Sisterhood comes in many forms, and for BINI and Agnez Mo, it came in the form of a remix.

The collaboration between the Indonesian hitmaker and the beloved Philippine girl group was released last October 3, 2024, adding two special verses to the chart-topping “Cherry On Top.” The two Southeast Asian stars initially met in Los Angeles in Enterprise Studios, then reconvened in Seoul, Korea for Billboard Korea’s K Power 100 event.

With these brief meetings, the two celebrated acts were able to form a tight bond, which eventually led to their collaboration on the “Cherry On Top – BiniMo Remix.” The exciting UK garage track features an entirely new and powerful verse from Agnez Mo, and a blitzing, yet almost hypnotic Tagalog rap from BINI’s Mikha, giving the smash hit a different flavor. Connecting their collective experiences as Southeast Asian acts making a name for themselves in the global market, the bond between the two collaborators evolved into a sisterhood.

In light of this, Billboard Philippines sat down with Agnez Mo and BINI to delve into the details of the production behind “Cherry On Top – BiniMo Remix” and their plans (and manifestations) for future collaborations.

Billboard Philippines: First and foremost, congratulations on the release of the BiniMo Remix of “Cherry On Top”! Now that it’s out, how does it feel for the rest of the world to able to listen to it?

Agnez Mo: Honestly, I can only speak on my behalf, and some of the friends that I have over here in L.A. as well, I think. You know, some of my friends who happen to be Filipino-American, were very excited when they found out I had a project with BINI. It’s very unique, because I do things that cross any bridges or gaps you could think of, like age gaps, culture gaps, country gap – any boundaries, you know. As long as the music is good, I do believe that everybody will end up listening to it, no matter where you are. Obviously, “Cherry On Top – BiniMo Remix” is the product of that. I’m just very excited about being able to show up for these girls for sure.

There’s a lot of Southeast Asian pride packed into this collaboration, was that the intention?

Agnez Mo: I think, for me, because I think, not just me, I believe that BINI also have the same vision when it comes to collaborations where we’re picky in a sense that, we wanna make sure that when we put out a project together, it’s not simply a business transaction. It’s also a bigger message with us representing Asia, especially Southeast Asia. The music that we like, and I obviously really like these girls, so the connection is not just on the surface, it’s not just a business decision, it’s not management – It’s really us wanting to support each other and wanting to show up for each other. I think it’s always been the number one priority in my career. I want to show up for the people in my life, and vice versa, those people who like me will show up for me. That’s kind of how we bring everybody together.

What was it like bringing this collaboration to life? Give us three fun facts about the creation of this remix.

BINI’s Mikha: Fun fact, the Tagalog rap was written by me and another person, Coach Anna, our voice coach. She doesn’t usually write, but being our voice coach, she had no choice but to help us (laughs). I think it gave [the song] a different flavor. Most, I think, like the Tagalog rap more than the English rap, because I feel like it does represent the Filipino language, and yes, it adds a different flavor.

Agnez Mo: I think it’s more about the making of the music video because obviously, both of us, at that time, we were done with the recording and everything was being mixed. I was busy with my schedule and BINI were also busy with their schedule. But, we wanted to make sure that when we put it out, there’s a visual attached to it, we didn’t want to put it out for the sake of putting it out. There’s gotta be a visual (element) that captures the essence that we both shared with each other during the recording sessions.

So, we both brainstormed some creative ideas, between me and some of their team members and some of my team members, as well. We found this very amazing, kind of cute story where they fly to Bali, I fly to the Philippines, so we don’t really meet each other – which, by the way, I think serves as a manifestation of us maybe performing live together in the Philippines, and also in Indonesia in 2025. It’s kind of a manifestation that we’re trying to put out to the world.

Another fun fact is that when I was done recording, one of my team members was there with a camera who captured what happened during the recording. It was supposed to be kind of like a “behind the scenes,” it wasn’t supposed to be part of the music video. So, it was just me recording the song, like “I just wanna have fun!” You know, with the music and I was lipsyncing to it, the camera was following me, and we didn’t know it was gonna make it to the music video. But I think it’s great that the editor and the creative directors, everybody kinda saw that as a part of the fun element that we wanted to convey to both of our fanbases, BLOOMs and AGnation.

From the overall vibe of how you talk about your creative process, it’s really giving me a sense of like a long-distance friendship, almost. How would you both describe the connection you have?

BINI’s Aiah: I think anything long distance is hard, like right now, we’d wish to have this interview face-to-face or in person, but I think there’s also a cute part to it because even if we’re apart, we’re from different countries, in some ways, we get to connect with each other, and for us, that’s music.

Agnez Mo: I think, I’ve always loved the idea of collaborating with people that others least expected. This whole collaboration came out as a surprise to both of our fanbases. We’re very grateful for all the love and support we’ve been getting, from AGnation and also BLOOMs. Again, I do think that this further proves the fact that you get to collaborate and as long as you work with people you love and you like, you’ll make it work. You can definitely make it work.

The music video says it all, we’re in totally different zones. We weren’t even in the same country, but again, we made it work because we definitely want to be able to present our connection to our fans, wherever they are. The sister-to-sister, sister-to-big-sister connection was strong enough for us to make that happen.

For both BINI and Agnez Mo, what were the most important lessons you’ve learned from working with each other in creating this remix?

BINI’s Maloi: Never be scared to try something new. It’s the first time we’ve collaborated with an Indonesian artist, and with Miss Agnez Mo, so it’s really new for us, it’s a fresh start for us. It’s the first step for us to be stepping into the global market. So, thank you to Agnez Mo for guiding us, we feel like family, and you’ve got our backs – all of your advice, all the things you’ve said to us, it really stuck to us and we will really treasure it and cherish it, and apply it to the work we do. Thank you so much.

Agnez Mo: Thank you so much, girls. When I see you guys, it always reminds me of myself, as well, especially myself when I was about 17 to 19 years old. I just wanted to be sure that I could be there you, and show up for you, and support each other. I’ve probably mentioned this a couple of times, in the music industry, I think people forget that music itself is very genuine and honest. It’s very loving and it all comes out from a very vulnerable place in our hearts.

I think, sometimes, because the business side or the industry side is very, very cutthroat, a lot of people seem to forget that the first element and the most important essence in music is to be truly yourself and being vulnerable enough to share, not just your triumphs, but your mistakes and your failures. I feel like, obviously, I wouldn’t be the first person to say that I don’t know everything and I’m still here to learn, but I think that for as long as we got each other and as we support each other, all the projects coming out of our bodies and our souls, it has to be genuine, I think the project will go well regardless.

It’s been very, very great to work with you guys. Cherish what you have now, and what’s next to come. There will be a lot of struggles coming your way and also a lot of triumphs coming your way, but always enjoy the process no matter what.

You guys have such a sweet dynamic! So much chemistry in this room, this virtual room.

Agnez Mo: (laughs) Yeah!

If given the chance to create an original song together, what kind of song do you want to create and what would it be about?

BINI’s Colet: If we would write a song, the concept in my mind for it would be like a theme song or an anthem for both countries; Indonesia and the Philippines about the culture, the similarities that we have. I want it to be like a friendship song.

Agnez Mo: Yeah! I love that, I love that. I love that idea, I think we could even write something where it’s like a conversation between sisters, right? ‘Cause I think when you have friends and when you have sisters that you trust in your life, you vent! You vent to your sister, you vent to your friend. It could be a very unique and relatable song to be put out for both our home countries.

BINI’s Aiah: Hopefully, we can also incorporate our different dialects. Because, aside from Tagalog and English, we also speak different dialects, and it’d be great imagining how we would not only merge the bond and the friendship, but also our cultures together. Yeah, that’d be cool because we would be able to tap a lot of people and they would feel seen because of the dialects that we would include.

Agnez Mo: I love that!

From what I’ve heard, you’re planning to perform this live in 2025, what can we, as fans, anticipate for this exciting live rendition?

BINI’s Jhoanna: Of course, performing this song live with Agnez Mo is something we’d love to do in the future, but for now, we’re just excited to hear the screams of our supporters. Hopefully, hopefully, as early as next year, (we can perform together).

Agnez Mo: Fingers crossed! Manifesting it!

Listen to “Cherry On Top – BiniMo Remix” here: