BGYO’s “The Baddest” at Their Best

Photos Courtesy of BGYO/ ABS-CBN

After waves of cryptic teasers, P-pop group BGYO finally released the music video of their comeback single, The Baddest. If The Light was the lightning to a storm, The Baddest is the thunder that comes after it. Where lightning struck as an entryway to BGYO, thunder roared through this explosive comeback.

We’ve seen different sides to BGYO through their previous releases, but it’s never quite the scale of The Baddest. In the initial view, it’s easy to be mesmerized by the fancy production and effects. And rightfully so. While other songs showed uplifting themes and sweet images, The Baddest was more fierce and gruff, but not to the point of aggressive. With the futuristic, special agents theme to boot, it takes it up a notch—akin to an action film. It’s the most polished we’ve seen of BGYO. But behind the fanciful concepts, there are underlying meanings that go deep.

Photos Courtesy of BGYO/ ABS-CBN

The MV starts with the intro that establishes the atmosphere for the rest of the video—mystifying, supernatural, and dark. The BGYO members are then showcased into different roles: Gelo as “The Mastermind,” JL as “The Mad Scientist,” Akira as “The Faceless Man,” Nate as “The Illusionist,” and Mikki as “The MetaHuman,” who are all special agents of the Ace Elite Secret Service. These were initially teased through several character reveal teasers that ACEs took a shot at theorizing. Here, we see individual shots of the members acting in their respective roles with smooth transitions between each scene and the track’s beat to keep it moving.

The clever additions of the special effects and camera movements come out incredibly clean. It’s easy for this concept to look a bit cheesy, but The Baddest is far from that. Everything was perfectly executed to a T and didn’t feel oversaturated in the slightest. It was entirely well balanced, and with the catchy, fast-paced song, it keeps it going.

We are then treated to group shots of BGYO in two images: One shows them in coordinating white tracksuits in front of a multi-lighted and multi-colored stage, and another shows them in sharp and slick suits that feel reminiscent of the dapper stylings of spies like James Bond or Eggsy from Kingsman. These two images show the casual tracksuits as BGYO in training and the clean-cut suits as BGYO on a mission.

Midway through the MV, BGYO steps out of the headquarters and makes their way to an airport hangar. Here we see the Bakunawa, a great and frightening serpent-like dragon in Philippine mythology, hovering in the sky. For background, many pre-colonial tales are interchangeable in Bakunawa’s story, but the common storyline in the Visayan versions follows Bakunawa, amazed by the moon’s beauty, which would swallow moons whole. In the Bicolano version, Bakunawa was once a beautiful goddess who lived in the sea and was mesmerized by the moon’s beauty. After being rejected by the moon, Bakunawa transformed into the serpent-like creature and devoured Bulan, the representation of the moon. The moon’s sister, Haliya, had sworn to protect her brother Bulan and decided to fight off Bakunawa. These mythological tales of Bakunawa are commonly believed as an explanation for the eclipse.

And where do BGYO and The Baddest come in? Through the initial teasers, we saw a mysterious female figure acting as the head of the Ace Elite Secret Service. And throughout the MV, we only see glimpses of this figure in a control room organizing missions and guiding BGYO, reminiscent of Charlie in Charlie’s Angels. It is then revealed in the ending that the figure is the surprise feature of Liza Soberano, who is possibly acting as Haliya and taking revenge on Bakunawa. Her mysterious and looming figure is possibly because Haliya in mythology was said to have forged a mask of gold to hide her beauty.

But it gets better. With the addition of the Philippine mythology, it was revealed on BGYO’s official pages that each member represents the Philippine National Heroes. They each possess unique skills for their team and missions. With all that background and unique set of skills, it is up to BGYO to face Bakunawa as their enemy.

The Baddest is impressive in itself, but what makes it great is the multi-faceted concept it brings to the table. From the visuals and storyline down to song and dance performance, The Baddest sees BGYO at their best—their baddest. And speaking of the track, their low and deep voices, falsettos and high notes, and the ad-libs are another article altogether to speak on.

When BGYO said “go higher,” they truly meant it.

Watch the official MV of BGYO's The Baddest here.