Written by Paolo Elwick
P-pop is currently enjoying a much-deserved moment in the mainstream spotlight thanks to the nation’s girl group BINI and pioneers SB19. While mostly positive, the increased levels of attention give the new generation of groups a different, much more nuanced, challenge to face: standing out in a scene that’s no longer just fighting for a seat at the table, but one competing to keep it. After a steady stream of singles released over the past year, five-member group VVINK is ready to step up to the plate with ‘It Starts With A Wink,’ a versatile debut album filled with personality and Filipino charm.
Built around the idea of a wink as a silent gesture of connection, the album’s foundation is approachable and relatable storytelling — something that the initial set of singles leading up to its release support. Whether it’s the lovestruck “Tulala,” the earnest anxiety of wanting someone to confess their love on “Kailan Ka Aamin,” or the hopeful, Aladdin-inspired “Tatlong Hiling,” VVINK leans into everyday emotions and experiences, making the album easy to relate to and even easier to sing along with.
That familiarity extends to the production, where VVINK builds their identity by proudly embracing Filipino sounds and reshaping them into something that’s their own. “Baduy,” their DJ Love-produced rendition of budots, shines the brightest by proudly embracing a genre that’s turned into a meme and often overlooked by mainstream pop while simultaneously reclaiming baduy as a badge of confidence. On the opposite end of the spectrum, “Ikaw Ikaw” takes a page out of emotional Filipino ballads with a relatively stripped-down instrumental, allowing tender and heartfelt lines like “Sa oras ng lungkot, ika’y yakap / Sa mga luha, may pag-asa / Sa’yong mga kamay / Pag-ibig ay damang dama” to pay tribute to loved ones who have supported them throughout the years. Then there’s “It’s a Rap,” a high-energy track that serves swagger through anthemic verses that flex the group’s achievements while remaining cognizant of the journey ahead. Together, these songs show a group that’s not simply borrowing from Filipino sounds, but confidently making them part of their own musical identity.
This versatility makes it all the more frustrating when the group’s songwriting settles for easy, formulaic writing. For example, the undeniably infectious and alive “Pag-ibig Fun” has a runtime mostly occupied by the repeating “fun, fun, fun, fun” and “one, one, one, one” refrains. While intentionally designed to be as catchy as possible, the repetition runs thin, leaving the song feeling less clever and not as playful. Unfortunately, similar moments appear elsewhere, where memorable production sometimes has to carry lyrics that can’t always keep up.
Still, ‘It Starts With A Wink’ succeeds because Angelika, Ayaka, Jean, Mariel, and Odri bring enough chemistry, charisma, and youthful energy to make the album feel unmistakably theirs. That’s what makes this debut so exciting. In a P-pop scene growing faster than ever, technical polish alone won’t separate one group from the other — but personality will. Luckily, VVINK seems to have lots of that already. So don’t blink; they’re only getting started.
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