MANILA – Former Kapamilya actress Chantal Videla stepped into the K-pop spotlight on Monday as her group, Lapillus, debuted with the single “Hit Ya!”.

Lapillus is the latest act launched by MLD Entertainment, home to fellow girl group Momoland of the hit song “Bboom Bboom.”

The Filipino-Argentinian Videla is among the team’s six members, which also includes three Koreans (Bessie, Seowon and Haeun), Japanese leader Shana, and Chinese-American Yue.

In a recent Zoom conference with Filipino journalists, Videla – who goes by the stage name Chanty – said the members’ diverse backgrounds gave Lapillus an edge from other K-pop bands.

“One of the charming points of our group is that we’re so diverse, we come from different backgrounds, we speak many languages so if we go to a certain country, we could communicate with our fans there,” Chanty said.

“Each member [also] has different colors and styles, and because of that we’re able to create a very unique vibe and concept. We’re also doing our best to be able to try out as many concepts as we possibly can,” she added.

“I kind of feel nervous,” Shana, known for participating in the 2021 survival show “Girls Planet 999,” said about the debut. “I’m also excited. Now that we finally debuted, I just want to keep doing my best and show everything that I can do.”

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Shana explained that Lapillus takes its name from a Latin word that refers to “a special stone or jewel that shines different colors, depending on the direction of light.”

“Because of that, we want to share the message into the world to find your own color, find confidence, to dream,” she said in the same media conference.

Debut single “Hit Ya!” shows the members’ individual “charms,” and features “a really strong performance and very addictive hook,” said Bessie.

Shana said the group looks up to 2NE1, the iconic girl group whose music and styling leaned mostly towards hip-hop, veering away from the usual “cute” and “sexy” image that most female K-pop artists did at the time.

“On stage, they are so confident and they’re able to express themselves really well and that inspires us to do the same,” she said of the now-disbanded act that included Sandara Park, also a former Philippine-based actress.

While Lapillus is focusing its promotions in the Korean market for now, the group is still setting its sights on conquering the world stage, said Chanty.

“Since we just debuted, we’re gonna focus on our promotions here in Korea, but our company as well as Lapillus, we have this desire to go more global and meet our global fans as well,” she said.

Chanty even hinted at the possibility of including Filipino lines in the group’s songs.

“For now, we only have English lines with the lyrics. Maybe in the long run, it could be possible [to include Filipino lines]. Who knows?” she said.

Chanty is among a handful of performers who are of Filipino descent in the K-pop industry. Other half-Filipino idols include soloist Kriesha Chu and Belle of the girl group Cignature.

Lapillus is the first new girl group from MLD Entertainment since the agency debuted Momoland in 2016. The company also launched its first boy band, T1419, last year.

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