Despite the rising fame of the nation’s girl group, BINI members are still proud to touch back and claim their identities, especially in what they do outside of their group performances.
In a recent TikTok video, one of the group’s Bisaya members, Colet, serenaded her fans with a short and original Bisaya song that captured the hearts of her fans from the nation’s South.
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It can be recalled that she initially sang this song when she appeared as a guest on Melai Cantiveros’ Bisaya Talk show “Kuan on One,” where she disclosed more of her Bisaya roots.
Maria Nicolette Vergara, popularly known as Colet, was born and raised in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, where her family currently resides. She has always been vocal about her Bisaya roots, even in most of her videos with the other girl group members.
It’s about time she gets to sing a Bisaya song for her fans now that they have broken through a mainstream audience.
Colet’s journey: Becoming a BINI member
Back in Tagbilaran, Colet always had a knack for singing and dancing, which she must have gotten from his musically inclined father.
She has participated in multiple school events and programs to showcase her talents. With such immense talent, it was probably not a huge surprise when she chose to attend the Star Hunt auditions held in Bohol, where the handlers saw her potential for stardom.
BINI Colet in her SHS graduation photo. | Photo: BINI Colet / IG
She was then invited to join a boot camp with other aspiring artists, which became a stepping stone for her to become one of the final members of the nation’s girl group, which we now popularly know as BINI.
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Kuan on One interview with Colet
Months following her group’s stardom, Colet appeared in her very first solo interview in Melai Cantiveros’ Bisaya talk show “Kuan on One” on Tuesday, July 23.
She said that she had always been apprehensive about taking solo interview requests because she still found speaking Tagalog challenging as someone from Bohol. However, Cantiveros’ Bisaya talk show allowed her to speak her mind confidently in a language she was comfortable with.
Bini Colet appears in her guesting on Melai Cantiveros’ “Kuan on One”. | Photo: Screenshot from ABS-CBN Entertainment / YT
In the show, both Bisaya celebrities discussed their challenges in dominating predominantly Tagalog spaces as someone whose first language is not Tagalog.
Colet even mentioned that she appears generally shy, especially in the early stages of forming BINI, because he finds interacting with the girls in her non-native language difficult.
Nonetheless, she managed to warm up to the girls as they developed their friendship throughout the years.
Colet’s Bisaya song: ‘Laban Lang Pirmi’
Aside from her talent for singing and dancing, Colet is also a songwriter, which she also discussed on the talk show.
She even mentioned that she wrote BINI’s song “8” from their Born to Win album, which initially was drafted as a graduation song, as a student.
Upon hearing this, the talk show team asked her to write a Bisaya song to perform during the interview, which birthed one of the most vulnerable original songs she sang.
Basin diay ugma mas gaan na. Basin diay ugma mas okay na… Okay ra mapildi basta lang mo-sulti, laban lang pirmi.
After singing, Cantiveros and Colet talked about how strong-willed Bisaya people are and how they continue to persevere amid struggle with various problems that they face daily.
As such, the song perfectly captured not just Colet’s journey as she initially struggled to become a BINI member but also the strength of the Bisaya people, who remain tough even in the most challenging times.
It is perfectly encapsulated in their daily mantra, which is to: “Laban lang pirmi”.
