The truth about Bini and "authenticity"

Hi, kindly read my post properly before reacting.

Edit as well for people saying nobody is actually talking about this and gumagawa lang ako ng issue out of nothing: https://rollingstonephilippines.com/culture/news-culture/bini-new-track-sparks-tagalog-english-language-debate/

The discourse has been significant enough for a massive publication like Rolling Stone to cover it.

Bini losing their "authenticity" by singing English songs is a hot topic among Blooms right now. Their "fully authentic" self, according to many Blooms, is represented by their Tagalog songs. They shouldn't have to sacrifice "our language" to achieve international success. The problem with this is that for most of the group, Tagalog isn't their L1 (1st language). I'm Bisaya and Tagalog isn't my language. It's a language I know, but not my language.

Straight from Aiah's mouth: https://youtu.be/oReU887jI-U?t=1057

"I was nervous because they gave me a script in Tagalog. But my first language is Bisaya, then English, then Tagalog." For some Bini members, Tagalog is not even their L2 (2nd language) but their L3 (3rd language).

Is colonialism the reason they might be more comfortable with English? I mean, clearly. But colonialism is also why everyone living in the Philippines is united under one political banner and required to learn Filipino (standardized Tagalog) in school. Colonialism is the reason that Tagalog is the basis for (and still practically interchangeable with) Filipino, a standardized code that was developed fewer than 100 years ago. Colonialism is the reason for a lot of things, guys.

But it doesn't make English any less valid as a means of communication and self-expression for the Bini members. As Sheena said when an interviewer asked the girls if singing in English was weird for them, no. Because they speak English, understand English, and are comfortable with English. Because English is one of the languages in the Philippines.

That's not to say I don't appreciate their Tagalog songs or want them to just keep releasing English songs forever. That's not to say that their use of English in songs is a good thing (I'd argue it isn't bad either — it's a really nuanced topic, a gray area). Bini singing and speaking in English isn't "fully authentic," but neither is the version of Bini that sings and speaks in Tagalog.

Both versions of Bini (English and Tagalog) are products where the members have to perform a more palatable/marketable version of themselves — one for international access, the other for national pride that doesn't allow for the girls' multilingual, multicultural backgrounds to truly shine.

Though neither one is "fully authentic," the members do what they can to add some genuine self-expression in both versions. In both Tagalog and English, the girls have songwriting, choreography, composition, and miscellaneous creative credits (like Maloi conceptualizing COT ad-libs).

What does this highly superficial view of "authenticity" ("If you're Filipino, sing in Tagalog!") lead to? Well, something like this: lately, there have been multiple posts with thousands of likes from Blooms, making fun of Colet for not speaking in their (Tagalog) interviews. These Blooms ignore that Colet has said multiple times that she struggles to speak in Tagalog and she's much more talkative in Bisaya. She also speaks a lot more in English interviews, and she's had a few lengthy Bisaya interviews now, but I guess that's not authentic enough for Blooms...?

So please, stop associating Bini's "authenticity" with Tagalog. Tagalog is not every Filipino's L1 or even L2. Whether a Bini song is in English or Tagalog, you are not getting a "fully authentic" product either way. What matters is that the girls are afforded chances to express themselves, their creativity, and their personalities regardless of what language is being used in a song.