BINI shares why they chose ‘Unang Kilig’ as entry for Grammy’s Best Asian Pop Music Performance

BINI shared why they chose “Unang Kilig” as their submission for the Grammy Awards’ Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.

In an interview with Billboard, the Nation’s Girl Group explained that the track reflects their musical identity and connection with fans.

“We submitted ‘Unang Kilig’ and chose that for the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category because it captures our sound and what BINI stands for in terms of the energy, the Filipino identity, and the way it connects with fans,” BINI Jhoanna relayed.

“Unang Kilig” was released as a single in March 2026. The track is “a playful song about the feeling of the first stages of love. Not being completely sure about it, but knowing that it’s the type of feeling that can’t be replaced and can’t be replicate,” as per previous press release.

Meanwhile, according to the official Grammy website the Best Asian Pop Music Performance “recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances.” Eligible recordings include “contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets.”

“Recordings must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. An Asian language should play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language. Recordings performed entirely in an Asian language are eligible,” the Recording Academy added.

In the same Billboard interview, BINI reflected on how the Best New Asian Pop category could provide opportunity to introduce P-pop to more international audiences.

“For us, this category is about visibility within the global music sphere. Asian pop music has a huge, passionate global audience, and it’s meaningful to see the Recording Academy create a space that recognizes it. P-pop is growing so quickly, and we want people who may not have heard of us, to discover that the Philippines has a lot of talented artists,” BINI Mikha said.

Aside from Best Asian Pop Music Performance, BINI also submitted an entry for Best New Artist, while their song “A Parallel World” from the film Forgotten Island was submitted for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

“We’re thankful to be part of the Forgotten Island soundtrack since it’s a movie that shares stories from the Philippines,” BINI Jhoanna said.