From BINI To Sheetal Devi: Meet The Breakthrough Stars And Athletes On The 2025 30 Under 30 Asia Entertainment & Sports List
Back in February, BINI, the eight-girl pop sensation from the Philippines, kicked off its 15-city world tour with a sold-out concert at home, packing excited fans into the 50,000-seat Philippine Arena north of Manila. Short for 'binibini'—or young woman in Tagalog—BINI is the brainchild of Philippine media company ABS-CBN, which, inspired by the global popularity of South Korean girl groups, selected members Gweneth Apuli (Gwen), 21; Maraiah Queen Arceta (Aiah), 23; Sheena Mae Catacutan, 20; Mikhaela Janna Lim (Mikha), 21; Mary Loi Yues Ricalde (Maloi), 22; Jhoanna Chritine Robles, 20; Stacey Aubrey Sevilleja, 21; and Nicolette Vergara (Colet), 23; in 2019 from 250 aspirants following a nationwide talent search.
The octet form one of the entries on this year's star-studded Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Entertainment & Sports list, who are making waves in the music and entertainment industry.
"Our posts show who we really are... and that's one reason our fans like us."
In K-pop style, the young trainees, under the management of ABS-CBN, spent the next three years living together and training every day. 'It's mentally, emotionally, and physically draining,' says Sheena, the main dancer. The pandemic also took its toll, according to main vocalist Maloi, preventing them from visiting their families. When AaBS-CBN lost its broadcast license in 2020 in a political spat, the group was spared the chopping block amid company layoffs.
Forbes Asia
In 2021, BINI released its title track 'Born to Win,' an anthem about empowerment, from its debut album, which has since racked up over 100 million streams on Spotify. The group's first solo concert in Cubao, one of Metro Manila's oldest commercial hubs, sold out in under two hours in 2024, prompting the addition of two more shows.
From then on, BINI raced to the top. Last year, it won Best Asia Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards and Billboard K Power 100's Voices of Asia award at its Seoul event. In March, Billboard Philippines named the eight members its Women of the Year as their top songs surpassed a billion streams on Spotify. BINI's most-viewed video on YouTube, 'Pantropiko,' which loosely translates to 'Tropical,' had amassed 105 million views at the end of April. 'Salamin, Salamin,' or 'Mirror, Mirror,' has attracted over 84 million views since its release last year.
Building an online presence also played a major role in their rise. 'At first, we were ignored, but then we noticed more public interest when we posted on social media' following the first album, says Mikha. The members shared their daily activities and thoughts, their favorite foods (pepperoni pizza, green mango with spicy shrimp sauce and stir-fried noodles, to name a few) and practical jokes (a video of Sheena making prank calls to Jhoanna and Aiah has over 2.4 million YouTube views).
BINI
In particular, they weren't afraid to describe their humble backgrounds and families' struggles. All eight members come from low to middle-income families in the provinces.
Two grew up without fathers; another two had fathers working overseas. Gwen briefly quit due to the rigorous routine, while Sheena lost her mother during training and Jhoanna's grandfather died. 'Our posts show who we really are,' says Aiah, 'and that's one reason our fans like us.'
Since its first album four years ago, BINI went on to release three more on pop themes like crushes, love and friendship. The group has also recorded some mature numbers, such as 'Karera,' with its message of resilience—and promises more. 'Our songs will evolve with our fans,' says Colet.
BINI is the only girl group to make this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list, while K-pop was represented by two boy bands.
South Korea's Stray Kids found global popularity by following their instincts, producing rock hits with a noisier, more industrial sound than the usual K-pop group. The 8-member group, formed in a reality TV show in 2017, debuted with their EP "I Am Not" in 2018, which quickly went platinum. Four years later, its EP "Oddinary" topped the Billboard 200, making Stray Kids the third only K-pop group to achieve that position, following boy bands BTS and SuperM. The group, included in 2023 on Time magazine's Next Generation Leaders list, performed in 2024 at the American Music Awards.
K-pop band Stray Kids at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards.
Also making waves is K-pop group Big Ocean, the first to be composed of members with hearing impairments: Kim Ji-seok, Lee Chan-yeon and Park Hyun-jin. Its agency, Parastar Entertainment, focuses on representing artists with disabilities. The group's vocals are recorded with the use of AI, and while performing on stage they wear special vibrating devices to help synchronize dance movements. The trio released the group's first mini album in November 2024 and have over one million Instagram followers.
Proving that physical disability is no barrier to excellence, paralympians from across the region demonstrated incredible athletic abilities and emerged victorious at recent global events.
Sheetal Devi became India's youngest Paralympic medalist after winning bronze in an archery team event at the Paralympics in Paris. Born without arms, Devi sits to hold the bow with her right foot, pulls the string taut with her right shoulder and then releases the string by unclenching her contracted jaw and shoulder. One of her coaches—inspired by another armless archer, Matthew Stutzman—helped create a special bow for her. Devi received the Arjuna Award, India's national sports prize, in 2023.
Sheetal Devi of India competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
From Afghanistan, Zakia Khudadadi made history last year as the first athlete on the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal. Khudadadi's rise started in 2016 when she won the African International Parataekwondo Championship representing Afghanistan and then qualified for the 2020 Paralympics. In 2020 she became the second woman from Afghanistan to compete in the Paralympic Games since the event started in 1960, although she had to flee Taliban-controlled Kabul to compete. Now on the Refugee Paralympic Team, Khudadadi took bronze in the women's 47kg category in Paris 2024.
Read our complete Entertainment & Sports list here – and be sure to check out our full Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025 coverage here.
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