Meet Chanty, the Filipino actress turned K-pop idol trainee: Chantal Videla is set to debut in girl group Lapillus and hosts a YouTube channel with her bandmate-to-be, Nonaka Shana

May 10 , 2022

Chantal Videla is a half-Filipino, half-Argentinian actress and upcoming K-pop idol. Photo: @itsmaria.chantal/Instagram

Videla isn’t the first non-Korean to join K-pop: Blackpink’s Lisa, 2PM’s Nichkhun, GOT7’s BamBam, NCT’s Ten and (G)I-dle’s Minnie are all from Thailand

Chanty will join Lapillus from MLD Entertainment, who also manages Momoland; she previously acted with Star Magic, which represented Liza Soberano and Kathryn Bernardo

K-pop isn’t limited to Korean listeners by any means – it has attracted a massive following from fans worldwide. And same goes for the talent. Although charisma and fluency in the language are certainly prerequisites, you don’t actually need to be of Korean descent to debut in a K-pop group. As groups from 2PM and Super Junior to Twice and Aespa have proven, members in the current K-pop landscape aren’t always Korean by blood.

K-pop idols are becoming more diverse, hailing from different Southeast Asian countries, from the Philippines to Malaysia. Photos: @tenlee_1001, @lalalalisa_m, @bambam1a, @min.nicha, @khunsta0624/Instagram

The past few years have opened doors for aspiring K-pop stars with different Southeast Asian backgrounds. Nichkhun of 2PM, BamBam of GOT7, Ten of NCT, Minnie of (G)-Idle, and Lisa of Blackpink– all hailing from Thailand – have proven the trajectory possible. Dita of Secret Number (Indonesia), Kriesha Chu (the Philippines) and Isaac of IN2IT (Malaysia) have followed suit.

The present marks an exciting time for many aspiring artists from Southeast Asia. While the information on new idols is typically scarce before their debut, there is one trainee from Momoland’s label, MLD Entertainment, who is expected to join its circle of successful Southeast Asian K-pop stars this year.

Chanty was first introduced as an MLD Entertainment trainee in November 2021. Photo: @MLD_AUDITION/Twitter

In November 2021, MLD Entertainment introduced one of their new trainees via a Twitter post with crayon-like doodles in the accompanying photo. In the centre of the image was a bright-eyed, beaming Chanty.

Chantal Videla has starred in multiple television series before her K-pop debut. Photo: @itsmaria.chantal/Instagram

However, this isn’t the first time the world has been introduced to Chanty. Before signing with MLD Entertainment, Chanty was known as Chantal Videla, an up-and-coming actress from the Philippines.

Chantal Videla is best known for her roles in Spirits: Reawaken (2018), Starla (2019) and Familia Blondina. Photo: @itsmaria.chantal/Instagram

Here’s everything you need to know about Chanty, the Filipino celebrity-turned-idol-trainee.

1. She is trilingual

Chantal Videla goes by the nickname Chanty. Photo: @itsmaria.chantal/Instagram

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