A lot has changed in two years, especially for BGYO.

Since their debut in 2021, Gelo, Akira, JL, Mikki, and Nate have released two albums, toured around the Philippines, performed across the US, and helped bring P-pop to the global stage. Beaming with passion and fire, the Filipino boy group mark this as only the beginning of their journey, declaring that there's still more music and stories for them to share.

With the release of their sophomore album, Be Us, BGYO are currently focused on bringing their music to the live stage, breathing new life into their songs for their beloved ACEs. So, ahead of their upcoming album showcase this May, Bandwagon sat down with the 'Magnet' act to talk about their artistic growth, their new album, and what's next. 

There are a lot of P-pop groups out right now. How does BGYO stand out? What’s your greatest strength as artists?

GELO: Similarities po muna, parehas po kami dumaan po sa training and then similar din yung discipline na pinapakita namin sa performances namin, I think ang na papastandout sa P-pop at sa BGYO ay yung songs na ginagawa po namin, may tatak Pinoy talaga. Sa album namin na Be Us, pinakita po din namin yung iba’t ibang emotions, iba’t ibang vibe na music at kung paano kami ng grow simula nung ng debut kami until now. 

[For the similarities, every group went through a training process and we show similar disciplines in performances. I think what makes P-pop and BGYO stand out are our songs, it's a sound that’s distinctively Filipino. In our album, Be Us, we showed different emotions, vibes, and how we've grown from our debut to now.]

You guys have performed on several stages, both in and out of the Philippines. You even have an album showcase coming up soon. What does your preparation process look like for shows?

JL: Yung preparation namin ay nag training po kami everyday ng dance, vocals, and syempre pinapractice din po namin paano po kami mag preform sa harap ng mga tao, yung facials expressions po. [To prepare, we train everyday for our dance and vocals, and of course, we practice how to perform in front of an audience, especially with our facial expressions.]

MIKKI: Inaaral po din namin yung mga choreo po namin for the showcase. [We also learn our choreography for the showcase.]

 

 

 

 

 

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GELO: We try our best din na i-tweak or bigyan ng twist yung mga piyesa namin kase ayaw naman namin na paulit-ulit ipapakita yung isang performance so gusto namin may ipapakita na something kase yung mga nanood din ay mga ACES.

[We also try our best to tweak or give a new twist to our performances cause we don't want to keep showing the same performances, we want to show something new especially since the people watching are ACEs.]

The showcase comes in celebration of your album, Be Us. What story, if any, does it tell? 

NATE: The album has a lot of different moods so it might be hard to connect but overall, Be Us is for the people who want to feel comfortable being themselves and grow without feeling the boundaries of stereotypes. 

GELO: Madaming pong songs dun na makaka-connect at tsaka makaka-relate yung bawat tao kase meron po kaming songs [that are] inspirational, meron kaming pang good vibes at meron din kunwari may pangarap ka na parang gusto mo ipaglaban talaga. 

[We have a lot of songs that everyone can connect and relate to because we have songs that are inspirational, there are songs that also give out good vibes, and songs that, for example, are about fighting to achieve your dreams.]

AKIRA: At magandang bagay dun po sa songs namin at pwede mo siyang i-feel in different emotions. For example, pwede po pakingan kung in love ka or kapag down ka so kahit ano po nararadam niyo, pwede po kayo mag-connect sa album.

[The good thing is that our songs cater to different emotions. For example, you can listen to it if you're in love or when you're feeling down so whatever it is you're feeling, you can connect with the album.]

In what ways does it differ from your debut album?

AKIRA: Siguro po sa debut album namin, it talks more about our journey, yung pag tungtong namin sa industria. And then yung Be Us, it’s more like hindi na kami [mag isa], parang kasama na namin yung mga listeners at fans namin. 

[With our debut album, it talks about more about our journey, how we stepped into this kind of industry. And then with Be Us, it's like we're not alone anymore in this journey, now we have our listeners and our fans.]

NATE: It’s like a level up.

The last time we talked to you guys, you were just about to debut and now, you have two albums and have performed in several cities across the world. What’s been your favourite memory as BGYO so far?

MIKKI: For me, it was when we got to promote our album in the US because we got to travel to Las Vegas, LA, New York. 

NATE: When we got to perform in different provinces like in Bulacan—because I messed up the name (laughs) but it was a really good crowd. It was really like a breakthrough for our growth in getting so much support and actually performing on stage there. 

JL: Yung recent Be US mall tour namin, yung ata yung pinaka memorable moment for me kase nga nalibot namin yung mga iba’t ibang lugar sa Luzon at naka perform na din po sa Cavite, [yung hometown ko].

[Our recent Be Us mall tour is probably the most memorable moment for me cause we got to go around different places in Luzon and I got to perform in my hometown, Cavite.]

GELO: For me, yung pinka first time na pinerform namin yung mga songs sa Be Us kase nakakaexcite na ang tagal mo pinagtrainingan tapos ipapakita mo siya finally sa mga ACEs yung sing and dance and live vocals. And syempre isa sa pinka memorable sakin is yung first out-of-the-country namin sa Dubai, sobrang saya po namin nun.

[For me, it's the first we got to perform our songs from Be Us cause it's so exciting to finally get to show ACEs what we've spent so long training and preparing for. And of course, another memorable moment for us is our first out-of-the-country show in Dubai, we were really happy then.]

 

 

 

 

 

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AKIRA: Yung kila Nate din po, yung hindi lang sa Luzon kami nag libot, nag perform din kami sa Mindanao. Sana papuntahan din namin yung iba’t ibang lugar sa Visayas din as in yung buong Pilipinas po. 

[It's the same as Nate's, when we got to go around Luzon and we even performed in Mindanao. Hopefully we're get to go to different places in Visayas and the whole Philippines.]

How do you feel you have grown as artists and bandmates over the last two years?

MIKKI: Sa performance sobrang laki po inimprove namin. Every time we look back on our old videos, I cringe like ‘hala ganyan pala ako dati’. Nakita talaga namin paano na-improve yung dancing and facial expressions namin, yung overall performance po namin. 

[We really improved with our performances. Every time we look back on our old videos, I cringe like 'wow, that's what I was like before'. We see how we've really improved with our dancing and facial experessions, and just our overall performance.'

 

 

 

 

 

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GELO: Simula nung January, nagkaroon na kami ng sari sariling condo kase dati nag dorm po kami so malaking adjustment po yung for us. Parang nakikita mo talaga na nag-grow talaga kami [as a band]—sa ilang taon na magkasama kami na kahit magkahiwalay kami ngayon, nakikita mo parin yung chemistry at connection sa isa’t isa sa amin.

Sa performance side naman, I think mas naging confident kami sa sa paano i-express mga sarili namin. 

[Since January, we moved out into our own apartments because we used to dorm together before so it's been a big adjustment. We saw how we've really grown together as a band—we've been together for so many years but even when we're separated, you can still see the chemistry and connection we have. On the performance side, we've also gotten more confident in how we want to express ourselves.]

What are some goals you hope to achieve in the next couple of years?

NATE: For the group, personally I want to have a shelf full of awards, from award shows and just different big achievements. I also want our [sound] to be solid, like we’re not always guessing what our next song is but like we know what we want to make and what to do next. 

MIKKI: Yung music namin umabot sa iba’t ibang parte ng mundo, sa mga lugar na hindi pa namin na re-reach. [I want our music to reach different parts of the world, to reach the places we've never been to before.]

 

 

 

 

 

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GELO: Maging household name, like ganun level talaga. [I want us to be a household name, like that level.]

NATE: I hope in the future din each one of us takes up a part in different industries, like Kuya Gelo with restaurants, Kuya Mikki does fashion. I want us to do a lot of different things. [I hope in the future, we also get to take a part of different industries like Gelo with his restaurants and Mikki with fashion. I want us to do a lot of different things.]

What’s next for BGYO?

MIKKI: Even after the showcase, we’re still going to be promoting our songs and our album so you can expect us in different parts of the Philippines. So more performances and of course, we’re going to release music as time goes on. 

NATE: We’ve been having meetings about where we want BGYO to go next, how we want to approach music and performing so we’re really [working on] giving you guys something new, something that’s fresher but the same BGYO. 

BGYO will be holding their Be Us Album Showcase on 12 May at SM Skydome. Tickets, priced at PHP 2,160 and PHP 2,690, are available for purchase via SM Tickets. 

Listen to BGYO's Be Us here.