Crisanto Ramos Jr

Can the iWant TV songwriting competition dedicated to BINI yield The Nation's Girl Group's biggest hit songs in a long while?

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"Malayo Pa Ngunit Malayo Na Tayo" - Batch 2 of 'BINIVerse and Chorus' Final 12 | One Music PH Review

<div style="text-align:justify"><strong>Can the iWant TV songwriting competition dedicated to BINI yield The Nation&#x27;s Girl Group&#x27;s biggest hit songs in a long while? Read Part One </strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2026/6/11/-cry-to-your-mother-the-first-batch-of-biniverse-and-chrous-final-12-one-music-ph-review-1010" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>HERE</u></strong></a><strong><u></u>. </strong></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><div style="text-align:justify"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XdStoVbZ2jE?si=JMl4GqVvJhIhA2th" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify"><strong><u>&quot;Pahinga&quot;</u> </strong>by <strong><u>Caryl Mae Acupanda</u></strong> and <strong><u>Rap Sanchez</u> </strong>was my original one-seed. It&#x27;s been a while since BINI has released an inspirational showie. (The last one was <strong><u>&quot;Infinity&quot;</u></strong> written by <strong><u>Jeremy G.</u></strong> with <strong><u>WRIVE</u></strong>&#x27;s <strong><u>Russu Laurente</u></strong> and <strong><u>Ishiro Incapas</u></strong> from <strong><u>FLAMES</u></strong>.)</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2gvmNLiGitc?si=irxYnA5bPLUeQvHr" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:justify"><strong></strong><strong></strong></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify">Every lyric fit perfectly with the musical arrangement, especially the chorus - &quot;<em>May bahaghari sa wakas ng bagyo / &#x27;Di matinag ng hangin, hindi lulubog / Malayo pa ngunit malayo na tayo / Pawiin ang pangamba dahil may oras pang / Magpahinga</em>...&quot; Another definitive concert moment in the making, can you imagine this song being strategically placed in a climactic spot? Everything is so perfect with this song that I understand why the songwriters would be hesitant to try and add a compelling bridge part to it. </p><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify">This bracket is particularly so strong that none of the songs from this were eliminated. <strong><u>Sid Castro</u></strong> and <strong><u>Tamara Dela Cruz</u></strong>&#x27;s <strong><u>&quot;Remember Us&quot;</u></strong> and <strong><u>&quot;LMK&quot;</u></strong> (with <strong><u>Marcus Davies</u></strong>) were originally seeded #4 and #6 in my personal rankings.</p><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify"><strong><u>&quot;LMK&quot;</u></strong> has it&#x27;s moments, but the initial promise didn&#x27;t translate fully well on it&#x27;s full demo run. It has that cutesy yearning bubblegum pop feel framed in late 80&#x27;s/early 90&#x27;s pop R&amp;B feels and clappy beats which would fit perfectly on <strong><u>FLAMES</u></strong> or <strong><u>Signals</u></strong>.</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0cug565sqng?si=nAdSxowJXg5nFQyl" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify">Out of their two entries, I give the edge to <strong><u>&quot;Remember Us&quot;</u></strong> for its <strong><u>So So Def</u></strong>-ish musical arrangements, the triple hi-hat beats and its more memorable lyrics.  </p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ucS2mGrxDhA?si=TenYWDwU1Ejzop5G" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify"><strong><u>&quot;ICL (Iced Cafe Latte)&quot;</u></strong> by <strong><u>Joelo Dela Cruz</u></strong> was originally #10 in my book.  The song sure sounds like a great coffee ad jingle, but I&#x27;m not so sure about a BINI album, especially with the good field of entries. The rap verse feels like a totally different song from the rest of the track. </p><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify"><strong><u>&quot;Dito&quot;</u></strong> by <strong><u>Julian Lewis Torres</u></strong> was #12 in my initial rougfh demo rankings. I remembered that nthis the roughest demo of the lot, with the acapella treatment the verses seemed to droning on forever with every line sounding the same. I thought this one had potential, especially the good old pop ballad lyricism, but it will take a whole ton of work. While the final demo was an improvement and the melodic monotony was neutralized, it still needed a lot of work to go on. Maybe the <strong><u>WRIVE</u></strong> boys can make this song happen. </p><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify"><strong><u>&quot;Love Potion&quot;</u></strong> by <strong><u>Alyssa Pacete</u></strong> and <strong><em></em><u>Marc Vicente</u><em></em></strong> was originally #8 in my initial rankings. It&#x27;s a solid pop song with a nifty acoustic guitar bass intro and crisp sytrummy guitars along the way, although I&#x27;m not so sure if they could remain on the final product iof <strong><u>BINI</u></strong> records them in their own sound. Cutesy  gayuma-themed lyrics for the Gen Z. </p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JctMkSijzp0?si=NYHjlys_xkQI2x6p" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div><p style="text-align:justify">If you were to force me to pick a Top 4 out of this field, my votes would go to <strong><u>&quot;Pahinga&quot;</u></strong>, <strong><u>&quot;Ano Na?&quot;</u></strong>, <strong><u>&quot;Cry to Your Mother&quot;</u></strong>, and <strong><u>&quot;Hilom&quot;.</u></strong> But I would prefer a 6-song EP with the addition of <strong><u>&quot;Remember Us&quot;</u></strong> and <strong><u>&quot;No Tomorrow</u></strong>&quot; edging out <strong><u>&quot;Love Potion&quot;</u></strong>.</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/icDE2NcQniY?si=-nxTQBAXzJOeCoav" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OPPg8Rc0fP8?si=bumMwrfYf5YVC_3e" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yrYFqqFc6D0?si=hZymGHR_cq2B8PXY" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:justify"><br/></div>

<p><b>Can the iWant TV songwriting competition dedicated to BINI yield The Nation's Girl Group's biggest hit songs in a long while?</b></p>

"Malayo Pa Ngunit Malayo Na Tayo" - Batch 2 of 'BINIVerse and Chorus' Final 12 | One Music PH Review

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"Malayo Pa Ngunit Malayo Na Tayo" - Batch 2 of 'BINIVerse and Chorus' Final 12 | One Music PH Review

Cris O. Ramos Jr.

Published June 12, 2026 07:30 PM PHT

|

Updated June 12, 2026 07:33 PM PHT

Read More:

BINIVerse and Chorus

Final 12

Final 8

BINI

The Nation's Girl Group

Remember Us

Pahinga

Love Potion

LMK

Dito

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