2018–2020: Formation and introduction In 2018, ABS-CBN launched the Star Hunt Academy program, a project led by entertainment head Laurenti Dyogi for the purpose of introducing Filipino talents in the international market. 250 auditionees ranging from ages 16–19 from different places in the Philippines were evaluated, from which the first set of male trainees were selected. It was initially planned to debut a 7-member idol boy group but was minimized to five. The final lineup ended with Akira, Gelo, JL, Mikki, and Nate. They were trained for two years under Filipino and
South Korean mentors from MU Doctor Academy. Vocal coach Kitchy Molina and Austrian-native dance coach
Mickey Perz were some of the notable Filipino mentors. On August 3, 2019, the five members were officially introduced as the Star Hunt trainees in the online pre-show of the Big Night of
Pinoy Big Brother: Otso through a performance. They have attended the 2019
Southeast Asian Games thanksgiving celebration. In May 2020, Dyogi released a dance practice video of Akira, Gelo, Mikki, and Nate dancing to
Seventeen's "
Let Me Hear You Say" to show their training progress. In the subsequent months, the academy has released vlogs of the trainees on
YouTube and performance videos on
Twitter. The group was also invited to perform on the "Happy Hallyu Day 4" which lasted from August 22 and 29. On October 18, BGYO as "SHA Boys" became part of the
''ASAP Natin 'To'' and performed
BTS' hit song "
On". On December 4, 2020, the official debut month of the group in January 2021 was announced, together with the contract signing with
Star Magic and record label
Star Music. On December 12, the group appeared on ''
It's Showtime'' and went viral with their performances of
Sarah Geronimo's hit songs "
Tala" and "
Kilometro".
2021-2024: Debut and early years The Light Era logo Ahead of their debut, Star Hunt Academy released a series of teasers for the group. On January 13, they revealed the group's official name, accompanied with its official logo. MU Doctor collaborated with South Korean producers Rogan & Ddank for BGYO's debut single "
The Light", released on January 29. The English lyrics were written by
Korean-American composer and songwriter Distract, and the
Tagalog lyrics written by the members themselves to "reflect their own story in the song". In March 2021, BGYO was featured in the Spring 2021 issue of ''
L'Officiel''. On March 31, the group was announced as "
Myx Spotlight Artist" for the month of April. On April 9, BGYO was revealed to record the official soundtrack of
iWantTFC's digital Philippine
romance comedy series ''
He's Into Her''. On April 21, BGYO performed on the
Wish 107.5 Bus with their debut single. On April 23, 2021, the second single "
He's Into Her" was released. On the same day, BGYO was added on the roster of
Spotify RADAR program. On May 21, the group's first collaboration single "
Feel Good Pilipinas", with
KZ Tandingan, was released. On May 17, BGYO participated in the 4th Season of
Coke Studio Philippines' "Itodo Mo Beat Mo" where they performed the choreographed rendition of Keiko Necesario's "
While We Are Young". Three days after, an original composition of BGYO and Necesario titled "
Runnin'" was revealed. On May 29, the group also took part on the virtual red carpet premiere of ''He's Into Her''. In June 2021, a virtual international fan meet called "BGYO Live Zoom Party" took place, where they performed "The Light", "He's Into Her", and a cover of the song "
Un Año" by Colombian singer-songwriter
Sebastián Yatra and Mexican pop rock band
Reik. They also got the chance to be interviewed on
SBS PopAsia on June 10. The group also made an appearance on the official debut of their sister group
Bini on June 11. BGYO embarked on their first global caravan named "
Feel Good Pilipinas Global Independence Day Caravan" along with various artists, which lasted from June 11 to 20. They also participated on "ALL FOR ONE (Canadian Multiculturalism Day): Celebrating Unity in Diversity", on June 26. In July 2021, BGYO fronted "The Music Issue" of PARCINQ Magazine with the tagline "P-POP POWER". On August 6, BGYO performed the theme song of ''He's Into Her'' at the show's The Benison Ball. On August 7, the group experienced their first ever performance on an award show at the
Myx Music Awards 2021. On August 20, BGYO released their sophomore single
The Baddest, with
Liza Soberano on the music video. On August 25, #BGYO was included on
Twitter's "Top Hashtags in the Philippines" for the first half of 2021. On August 28–29, the group was invited to perform on the "Happy Hallyu Day 5: A Virtual Fest". "
Kulay" was released on September 23 as a theme song of the
Miss Universe Philippines 2021 National Costume Competition. In October 2021, the group released their debut album
The Light, which includes "The Light", "The Baddest", "He's Into Her"; five new songs "When I'm with You", "Kundiman", "Sabay", "Fly Away" and "Rocketman", and four international versions of "The Light"—
Bahasa Indonesia,
Thai,
Spanish, and
Japanese. On November 6–7, the first ever sibling group concert in the
Pinoy pop history, "ONE DREAM: The Bini and BGYO Concert", took place. On November 12, the group took part in the official
Christmas theme song of
ABS-CBN's Christmas Station ID, entitled "Andito Tayo Para sa Isa't Isa". On November 21, a joint virtual fan meet with BGYO's sibling group Bini for their Indonesian and Thai fans, "Global Party Asia Tour", took place. On November 29, BGYO performed on
34th Awit Awards. In December 2021, BGYO appeared and performed on their first international award show at the
2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards, of which they were also a finalist in the "Best Theme Song" category for "He's Into Her". On December 3, the group plunged into their first international concert, "1MX
Dubai 2021 (Filipino Music Festival)", along with various artists in
Dubai World Trade Centre,
United Arab Emirates. In February 2022, "ONE DREAM: The Bini and BGYO Concert Version 2022" was re-broadcast. On February 27, the group performed in the grand finals of "Uplive World Stage". On March 19, BGYO appeared on "Saludo Excellence Awards 2021". On March 22, the group took part on "Star Magic's 'Beyond the Stars' Trade Event". On March 25, the release of the group's first original soundtrack for 2022,
Mahal Na Kita, took place. On April 1, the group's first collaboration single with their sister group Bini,
Up!, was released. On April 9–10, BGYO experienced their first
Araneta Coliseum performances via "
2022 PPOPCON: The Ultimate P-pop Fan Gathering". On April 10, BGYO appeared on the "ABS-CBN and PACE Media Congress Digital Caravan". On April 22, "
Best Time" was released. On May 1, they participated in
Xiaomi Fan Festival 2022. On May 2, the group participated on
Simply K-Pop Con-Tour as a guest. On May 25, they performed at the "4th Herons Heroes Awards -
University of Makati" and "A Light of Hope
Virtual Concert: for the Youth, their Moms and Educators". On May 28, they took part on the "Tarlac 149th Founding Anniversary". On June 5, they performed on the
PBA 47th Season - Opening. On June 6, they were recognized as the "Best International Artist" on the Korean star voting web application
Dong-A.com's "Idolpick (아이돌픽)" for seven consecutive weeks and hailed as the "Best Idol for the month of June", which gave them the opportunity to appear on several
digital billboards in
Seoul, South Korea. On June 14,
Netflix Philippines premiered their first variety show, "Alas Netflix", featuring BGYO in its first 3 episodes.
BE:US The release of "
Tumitigil ang Mundo" on July 13, 2022, marked a new chapter of BGYO's music career. The track is the first single on their upcoming sophomore album. The group also embarked on their first mall tour as BGYO, "Best Time with BGYO Mall Tour", which lasted from July to August 2022. On July 15, the group took part in the "TUGATOG: The Filipino Music Festival 2022" alongside other
Pinoy idol groups. The group played a part in
Nickelodeon's Bikini Bottom Bash, a birthday celebration for
SpongeBob SquarePants. BGYO also participated in a benefit concert on July 22, "BE YOU: The World will Adjust", together with
Red Velvet, Bini, and Lady Pipay in the
Mall of Asia. They are also part of "Star Magic 30th Anniversary Tour: Beyond The Stars" kick-off, supposedly they will participate on the United States leg of the tour in
California but, not materialized. On July 28, BGYO were announced to sing the original soundtrack of the
2022 television adaptation of
Mars Ravelo's Filipino superheroine
Darna, entitled "Patuloy Lang Ang Lipad". On August 3, they were revealed as one of the guest performers on the upcoming "HIH All Access: The He's Into Her Grand Finale Concert". On August 14, "
Patuloy Lang ang Lipad", was released. On August 15, BGYO's official light stick was revealed, named as "The Light". On September 2, BGYO took part in
Kumu is 4 U: A Birthday Concert. On September 5, the group embarked on their first-ever
Mindanao show,
TNT Saya Fest sa Tuna Festival. On September 8, the group took part in the
Lazada 9.9 Megasale Super Show. On September 13, BGYO performed
Tumitigil ang Mundo on
It's Showtime and spilled partial details on their upcoming sophomore album. In the last quarter of 2022, BGYO unveiled their sophomore album
BE:US with "Magnet" as the lead single and the album's key track, "PNGNP". The group also participated on "
EK's 27th Pre-Anniversary Concert:P-pop Day" (October 9), "
TNT Saya Fest sa Zamboanga Hermosa" (October 11), and "Mr. Music: The Hits of
Jonathan Manalo" (October 15). On October 20, "
Magnet" was officially released. On October 29, "Hallyuween 2022" took place; where the group performed
The Light,
The Baddest,
Kundiman, and Magnet. As part of their second album Be Us campaign, the group embarked on a US promo tour, which includes their visit at the
TikTok Headquarters in
Los Angeles, their performance on the
Wish USA Bus, and a street performance at
Times Square and
Union Square in
New York City. On November 19, the group was featured on
Myx Hits Different. On November 25, "
Tumitigil ang Mundo" was released as part of the
An Inconvenient Love Original Soundtrack.
Legal action On June 19, 2024, BGYO filed
cyberlibel and
unjust vexation complaints against netizens who have been spreading false information to attack their group.
2025-present: Self-titled EP, Headlines EP, and first solo concert On December 10, 2024, it was announced that BGYO will have their first
extended play (EP). The group's self-titled album was released on March 13, 2025, featuring their single "Divine". BGYO will have their first solo concert on October 4, 2025, in the
New Frontier Theater. The EP titled "Headlines" has been released on September 25, 2025, featuring singles "All These Ladies" and its title track. ==Artistry==