar Kim Soo Hyun. She also hopes to interview South Korean actor Gong Yoo someday.