MNL48 (read as M.N.L. Forty-eight) is a Filipino idol girl group based in Manila, Philippines. Formed in 2018, they are the fourth international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (former), and Thailand's BNK48. The group is named after Manila, the capital of the Philippines. MNL48 is the only AKB48 sister group that debuted with exactly 48 members on its First Generation. Dubbed as "P-Pop (idol) Pioneers", MNL48 paved the way to the new era of Philippine pop idol industry and is known within the 48 Group as "Vocal Queens" for their singing ability. History 2016–2018: Formation On March 26, 2016, the formations of MNL48, BNK48, and TPE48 were announced at Minami Takahashi's concert. On October 13, 2017, Hallo Hallo Entertainment announced registration and audition tour dates for the group's first generation. The following month on November 10, Hallo Hallo Entertainment held the first audition for MNL48. In early 2018, a segment was hosted on It's Showtime by Anne Curtis, Billy Crawford, Karylle and Jhong Hilario which determined the members of the group's first generation. It was a segment in search of the ultimate all-female Filipino idol group whose name would be derived from its base city of Manila. It conducted nationwide auditions for women aged 15–20 years old to become sought-after "idols you can meet". Thousands of women took part in the audition, with only 200 qualifying to start the 13-week challenge rounds that tested their singing and dancing skills. From the Top 200, the aspirants were reduced to a Top 75 that faced public voting until the General Election using the MNL48-Plus App developed by Hallohallo Entertainment Inc. in partnership with ABS-CBN and one of the world's top multimedia, entertainment and IT agencies, AKS. From Top 75, only 48 women became the official members of the group. From the Top 48, there was a ranking system that followed AKB48's Senbatsu Sousenkyo concept. Top 33-48 were hailed as the Next Girls, the Top 17-32 as the Under Girls, and the Top 16 as the Senbatsu members. From the Top 16, 7 women secured the Kami 7 slots for performing as frontlining acts, joining AKB48 and all of its sister groups worldwide in concerts; the Kami 7 were also given international endorsement deals and an exclusive training program in AKS. From the Kami 7, the winner (as the Center Girl) of the general election became the face of