Star Hunt Academy

Star Hunt Academy

Abbreviation	SHA
Formation	2018
Type	Artist development and P-pop training program
Parent organization	Star Hunt (ABS-CBN Corporation)

Star Hunt Academy (SHA) is a Philippine artist-development and P-pop training program established in 2018 as part of ABS-CBN's Star Hunt talent-scouting initiative. The programme provides structured training for aspiring performers in singing, dancing and stage performance, alongside fitness, personality development, life coaching and other aspects of artist development.

The academy's training model incorporated elements of the South Korean idol-development system alongside instruction from Filipino coaches. Its first generation of trainees produced the Filipino pop groups Bini and BGYO, whose members trained under the programme before making their respective debuts in 2021.

History

Establishment and first trainee intake

Star Hunt was launched in 2018 as an audition initiative for prospective performers. Selected applicants subsequently underwent training through Star Hunt Academy. Auditions for the trainees who would eventually form Bini and BGYO were held during the same period, with group training beginning the following year.

A 2026 retrospective by Forbes reported that television executive Laurenti Dyogi proposed establishing a training camp for young performers modelled on the structured development system used by South Korean pop agencies. The initial nationwide selection involved approximately 250 auditionees between the ages of 16 and 19 from different parts of the Philippines.

For the prospective girl group, approximately 250 hopefuls were considered before the pool was reduced through auditions, boot camps and further evaluations. Twelve female trainees eventually entered the programme, from whom eight were selected for the final line-up of Bini.

The male trainees underwent a similar selection process. The trainees who eventually became BGYO initially trained as part of a larger group before the line-up was reduced to five members.

A 2024 retrospective by PEP.ph reported that applicants in the original Star Hunt Academy selection process were not initially informed of the specific group project for which they were being considered. The wider Star Hunt auditions were also used to scout prospective talents for other television programmes, while selected idol trainees proceeded through additional workshops and evaluations.

COVID-19 pandemic

Training continued during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. In 2020, the academy's trainees continued their performance training while also attending school online.

The pandemic affected activities associated with the trainees' preparations and planned debuts. Their development before and during this period was later included in the reality documentary series One Dream: The Bini & BGYO Journey, which followed their progression from Star Hunt Academy through the formation and launch of Bini and BGYO.

Resumption of auditions

In April 2024, Star Hunt Academy announced the resumption of in-person auditions after they had been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. The renewed search was intended to identify prospective trainees who could form the next generation of P-pop performers following Bini and BGYO.

The resumption was also independently reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which described the search as being for a new generation of artists and idol trainees. The auditions formed part of a broader Star Hunt search conducted in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Applicants for Star Hunt Academy were required to be between 13 and 25 years old. The first round of auditions was scheduled for Metro Manila on April 27 and 28, followed by searches in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with virtual auditions also planned.

Billboard Philippines also noted that footage from the academy's earlier auditions, boot camps and trainee activities had been released online.

Training and development programme

Star Hunt Academy was designed as a multidimensional artist-development programme rather than solely as a vocal and dance school. Its curriculum included voice and dance classes, performance arts, fitness and nutrition, personality development, life coaching, counselling and social-media workshops.

During the first generation of trainees, weekday training could last eight hours or more per day. The trainees also continued their formal education through online schooling while participating in the programme.

The academy combined Filipino performance instruction with elements of South Korea's idol-training system. The trainees worked with Filipino and South Korean coaches as part of their vocal, dance and performance training. Forbes later described the programme as having been conceived as a structured training camp influenced by the Korean pop-development model.

The academy's use of Filipino and Korean training systems has also been discussed in academic research on contemporary P-pop.

The programme included both group rehearsals and specialised training intended to prepare the trainees for work as professional recording and performing artists. Billboard Philippines described the trainees as having been trained under an "idol system", with the top-performing trainees subsequently selected for the groups that became Bini and BGYO.

Both groups underwent extended periods of training before their respective debuts. BGYO trained for approximately two years, while Bini similarly spent about two years undergoing intensive training before entering its pre-debut period.

Management and training staff

Star Hunt Academy was developed under the broader Star Hunt talent-development programme. The academy employed Filipino and international coaches for its artist-development programme. During Bini's original training period, Kitchy Molina and Anna Graham served as vocal coaches, while choreographer Mickey Perz provided dance training. The trainees also received additional instruction from coaches associated with South Korea's MU Doctor Academy.

BGYO similarly received vocal training from Molina and dance training from Perz during its pre-debut period. The Philippine Star reported that the members underwent voice lessons with Molina, dance training with Perz and additional instruction from South Korean coaches during their development as performers.

First trainee cohort and group formation

The academy's first major artist-development project involved separate groups of male and female trainees who underwent an extended selection and training process before being launched as professional P-pop groups. In a 2022 overview of emerging Philippine pop acts, Rappler identified Star Hunt Academy as the programme that launched both BGYO and Bini in 2021.

The academy's role in launching BGYO and Bini has also been noted in academic literature on the development of contemporary P-pop.

BGYO

The male trainees were initially known publicly as the Star Hunt Academy Boys or SHA Boys.

The members spent approximately two years in training before being launched as BGYO. The group made its official debut in January 2021 with "The Light".

Bini

Eight female trainees were selected from the academy's original pool to form Bini.

Bini's formation through Star Hunt Academy has also been documented in academic research on the group's music and representation.

Before their official debut, the group released a remake of Ryan Cayabyab's "Da Coconut Nut" as a pre-debut single in 2020. Bini formally debuted in June 2021 following several years of auditions, training and preparation.

In media

Footage documenting Star Hunt Academy's auditions, boot camps and trainee activities was released online during the development of its first generation of performers.

The academy and its trainees later became central to the nine-episode reality documentary series One Dream: The Bini and BGYO Journey in 2021. The documentary follows the trainees from the academy's audition and boot-camp stages through their training, evaluations, respective group debuts and preparations for One Dream: The Bini and BGYO Concert.

The academy's early selection and training process was later revisited in media coverage concerning Bini's development. A 2024 PEP.ph report on the documentary BINI Chapter 1: Born to Win, for example, discussed the original Star Hunt Academy auditions, the selection of the group's members and workshops conducted during the trainee period.

See also

• P-pop movement

References

• Aguilar, Justfer John D. (2024). "Women Empowerment: Isang Kritikal na Diskursong Pagsusuri sa mga Awitin ng Grupong Bini". International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research and Innovation. 2 (2): 257–274. doi:10.17613/8eec-y191.
• Buñag, Karla Kate M. (2024). A Study of Filipino Gen Zs Residing in the Greater Manila Area's Perception of P-Pop's Potential as a Global Phenomenon (Capstone/Special Project). University of the Philippines Open University.
• Vanguardia, Macflor Angelnina D.; Borras, Agatha Andrea F.; Olegario, Nathan Eron A.; Liwanag, Leslie Anne L. (2025). ""Representing a country of multiethnic voices": Ang kontradiskurso ng grupong Alamat laban sa monokultural at kolonyal na nasyonalismo na umiiral sa Pilipinas". Plaridel. doi:10.52518/2025-11vaboolli.