[ORβIT/BUGVEL/HICO] 220518

ORβIT x BUGVEL x HICO
Embarking on their Dream Journey together with their friends
“DREAM PASSPORT” is an agency where the 3 artists ORβIT, HICO and BUGVEL are signed to. It was decided that the live shows “Dream Gate 01” where this “Doripasu family” will come together in one place will be held! What kind of united stage will they show after overcoming the boundaries of their groups? We asked them, who deepened their team work towards the live shows, about their thoughts about each other and the future they set their eyes on.

JUNE (ORβIT)
Born 1996.11.23, from Tokyo
JUNE is motivated and excited ahead of the first lives with an audience “Dream Gate 01”.
“After all, lives with an audience are completely different from online ones. At an online live, you perform towards a camera, so you barely feel that you are being watched. But I want some kind of reaction, even if it is just a nod. I believe that the true charms of lives are the connection with the audience, so I am looking forward to truly feeling this finally. It will be the first time to be seen directly as a member of ORβIT, so I’m motivated. I hope that everyone can enjoy it even a bit.”
In the future he is facing there are always EαRTH.
“Right now I think it is an environment where it is easy to support us as there is a gap in our activities. I want to follow BUGVEL’s footsteps, who release music frequently, while also having solo activists at the same time. Of course I want to release my own music, but I want to try to write music for the other artists of the agency. I can see my abilities more clearly and gain more experience. And I hope to make use of this in ORβIT again. Until the pausing members return, I want to make a bigger improvement than so far. Other than this, I want to do something related to games. I would like to do Let’s plays on open spaces like YouTube. Also, recently I’m into muscle training. I want to train my body for the lives and wouldn’t it be simply cool if I could take off my clothes at the shows? Maybe… I can show it next year? Please don’t get your hopes up, just wait and see (laughs).

RAIRA (BUGVEL)
born 2000.5.9, from Nara
Raira started to aspire becoming an artist after seeing an EXILE concert to which his older sister took him. It seems like he was unintentionally close to tears when he saw the fans in front of him at the debut showcase.
“My feelings rose when I was waiting at the wing of the venue. But only afterwards I actually felt that I debuted. When I stepped on stage I switched my mind over to “you have to do it in a cool way”, so I had no room to think before. But after some time when I walked alone at night I suddenly felt it. Step by step I am making my dreams come true. You are working hard on it. is what I thought to myself.”
He overcame the long time before the debut by his inherited positivity.
“I perceived this time as one to rediscover myself and this kept my motivation. Rather, I thought of it as I got time to raise my standards, as I thought about how to show myself, read books and I had a fulfilling time. In the past I used to be someone who did not read books, but back then it was the first time I visited a bookstore (laughs). I read some self development books and learnt the theories behind what I was feeling so far. I was reaffirmed once more that I am doing the right thing. I am the type of person who wants time to prepare for everything, so I practiced until I mastered each song and dance and I believe I could show the results of this at the showcase. This year is our debut year, so I want to rush through 2022 keeping up this spirit. My homework is the talk! There are a lot of people in BUGVEL who do not do it properly so I have to (laughs). I want to be able to bring out the members’ good sides more and more with my talking.”

GUNO (BUGVEL)
born 2000.5.8, from Taiwan
GUNO made his debut as a member of BUGVEL in Japan after spending a life as a trainee in South Korea. He seems still busy as he is still not used to both Japanese and daily life yet.
“Everything about South Korea and Japan is completely different. The training methods, the way recordings work, and also how the schedules are made, everything is completely different. Hence, it is a bit hard to get used to it right now. I am still mixing up everything in my head.”
Thanks to his friendly and innocent personality he became friends with the fellow DREAM PASSPORT artists in no time.
“I am still not good at Japanese, but I can speak English and Korean so it is okay. When I was in South Korea there was no one around me who spoke Chinese and I was always on my own until I learnt Korean. But now it is fun! I was so happy when we cooked and ate hotpot together at the dorm! However, I came to Japan on 31th March and the showcase was on the next day so we only had one night to match. This was so hard.”
The Corona pandemic separated him from the members for a long time. It seems that his beloved dog Jessi was his emotional support while he was alone in Taiwan.
“She is just a shiba inu, but Jessi supported me. I cried a lot when I came to Japan. My goal for this year is to bring Jessi to Japan! I became friends with someone who has a dog from downstairs, so my dream is to take a walk together once Jessi is here. As for BUGVEL, it is to complete the activities for the new song “HEARTBREAKER”. The release date is during the “DREAM GATE 01” tour but I will do my very best for both!”

MAHIRO (BUGVEL)
born 2001.3.28, from Osaka
Singing, Dancing, Rapping, Songwriting… Certainly, the term “allrounder” is perfect for MAHIRO who made his long awaited debut in March.
“I started to chase my dream during highschool and had various experiences also at auditions. Fate let me become a member of BUGVEL, but the pandemic made me unable to appear in public. It had been very tough, but thanks to the members, my family and friends encouraging me I could do my best. Sometimes I had some negative feelings, too, but I decided that “I would find success in this life for sure” inside of me. For example, if this was a “Crayon Shin-chan” movie, I would be Shin-chan. Even when Shin-chan is in trouble, he stays happy. I believe I also have this kind of luck.”
He has been involved in the production of all BUGVEL songs that has been released.
“I bring all my experiences, abilities and intuitions into the songs. I hope this will reach everyone. In the case of “Saiun” my sensitivity and what I feel because of this time is squeezed into the song.I wrote the beat, made the melody and the lyrics from scratch. I put in some flavor of the artists that inspire me such as LEX, Crush or DEAN who I often listen to lately. Because I am not good with expressing my emotions I hope to convey my feelings through the songs.”
He has set his eyes on a wide field of activities other than the group activities.
“Because I am an artist, I want to work even harder than now on singing, rapping, dancing and song writing. I hope this will lead to acting or model jobs. I want to make this company big and be a source of pride for my family and friends.”

HICO
born 2001.7.7, from Osaka
HICO has unfolded his very own world view as the sole solo artist of the agency. The decision to do solo activities was influenced by uncompromising stoicness.
“In the beginning HICO thought it would be better to be in a group, but isn’t it important to work together in regard to singing and dancing in a group? HICO felt he would compromise. As HICO is good at dancing, there was the chance he would feel out of sync with the others and on the other hand HICO might be unable to catch up with singing in which he had no experience. So he wanted to fight to the uttermost of his abilities.”
How did he refine his sensibility?
“It might be often that he gets his ideas when he is not thinking about everything. When he looks out of the car window or when he is just watching some movie. If it were now, it would be the grain of the wood of this desk. (While tracing it with his hand). He would come up with this wavy hand movement. Everything that happens in front of him is something necessary for him.”
In the one and half years of his activities, he seems to have also felt improvement.
“HICO feels he has improved in singing. When he recorded for the first time, the staff said “How should we let him sing this” and he was very confused (laughs). He met this person after a year again and the staff told him “You have become really good”. The fans told him the same and it was encouraging to hear. His future goal is to dance at various places such as in a car or the sea or in an elevator. Also, HICO hopes that his performances make people smile and say “I’m gonna do my best tomorrow”.”
TN: Since HICO uses HICO instead of boku or other pronouns that can be translated to “I”, it seemed the wisest decision to let him talk in the third person in English, too.

SHUNYA (ORβIT)
born 1997.5.18, from Tokyo
SHUNYA said “I’m looking more forward to being able to be face to face with EαRTH than anything else”.
“I watched both BUGVEL’s showcase and HICO’s liveshows, but the way the audience seemed happy, how they waved their hands as they were not allowed to speak yet made me both smile and envious…. When I saw that, it fired me up even more as “I want to stand on stage as soon as possible!”. ORβIT had those online, our live shows last year and there was a sense of accomplishment, but after all I strongly felt that sadness of being unable to perform in front of everyone in reality. So, I am really looking forward to being able to meet EαRTH at “Dream Gate 01” finally. I want to convey my gratitude through the performance to everyone who supported us in the time we could not meet."
Those are the dearly awaited first lives with an audience as ORβIT, but he feels regret about the fact that they will stand on stage as 5 members and not 7 ones.
“In the time where YOUNGHOON-san and HEECHO-san are absent, I want to catch up even a bit. So that they will tell me “You improved!” when they return. Yet after all the most important thing is to protect the place where they will return to. Personally, I want to create a solo song. I do not have one yet, so I want to write a whole song with just my voice and I hope to leave it as an accomplishment of these two years. I like bright pop songs, so I also want my solo song to be one that leaves you energized after listening. I want to make a song that gives everyone energy who listens to it.”

MINATO (BUGVEL)
born 1999.12.26, from Shiga
MINATO commented with a huge sense of ambition that “I just made the first step towards my dream, so I need to work harder.”
“I am very happy that we were able to do the showcase and I am really thankful to the people cheering for us. They made boards and such for us and I learnt from them. I want to be more particular about both performances and visuals. It is still a long way until we are a group like I admire us to be. I want to continue to absorb everything with greed.”
On the other hand he seems to feel an effect of his own growth.
“I think I am moving forward in the direction I want to go. I like the passion of Japanese rap and I especially admire Jin Dogg-san, ralph-san and Leon Fanourakis-san. While my voice has a ravenous feeling, I want to sing like Jin Dogg-san from time to time. I dislike my singing voice, but I started visiting a voice trainer and the CEO praised my singing, so I have a bit of confidence in this regard now (laughs)."
And when we ask him for his goals?
“Actually, I am the type who becomes distracted when he achieves his goal. Hence, now I do not want to decide on one yet. However, I have an aim. I want to actively visit other countries, such as GUNO’s home Taiwan and Thailand which we had visited for “JAPAN EXPO THAILAND 2022”. Personally, I want to do a solo rap. Also, I want to draw pictures! I like the “now”, so I imagine it would be nice to draw what I’m feeling right now and share it with everyone.”

TOMO (ORβIT)
born 1996.12.19, from Fukuoka
TOMO started to desire to have the opportunities to meet the fans directly even more than before after watching HICO’s and BUGVEL’s events with an audience.
“I felt ‘So this is how the view with all the fans look like’ and the wish of wanting to have lives with an audience became stronger. If it had not been for Corona, we would surely have done it long ago. Still, I’m happy that this dream comes true with the “Dream Gate 01” events in which all the agency’s artists appear together. Of course, there is some sadness that HEECHO-san and YOUNGHOON-san are not there, but we are active under the major premise of singing our songs in front of everyone, so I am looking forward to it a lot. It is a family concert, so there might also be people who did not know us before, but I hope to fully involve them, charm them with our performance and make them think that ORβIT is amazing.”
They might be 5 members right now, but the awareness that ORβIT are 7 members does not waver.
“It does not change that ORβIT is made of 7 members, but we have to search for something that only the 5 of us can do. I feel I want to do solo activities just like YUGO is doing his best at the musical. Each one of us is doing his best in what they can do and I hope to create a synergistic effect. Sure enough I want to compete in singing. Lately I’m often thinking “This melody could fit YUGO” or “It would sound nice with SHUNYA sang it” while writing my own songs. So, I’m also considering a form of activities in which I provide music for others.”

YUGO (ORβIT)
born 2000.12.13, from Saitama
“Dream Gate 01” will be the first concerts with an audience for ORβIT. What is the state of mind of ORβIT ‘s maknae (youngest one) YUGO?
“I learnt a lot from watching HICO’s live show and BUGVEL’s showcase. They were shining when they went on stage, weren’t they? At the end of BUGVEL’s showcase, they really looked good. I think this is because we enjoy this from the bottom of our hearts and place importance on entertaining the audience while we want to look out for our own enjoyment."
ORβIT are currently active as 5 members, but the future on which YUGO is focussing on is bright.
“Exactly because the two are not here, I want to increase our challenges. The atmosphere changes and I want to challenge songs. It would be interesting to release freshness or refreshness.I try to perceive it positively, but sure enough I miss them~. It suddenly comes into my mind and I end up sending a LINE message “How are you doing?”. But in order to protect the place where they belong, we have to work hard.”
Only progress. Right now he is challenging a musical on his own.
“I feel how big the presence of the members is. For example, when there is an interview with the 7 of us, I am not a big talker. There are a lot of big talkers (laughs). But for interviews in relation to the musical I am alone. I am doing my best while showing spontaneity. I want to learn more about acting and try non musical acting. It is very interesting, as when you do acting, you get to know thoughts that you do not have and you get deeper into the essence of the story. Also I like photographs, so I want to take a lot of pictures of everyone’s real selves. I hope to make a photo exhibition eventually!"

KOSHIN (BUGVEL)
born 2001.10.22, from Hyogo
KOSHIN said “It was tough as we hardly could come together with GUNO-kun”.Yet, in the meantime, he worked steadily hard on what he could.
“I was thinking that I could brush up my singing and dancing somehow. It might be that I always thought about it when there was no lesson or practice. Other than this, I also challenged song writing while MAHIRO-kun taught me. But sure enough I felt anxious. This is the exact reason why the showcase was a happy time. I was so happy that GUNO-kun was able to come. We only had time to practice the day before, but I was moved that we were able to dance together even if it was only for “Saiun”. I was the one who came up with the choreo. I believe it is something that can move both us and our fans.”
These efforts from KOSHIN are steadily bearing fruit.
“When I am talking with the fans at the online talks for example, there are people telling me “You became good at singing.” I felt that I was able to improve little by little. I aim to be like SHINee’s Jonghyun-san. I received advice from my voice trainer and I keep on practicing while imitating it. I think I became a bit better in showing my dancing. I started to think about a way to look cooler than when I was a dancer. I want to continue to do activities that are typical of us. BUGVEL’s strength is that we can show a mature side in our rather intense songs while we have some childish side as our average age is young. We will do our best to make the most of it and to make our first goal to stand on a big stage."

YOONDONG (ORβIT)
in KOREA
*YOONDONG was photographed in Korea due to his travel schedule.
born 1995.2.19, from South Korea
In the present where HEECHO and YOUNGHOON are absent, YOONDONG is the oldest one in DREAM PASSPORT, both in name and reality.
“When your life is long, you can have various experiences, right? For now, I ended up being the oldest uncle (laughs). Along with my juniors increasing, I realized my own age. Whenever I’m called “Onii-san” (Big brother) or “YOONDONG-san” or treat me as the oldest, I feel old. As I am still in Korea, I feel apologetic for being the only one apart from everyone but… I want to go to Japan and meet everyone as soon as possible. And, I want to merge the training as soon as possible. I do not have any advice for now, but those might appear naturally while we actually meet and train together or on the contrary everyone could be too good and I won’t be able to say anything. I do not know this yet.”
He says there is both happiness and sadness in going on stage as ORβIT during “Dream Gate 01”.
"There is sadness and loneliness in meeting EαRTH as 5 members but… I am very happy to be able to meet them directly in the Corona pandemic and there is a lot of excitement. I hope that we will do our best with HICO and BUGVEL together and that we can make a show that is memorable for everyone. It would be the best if we could make them think ORβIT is also cool with 5 members. ORβIT as 7 members is taking a little break, but we want to show a lot of activities as 5 members, too, and maybe there will be also my solo song. I am a person who likes singing and performing, so if I did a solo song I want to do the kind where you sing and dance."

We want to muddle the fans of the 3 groups!

TOMO X SHUNYA X MINATO X RAIRA
Friends who respect each other exactly because they are different

On the occasion of the “Dream Gate 01” events where all groups of the agency DREAM PASSPORT will perform, the exchange between TOMO, SHUNYA, MINATO and RAIRA thrives more than before. How do they see each other’s group right now?
SHUNYA: I made the cover design for “bad guy” so I participated in the preparatory meetings, but the way they decide on songs is completely different from us. In ORβIT it happens often that we clash like “I think this is good.” “I dislike that”. This doesn’t happen in BUGVEL?
MINATO: It does not. We all listen to different music, but when it comes to deciding on our songs we are consistent.
RAIRA: From our perspective ORβIT-san only has things we admire.
MINATO: They are too amazing because even if they receive a song just the day before the recording, they have the quality that makes you think “How many days did they practise that?”. Furthermore, before I made my debut I saw ORβIT-san as a rival I want to surpass. But they took care of us a lot including the cover shooting and the recording. I thought I was such an idiot and that I was still a brat. I normally do not say things like this, but I am really grateful.
TOMO: You are (laughs)
SHUNYA: On the contrary, I panicked that BUGVEL would surpass us when they debuted.They have a greedy motivation and enthusiasm and I got inspired by them. It is really great to have each other! We have not written a track yet, but since MAHIRO can do it, BUGVEL made the track for the announcement video “Dream 1”. We make up for what the other one lacks, right?

Exactly because there is an exchange that overcomes the borders of the groups, talks about wanting to try a collaboration one day, bloom.
TOMO: For example, you could imagine MAHIRO and JUNE (having a collaboration)? But I want to see SHUNYA and MINATO doing one because I cannot imagine that at all!
RAIRA: Right! They could dance while singing and rapping.
SHUNYA: Because I cannot imagine it either, it might be interesting.
RAIRA: In this regard, for example me and JUNE (could also do one). It would be strong and soft, rapping and singing.
TOMO: That’s good! I know this because I was present in both recordings, but JUNE and RAIRA are both the type who mix their breath into their singing. I think that a unit would feel fresh, but their performances would fit together.
SHUNYA: There is a famous producer at this place (laughs).
MINATO: I want to see what kind of conversation YOUNGHOON-kun and MAHIRO would have.
SHUNYA: Even when YOUNGHOON-san does not understand something he will answer “Ah~ I see”, so I think they would not have a single conversation (laughs)!

When we asked about “an emotional episode” you can share exactly because of this moment, MINATO directly answered “I got one”.
MINATO: When I was troubled once, I consulted with TOMO while playing basketball with him alone. As we finished playing, we sat down & he listened to me the whole time while watching an orange light. Back then I was saved by him.
SHUNYA: That’s youth.
TOMO: I was happy that MINATO relied on me and consulted me.
RAIRA: Actually, the deciding factor to join the agency for me was SHUNYA. I wanted to follow him since you were in a friendly rivalry.
SHUNYA: You don’t have to make something up! Just for this interview.
RAIRA: It is really like this! You have a side that is perfectly serious and you speak and act with a lot of thought of the future. Because I have always thought you are someone who has the great ability to see what is happening around you.
SHUNYA: Really!?!? I’m surprised! (deeply surprised face)
TOMO: He is really delighted on the inside (laughs). But I know how serious he is, so I get what RAIRA means.
SHUNYA: RAIRA, are you thirsty? Should I bring you something to drink?
Everyone: (breaks out laughing)

The excitement for “Dream 1” becomes stronger in which their bonds are shown
RAIRA: It is a given to entertain the audience, but I would like to deepen my interactions with YOONDONG-san through “Dream 1”.
MINATO: In my case it is with YUGO-cchi. It is a strange relationship as I am his junior but I am one year older than him. We became a little more familiar with each other lately, so I want to grow closer.
TOMO: YUGO also often praised you, MINATO. Like when he saw BUGVEL’s goods he said “MINATO is cool~” or “BUGVEL’s strength is having MINATO’s voice”.
MINATO: After the showcase, he kindly sent me such a LINE message, too. It was what made me happy the most so far!
SHUNYA: I look forward a lot to “DREAM 1”. I want to make it an event to bring happiness to the audience and end with smiles to make up for the time we were unable to meet directly.
RAIRA: They will be able to feel our entertainment on their skin, so I hope they will go home feeling happy.
MINATO: I want to create something that has a high quality and that I enjoy myself at the same time.
TOMO: Fans from all three groups will gather, but I want to muddle them! During our performances we want to take in BUGVEL’s and HICO’s fans and when it is BUGVEL’s turn, I want the same to happen to our and HICO’s fans. I want everyone in the venue to have fun together.

YUGO X HICO X KOSHIN
Same age friends are both reassuring and rivals who mutually encourage each other

YUGO is the maknae of ORβIT and KOSHIN the one of BUGVEL and including HICO the three are the unit of the youngest ones at DREAM PASSPORT. How do these three see their older brothers?
HICO: They are very kind and often treat HICO for dinner. However, the only downside is that they are noisy (laughs). When it gets lively they are not satisfied until the very end, but it is long to go there (laughs). Slowly it gets louder and louder.
KOSHIN: I don’t really feel like I am the maknae. Since we are close in age it does not matter who is younger and who is older and no one treats me for dinner (laughs). But sometimes RAIRA-kun pays for me at the conbini, but I will pay him back at a different occasion, making it equal. I also say what I want to say.
YUGO: You became able to do so, right?
KOSHIN: Right. In the beginning I could not do that at all (laughs). But recently I became able to just say everything. I came to understand the sense of distance between us and it is easy to say because the members do not seem to feel “Remember you are the youngest here”.
YUGO: I also do not use honorifics and I am barely aware that I am the youngest one. People say that everyone shows me their love and pampers me, but from my point of view JUNE gets more pampered! (laughs)
HICO: HICO also uses pretty much only casual speech with everyone other than the three Korean members. He sometimes feels a generation gap, too, but once it gets lively there is no age gap anymore.
KOSHIN: HICO is good in closing the distance to others. Since the beginning it is like that.
YUGO: I talk to the ORβIT members recklessly. Sometimes too recklessly and I regret it. Some time ago JUNE only joined the talk when we got sidetracked in a meeting, I snapped at him “Don’t join the talk if you are only doing it at such times” (laughs).
HICO: HICO can kinda imagine it (laughs)
YUGO: We were both in the wrong. But since everyone is kind they do not get upset with me no matter what I say and everything gets concluded in a good manner.

The three are friends signed to the same agency and rivals who mutually encourage each other. It often happens that they motivate each other.
YUGO: I like BUGVEL’s music a lot. Because ORβIT doesn’t do the strongish songs I prefer. We might dance together in about 3 years (laughs)
KOSHIN: You are always welcome! The feelings of ORβIT’s and BUGVEL’s songs are completely different from HICO’s ones, but his way of presenting himself on stage is much better than everyone else. I learn from him.
HICO: Each one has their own way, right? But maybe we are all asking for the moon. HICO thinks it would be nice to be in a group and maybe there is someone in a group who thinks it would be nice to be solo like HICO. He is not saying that we are each other's rivals. but I am thankful we can mutually encourage each other and there will be a collaboration stage at “Dream Gate 01”. Besides, it is very encouraging to have friends. HICO is alone, so he sometimes feels lonely, but… but when he looks around him he sees a lot of cool other brothers and there are also YUGO and KOSHIN, so he feels hopeful and gets courage. He feels he cannot lose and gets motivated.
KOSHIN: Surely. If it was just us, right? There would be no one who would make us think “I want to surpass them!”... But because I have the feeling I want to surpass HICO and ORβIT I can work hard and this might be the best thing.
YUGO: Personally I am very happy that there are juniors. Everyone in ORβIT gets along well right. Yet when I go out to have fun with HICO and KOSHIN, I will relax.
HICO: When we ate dinner together, HICO said the whole time “This is happiness to prepare the food and sit around the table like this”. (laughs)
YUGO: That day, it is a super good memory.
HICO: The three of us also went to eat Chinese food, right? We ended up entering a bit of a high class restaurant wearing practice clothes such as sweatshirts and jerseys because we went after the practice ended.
YUGO: That was embarrassing (bitter laughing).

What they are curious about is the room distribution during “Dream 1”.
KOSHIN: I guess I am fine with everyone. Normally it often happens that I am in the same room as RAIRA-kun.
HICO: MINATO and MAHIRO have an established chemi, right? HICO once shared a room with TOMO-kun and he was really kind. He told HICO “I will darken the room, so goahead and sleep.
YUGO: If I say JUNE, it will seem like I love him (laughs).
HICO: But you seem quite to like him!
YUGO: Because JUNE doesn’t mind noise. You know, in South Korea we shared a room most of the time. But since there is this opportunity, it would be nice to be together with KOSHIN.
KOSHIN: I think so too!
YUGO: Age is surprisingly important, right? The one closest to my age in ORβIT is SHUNYA, yet we are still 3 years apart, so it would be super great if the three of us were in one room.
KOSHIN: Isn’t a room with 3 people great, too?
YUGO: Anyway, at the family concert we will show the best of all our worlds, and it will hype up everyone a lot.
KOSHIN: Each group will perform their best songs, so I think it will be intense and not boring to watch. Also, I look forward to the collaborations.
HICO: The real thrill will be that (people will think) “These members are performing that song?!”
YUGO: It is wonderful that we are now in the position to do that.

YOONDONG X JUNE X GUNO X MAHIRO
We want to deepen the bonds with everyone at the family concerts

You can also call “Dream Gate 01”, in which all artists signed to DREAM PASSPORT appear together, a family concert. When they heard about this project, pretty much everyone agreed “That’s great” and the conversation moved forward.
YOONDONG: It was the company who decided on it, but everyone agreed as soon as they heard about it. I am feeling a lot of happiness as these concerts will be the first time I can meet the fans.
MAHIRO: I also went to see the family concert of YG Entertainment and back then I thought that I was envious, so I was honestly happy (when I heard about Dream Gate 01”).
GUNO: I have watched SMTOWN! It will be my first time experiencing this, so I am looking forward to it a lot. It is still a secret, but there is a project that will surprise everyone. You might be able to see a gap in MINATO (laughs).
JUNE: I was a little anxious in the beginning. But while proceeding with the preparations, I was motivated a lot by the other groups. It was refreshing to hear opinions that were not coming from the ORβIT members and I am grateful that all of us can grow with each other. I think the audience will enjoy collaborations that are only possible at a family concert.

“Dream 1” is held in the five cities Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo and Fukuoka. Something to look forward to is after all the delicious food of each place.
YOONDONG: I want to visit TOMO’s home the most (laughs). This time it is my first time to go to Fukuoka, but I heard there is lots of delicious food, so I am looking forward to the city.
JUNE: There is delicious food in Fukuoka, too, but I’m looking forward to Hokkaido. Because this is also my first time to go to Hokkaido. I want to eat seafood.
YOONDONG: Uni-don!
TN: Bowl of rice topped with sea urchin
GUNO: I also want to eat sea urchin in Hokkaido!
YOONDONG: Let’s go to eat together!
GUNO: Let’s go! Will big brother treat us?
YOONDONG: Only the ones who are here right now (laughs)
Everyone else: Yeah!
YOONDONG: Furthermore, I want to talk with HICO and all of BUGVEL while practicing and get closer to them.
MAHIRO: Me too. ORβIT-san are kind and we often go to eat for example. but I want to get closer to them on this opportunity.
GUNO: I want to be friends with big brother YOONDONG. Because I have not met big brother directly yet.
YOONDONG: I also want to go to Japan as soon as possible!

That DREAM PASSPORT came so far now and can hold family concerts seems to deeply move ORβIT who used to be the sole artist of the agency.
YOONDONG: It is great to have various artists in this company, right? We are grateful to have other artists who are active when we can not do so. I want to cheer for all of them.
MAHIRO: Personally, I am not good with places where a lot of people are… But everyone is really kind. YOONDONG-san gives advice from Korea and JUNE-kun often invites me to drink (laughs). Everyone is a wonderful person and I can only learn from them. That I decided to join this company was because the CEO was kind. So, I decided that I want to make the company that the CEO created something big!
JUNE: Please (laughs). I am also not good with a huge number of people, so there was some insecurity, but when I got to know every single one of them, I knew everyone was a good guy and it was a relief.
MAHIRO: We never say something bad about others, right.
JUNE: Because there are also people who rely on me, I can’t be irresponsible. I hope that the other members can do the same as when I relied on the Korean members.
GUNO: Everyone’s styles are different and I really like this atmosphere. So, I believe we are people who can receive interest from various other people.
MAHIRO: I will show you how BUGVEL overtakes ORβIT one day!
JUNE: Feel free to! When the time comes, please make a collaboration with us (laughs)

These four have the experience of being trainees and having artist activities abroad. As there is an increasing number of people who are active as artists after going from Japan to Korea lately, they are also pioneers like figures. What are the words they want to bestow to the people chasing their dreams in a foreign country just like them?
YOONDONG: It is something wonderful to be active in a country with a different language and culture. I believe that if you are able to dive into it, you will surely overcome everything no matter how tough it is, so I want you to have enjoyable activities while you become friends with the ones around you.
MAHIRO: I personally became aware of my lacking sides such as laundry and cooking for myself. Even if you come across cultural or language barriers, if you overcome those, you will surely be able to put these to good use next. If you run away from this, you will end up on the road of running away from your life, so I want you to do your best and overcome everything.
JUNE: In the end, you have to get used to the difference in culture and languages. Even when it is hard, believe in yourself who had made this choice and I do not want you to give up. Also, don’t think too much. I ended up thinking too much about various things, so nowadays I think it would have been better to be more relaxed.
GUNO: My Japanese is still not that good right now…
JUNE: GUNO got it harder than the rest of us. First he went from Taiwan to Korean and now to Japan.
GUNO: Foreign languages are difficult. Also, sure enough I feel lonely when I’m alone abroad all the time.
YOONDONG: It must have been hard from JUNE since he cannot eat spicy food (laughs)
JUNE: I love spicy food!
GUNO: Let’s eat spicy hot pot together next time!

[OWV] JJ 220519

https://jj-jj.net/lifestyle/157094/

[OWV] “We were able to appeal to our charms.” Directly hitting them backstage at the Warai Mirai Fes 2022

“We have made a new improvement!” An interview that conveys their passion

Well done at the live show! How was your first outdoor festival?
Kosuke: We felt another appeal at our first festival outside compared to indoor ones. In addition, it was a new experience to be involved in a show where not only people came to watch us but other people, too. We also learnt “how to hype up a concert in the future”, so it was a live show that made us feel “OWV has made a new improvement!”.
Katsunari: I felt the “reality of music” as it was a venue where also fans of other artists came, and as a festival we became excited all together. I think we have been able to create something good and I think the virtues of music have been conveyed through this festival.
Shuta: People who had fans or lightsticks of other artists raised their hands together with us and it made me feel a sense of unity in the music. Furthermore, this “Warai Mirai Fes 2022” made us, as artists signed to Yoshimoto Kyogo, feel the unity in “smiling”…
Fumiya: You changed the topic too much (laughs)
Shuta: But that’s because I work hard in regard to music, too!
Katsunari: But it was really good!
TN: A literal translation of the festival name could be “Smiling Future Festival 2022”

Shuta: Right, I was equipped with “the past” of the Tower Of Sun on my back, fooled around and I guess we also created a unity between “music” and “smiles”. But the name was an overstatement (laughs)
Fumiya: The Okonomiyaki we ate yesterday was extraordinarily delicious.
Shuta: What? (Laughs)
Fumiya: They became a good source of energy so I’m glad (we went).
Katsunari: Because they are Osaka’s soul food.
Fumiya: Okay! That’s enough!
(after a short pause)
I am just kidding (laughs). I think that this festival was an opportunity to truly showcase our charms as much as we wanted to. Furthermore, we barely had the chance so far to perform on the same stage as our seniors who have taken care of us so far, or senior artists who are involved with us for the first time, just like our friends with whom we have a friendly rivalry. So I believe it was an encouraging stage that will lead to the future.

“We changed the setlist too much, so (the staff) became angry” About their particulars of live shows

Is there anything you were especially particular about regarding this performance?
Katsunari: There was a lot, but wasn’t it the setlist?
Kosuke: Surely! The setlist was put together keeping in mind to have exciting songs.
Shuta: We also incorporated a summerish feeling, didn’t we?
Kosuke: Right. Normally we add a lot of dance style songs for events, but today we warmed up the audience with songs to get them excited and made up a plan to get them all lively! Hence, I think that even people who know us well, got a fresh feeling from watching us.
Katsunari: We thought of the setlist until the very last minute… and made the staff upset.
Shuta: We ended up changing it right before.
Kosuke: It was too much at the last minute…
Shuta: And yet, we wanted to show this setlist to everyone no matter how.

The second year since their formation. About the future OWV.

Kosuke: In our second year, we have established our artist image. This is also reflected in our costumes. I believe there are also a lot of people thinking “4 individuals have come together and are unified?”. However, exactly because we have this individuality, we want to aim to be an artist who can make use of multiple styles such as showing a gap in our performances or making comedy in our MCs. I hope you will pay attention to the way OWV will do our concerts and how we appear on events in the future! Especially I hope you pay the most attention to how Urano Shuta does his MCs in the future (laughs)
Fumiya: You are lecturing today (laughs)
Shuta: I’m sorry… but today I worked hard because there is “Warai” in the name! Something I don’t do normally!
Fumiya: Normally we are cool.
Kosuke: If it was the “Mirai Fes 2022” we wouldn’t have been like that (laughs)
Shuta: We appear as ikemen!

Talking about their free time the day before the live!

You went all together to eat Okonomiyaki?
Shuta: Me and Fumiya who were first in Osaka went to eat Okonomiyaki but later of course the 4 of us went together to eat Chinese food.
Katsunari: Because we are friends! (laughs)
Shuta: We also gathered in the hotel afterwards.
Katsunari: Everyone always comes into my room!
Kosuke: The others are the type not to let people into their rooms (laughs)
Katsunari: And when everyone returned to their rooms, my one was covered in rubbish!
(Everyone smiles bitterly)
Kosuke: (seems apologetic) we ended up leaving like this, yes…

[OWV] Music Blood 220520

https://www.ntv.co.jp/musicblood/articles/2295j85fc9ihwb7stfoz.html

OWV’s Nakagawa Katsunari to appear in MUSIC BLOOD’s “New corner THE NEXT UP〜 you are the next~” (literal translation)

On tomorrow’s (20th May) episode of MUSIC BLOOD #59 JO1 will guest. And, there will be the corner “THE NEXT UP〜 you are the next~”.
It will focus on the aftermath of the participants of the audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN” and Nakagawa Katsunari will be introduced. He is a member of the 4 member next generation boy group OWV, which was formed by trainees who failed the audition.

Nakagawa-san who is 183cm tall, has an outstanding style and is highly skilled in rapping and dancing was regarded as a potential member, but unexpectedly he was voted on the 63th place by the national producers. “I didn’t want to hear or see anything. I was so depressed that I wanted to forget that I participated in this audition.”, he says while looking back. This Nakagawa-san was saved by OWV’s leader Honda Kosuke-san who was introduced in the corner the week before. “That guy wasn’t someone who should end at this point. It is really a mystery that he ended up being eliminated. He had potential so I wanted to do my best together with him.” Now Nakagawa-san is finally standing at the entrance of his dreams.

Full script of the feature:

OWV is a group made up from 4 members who were eliminated in the audition that gave birth to JO1. One of them, Nakagawa Katsunari, had experienced hitting the rock bottom before.
In this audition the 11 members of the group were chosen by the voting of the audience.
(Short snippet from his 1minute PR video)
There were high expectations for Nakagawa who is 183cm tall and had high skills in rapping and dancing to become one of the final members.
However…
Comment 1: The blonde hair is ugly!
Comment 2: what’s with that red shirt?
(Both referring to his 1min PR video)

He received harsh criticism and was eliminated in the first round. He placed 63rd. Nakagawa who cut himself off from the public opinion shut his heart. Looking back at the time…
Katsunari: I was in a huge void for a long time and I did not want to see anything of it. I shut down everything from my daily life and I was so much in a state of depression that I wanted to forget that I joined that audition.

He turned the tables from being eliminated as the 63rd place. How was he able to debut?

(Commercial break)

The one who rescued Nakagawa who had hit the deepest rock bottom was OWV’s leader Honda Kosuke.
He went to Yoshimoto Kogyo for direct talks every day and formed the group.
He said: Katsu, let’s do it together! You are not a guy who should end (his career) at this place.
He felt the potential of Nakagawa who was eliminated as the 63rd place.

Kosuke: As you can see Katsu is the slender model type and his face is cool (Katsunari: thank you) and he can rap, sing and dance. So why he was eliminated in the first round was a riddle to me and I was bothered by this.
Katsunari: Back then I was so happy (that you asked me to join).

For the people who believed in him Nakagawa took up hard lessons again and turned things around from his crushing failure in the audition. He now stood at the entry of his dreams.

[OWV] Web The Television 220512

https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1083769/

Focus on OWV Honda Kosuke "MUSIC BLOOD" Tanaka Kei is also amazed by the direct approach to Yoshimoto Kyogo "You have an amazing ability to take action"

On the 13th May broadcast of the program "MUSIC BLOOD" for which Tanaka Kei and Chiba Yudai are MC off, the corner "THE NEXT UP ~ You are the next one" (literal translation) will focus on OWV's Honda Kosuke.

In the 7th installment of this corner, which seeks to discover new talents who are on the verge of breaking through, Honda is introduced as a participant of "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN".

Honda was 24 years old when he joined the audition, placed first in the dance block, and he was so respected that he was also in charge of his group's choreography. However, he failed to debut when he placed 15th in the final. He reveals what was on his mind back then: "I was just frustrated and there was nothing but worry about my future."

Afterwards, without giving up his dream, Honda worked part time in a call center, while visiting Yoshimoto Kogyo every day and continuing to have direct talks with them if there was somehow a way to become an artist still. And this feeling reached them and he managed to have his major debut as a member of the 4 member next generation boy group OWV in 2020.

In response to this video, Tanaka commented "You have an amazing ability to take action" and he was amazed by Honda having these talks every day. Furthermore, Chiba also praised him: "It is amazing that you truly managed to make it happen."

From then on, the talk turned to whether they had approached the "upper ones" in their agencies directly in the past. There, Tanaka started "Actually this is quite the story between me and the CEO already...", before giving Chiba the sudden quiz question "When I was traveling by train, there was a time when I was really busy, so I asked the CEO for a car for this. What do you think he said? The CEO?"

[JO1] BiST editorial department livestream 220518

👩🏻: Let’s talk about the dancer leader Kawashiri Ren-san. We thought he was someone cool and sexy but actually he was smiling the whole time. […] During the interview he showed us his scalp, while parting his hair and saying that his hair had two tones, dark purple and a more pinkish one. We had the impression that he was excited about the refreshments and has a friendly side. But once the shooting started he turned into a different person and exploded with cool facial expressions and graceful and melancholic poses. His artistic beauty changed the atmosphere in the studio.
When the interview was over he greeted “thank you for your hard work today” and we were about to leave, he cutely trotted over to us to ask for the leftover fruits from the refreshments saying “Ah the fruits fruits ♪”, so we gave him all of them. He gave us a big smile in return and happily left. Isn‘t he fantastic?

👩🏻‍🦰: Yes. There is another charming scene. Right after the shooting ended, the interview started and for this, Kawashiri-san went to a table together with the staff and the staff had both of their hands full with a computer, interview materials, a recorder and so on and for this staff member Kawashiri-san quickly drew back the chair. It was really a gentleman-like behaviour and I couldn’t help but think how cool he is.
Kawashiri-san is amazing. When you see him performing, his dancing is really skilful and his expressiveness is impressive, but the real him is fluffy and soft and this might be the biggest gap I experienced in 2022.

👩🏻: oh! The comments also say “Ren-chan is too cute” or “Ren-kun loves fruits”. So everyone is impressed by this episode. But if you look at the total, he showed us a lot of different expressions and choosing pictures for the magazines became a struggle. His pictures are really good, right?

👩🏻‍🦰: That’s right. The expressiveness of all three was just too good and the cameraman also got into high spirits and took so many pictures. So when the staff chose (which ones should come into the magazines) we had a hard time. Normally, we watch the shootings commenting “so cool/cute/fantastic”, but it was such a great shooting that we were just grateful to them, saying “Thank you very much”.

[JO1] JJ 220603 - 220605

https://jj-jj.net/lifestyle/157251/

[JO1] The full story of the birthday LINE messages that made Ohira Shosei the happiest…

JO1, a global boy group born from the highly popular audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”, is a hot topic. Since their debut they have charmed JAM (as their fans are called) with high level songs and choreos produced both in Japan and South Korea. On 25th May they released their 2nd album “KIZUNA”. This time we did research on the happenings in the creation process of the album and recent events with Ohira Shosei.

Ohira Shosei
In charge of beauty in JO1. He is someone who tries the latest beauty on the spot and raises the beauty sensitivity of the whole group. At the first glance he seems like a beauty from Kyoto with his quietly beautiful smile but actually he is a stoic guy who positively and steadily seizes his dream…his gap makes you fall deep for him.

1 Something that made me happy recently
First of all, please tell us what made you the happiest recently?
When I had my birthday (on 13th April) and everyone celebrated me! The JO1 members have a cute side. For more than 2 years we are always together both at home and at work. Nonetheless, pretty much all members send a congratulatory message on LINE when there is someone’s birthday (laughs). Mame-chan and Syoya sent me a message at about 0:08 which made me both happy and surprised.

2 An involuntarily annoyed episode
Is there something that made you “annoyed” unintentionally lately?
I was annoyed by Keigo-kun and Shion. It was something that happened during practice, but first, out of nowhere, Shion put me into a lock so that I could not move. I really could not move, because he is the grizzly of JO1 and got that much strength. Then, as if he was waiting for it, Keigo-kun started to tickle me (laughs). I have no idea whether they kinda did it in order to soften the atmosphere during the practice, but they have done it over and over! It is annoying (laughs)!

3 Something that made me happy anyway
Next please tell us about “something that was especially fun”.
Everyday is fun. Right now is also fun! You look at me as if you think ‘really?’ (laughs). It is fun to work and I like such interviews and shootings, too. Something especially fun other than this? In this case, it was when I went to eat Yakiniku with the CEO. Me and the CEO made the promise to go to eat Yakiniku once every month, you know. He was whining that I was teasing his eyebrows in the supplementary audio for Mikansei that was released in Spring (laughs).

4 Something that made me sad
How about “something that made you sad”?
I guess that it is still hard to meet JAM outside of Tokyo. I think there are a lot of people who were unable to meet us directly since the debut, so I want to meet them soon! I really really want to~ I want to fly over on the spot, so please wait for the day when we can meet in one way or another!

https://jj-jj.net/lifestyle/157266/

JO1's Ohira Shosei "I had butterflies in my stomach" The absolutely unexpected co-star was...?

5 A recent emotional episode
Please tell us “something that made you emotional” recently.
I think when I was developing films. I always have a camera with me and try to develop the films every month if I can. The members at work, trivial landscapes… I can take pictures of a lot of emotional moments. My dream is to collect them into a photobook and release it.

6 I had butterflies in my stomach because of ○○ at the location
Please tell us about “something that gave you butterflies in your stomach”.
At the filming location for the MV of “With Us”, the lead track of the 2nd album “KIZUNA”, there was a puppy ❤ The breed was a pomeranian, it was so adorable that the members swarmed and fawned over it. I even ran over to the puppy nonchalantly and went for a walk with it when everyone took a break and leisurely ate something (laughs). It also appears in the MV, so make sure to check it out!

7 Something that me unintentionally surprised
Do you have “something that surprised you”?
It is Keigo-kun. I am sorry, but it is another story about him (laughs). His style is outstanding and he is very tall. During practice, I thought Keigo-kun was not here, where did he go? and looked for him, he was snugly close to my feet and I was like ‘You surprised me!’. He made himself really small, so I did not notice him at all because of the gap to his usual self. Back then I was shocked ‘He is here!’.

8 A story that moved me to tears
How about “something that moved you”?
I celebrated my birthday (on 13th April) and I received more than 130.000 greetings from the Twitter hashtag event. I was surprised ‘what an amazing number!’ and moved by it.
[The staff asked: ‘Which hashtag was it?’
Editorial note: it was the unique hashtag #祥生のロイヤルな誕生日アハハ (Shosei’s royal birthday ahaha)]
That’s right. In the past, when I produced a drink for the tower records cafe, I made a milk tea with a drawing of an angel on it. On its stomach there was ahaha written, but it was an angel I drew in 10 seconds (laughs). The hashtag was inspired by this!
In addition, there were trucks with birthday ads, an entire train was hijacked in my hometown Kyoto and all those ads were about me… My mother went to see it and sent me pictures she took. Also, there were birthday ads displayed at various stations… I was moved a lot by this!

https://jj-jj.net/lifestyle/157267/

JO1's Ohira Shosei "The elevator service was suddenly stopped..." The action he took back then...

9 Something that I am crazy about
Please tell us about “something you are crazy about” lately!
I like drawing and I forget myself when I am drawing at home. I never learnt it, I simply do it as I like. I draw plants or just something… I like a little abstract art, so I am drawing this.

10 An episode of being the most in a hurry / frightened
Do you have something where “you were in a hurry/frightened”?
When I was at a certain skyscraper, the elevator was stopped for inspections so I took the stairs for more than 20 floors! I was on the move for work, so I was in a hurry (laughs). I was never that much in a hurry before in my life! Also, on our official YouTube series “Hi! JO1”, there was an episode in which pranks were made. Since then I’m nervously frightened and think ‘I hope there is no prank’ each time I go to my room and such (laughs).
TN: 焦る (aseru) can mean both ‘to be in a hurry and ‘to get a fright’ and that’s why he shared two very different episodes here

11 Self made dishes were delicious
Something “that was delicious” lately?
Fried rice I made myself! I made it at a rough estimate and went with the flow, but it was delicious. The secret ingredients to make something delicious are the flow and the good mood (laughs).

12 A heartwarming talk that makes your cheeks relax just by imagining it
Please tell us about “something heartwarming”.
My niece became an elementary school student this spring and I gifted her a school backpack! A light blue one! I got a video of her nervously wearing the bag and it warmed my heart. She was scurrying around and adorable.

Lastly, a song recommendation to the readers!
Please recommend a song from the 2nd album “KIZUNA” released on 25th May to the readers!
It is the lead track “With Us”. I think when you listen to the song, it will give you the feeling of ‘I can still do my best!’ even if there are lots of hardships. I think it is also perfect for the spring where many people start something new. There are a lot of other cool songs featured, so please make sure to take a listen!

[JO1] Domani 220520 - 220528

Vol.1: https://domani.shogakukan.co.jp/721698/

‘In these two years it has become insanely strong’ JO1’s Ohira Shosei introduces the songs of ‘KIZUNA’

JO1 reached the 3rd year since their debut and released their 2ND ALBUM ‘KIZUNA’. In order of the featured songs we will introduce them in Domani’s usual style.

ZERO

Ruki-kun is without a doubt the one who pulls the strings of JO1.

In the same way as the lyrics ‘on top of the small palm of your hands’, the one who pulls the strings (=holds up) JO1 is Ruki-kun (insists). We often have meetings within the members, and after another member says something, Ruki-kun will conclude it. In the meetings it often happens that everyone loses track, struggles with something or does not know the answer. But, Ruki-kun overlooks the situation and sums it up as ‘Now, that’s a different talk, right?’ or ‘I suppose that’s what it is, right?’. It is perfect that he was selected as the main personality for All Night Nippon X!
There is the term ‘destiny’ in the lyrics, but some time ago I went to the conbini at a different time than Ruki, but we bought the exact same things (carbonated drinks and sweets)! We were surprised that all the things that we would not have miraculously bought were the same.

Before going to sleep I apply skin lotion and let Ghibli music soak through me.

By the way, speaking of ‘ZERO’, in order to let my skin return to ‘ZERO’ every night, I try to sleep after calming down by listening to Ghibli music after skin care. I believe that your skin shows your state of mind. I let music soak through me, so maybe that’s why my skin is glowing.

With Us

My current amusement is to play pranks on Takumi-kun and watch his reactions.

There are the lyrics ‘Always With Us’. I often spend time with Mame and Junki-kun lately. When I am with these two I relax. When I wondered why, I noticed that a big factor is that we three are not from a big city. Also, the three of us did sports and we also like the same artists. I guess because we all have these things in common, they are people I can relax with when I am with them.
The member I enjoy messing with is Takumi-kun. His reactions are really funny and I end up unintentionally playing pranks on him (laughs). When Takumi-kun notices this, he will try to take revenge but to prevent this I make sure to run away as fast as I can (laughs).

I still cannot believe that my beloved Stray Kids-san provided a song for us!

Just like the lyrics ‘After a long time We finally stand here’, we reached a lot of places that made me happy to stand there after becoming JO1. When we went to South Korea about a year after our formation, the studio which we happened to use for a shooting was a place where Stray Kids-san also did one! I love Stray Kids-san, so I was super excited, saying ‘Wow! This place!’ (laughs). I was also so happy when they provided us with the music for ‘YOLO-konde’. So much that I still cannot believe it. I think it became an occasion that made me want to actively participate in songwriting. For example, a Japanese lyricst will always translate the Korean lyrics, but I would like to be involved in this.

Walk It Like I Talk It

I think I might be the member who is mentally the strongest

Just like the phrase ‘Even with a cold look and words It’s useless to kill’ I think I might be the member who is mentally the strongest. I feel, back during our debut days, I was the weakest one, but after making various experiences I became able to ease up in a good way and even when I am troubled I started to think ‘Everything is gonna be alright’ and I was able to become a really positive person. I feel that in these two years my personality completely changed for the better.
Kimacchan seems strong but he is very delicate. Also, Junki-kun has an image of the most cheerful one by far, but he is also surprisingly delicate. Because saying positive things loudly itself is “self-suggestion” as he even calls it (laughs).

Keigo-kun is usually fooling around a bit

By the way, the one who can change the atmosphere somewhere in a moment is Sato Keigo. Even in serious meetings, if I take a look at Keigo-kun, he will make a funny face. He usually fools around a bit (laughs). This is something good about him!

Vol 2: https://domani.shogakukan.co.jp/722866

Sho-kun would be greedy with his wishes.

Touch!

No matter how you look at it, Yuzupon is versatile

This song is a cutish love song and I think the one who would be cute if he fell in love would be Ren-kun. He has a strong mentality and no matter what happens he never wavers or becomes agitated. But I think you could see a different side of him if he fell in love!
Also, following the title, what makes me happy to touch are puppies. For the filming of the ‘With Us’ MV a puppy came. It was so cute which healed me! If I had a dog, a small one would be nice. I have the image of small dogs being fluffy (moko), so I think I would name it Moko. Ohira Moko, it’s cute, isn’t it? (laughs)
Just like the lyrics ‘You are my only reason for living’, when I think as long as I have just this I can live, it is ‘Yuzupon’! No matter how you look at it, Yuzupon is versatile. But giving up tofu is also hard. I could eat it every day.

TN: The first part of the following was still listed under ‘Touch!’ in the interview but it actually refers to ‘Love & Hate’.

Love & Hate

Takumi-kun’s performance has a shine he can only do.

There are the lyrics ‘I am so drawn to you that I want to hate you’ and what I am drawn to right now are Takumi-kun’s performances. I really like the feeling of awakening. That shine is unique to Takumi-kun. So much that you will not believe that he was inexperienced in both dancing and singing during the audition. When I look at the total, he might even be the most skilled member right now.

I love versatile silicone sheet masks!

My personal ‘LOVE[d]’ beauty goods are silicone sheet masks that you put on top of normal ones. Not only do they keep the mask in place, they also prevent them from drying out, so they are amazing. I can do the chores in the meantime and I am using them daily. I use a sheet mask every day if it is possible.

Ryuuseiu

Sho-kun would be greedy with his wishes.

There are the lyrics ‘If you wished upon the stars’ and I think Sho-kun would be the one who greedily makes wishes when he sees a shooting star! He seems to be the one who would say ‘Alright. Alright’ and makes as many wishes as he can, hoping ‘one of those will come true’ (laughs).
On the contrary, the one who would carefully select only one wish would be Ren-kun. Thinking of this, these two are true opposites. This has become a really good balance and they feel like a good married couple. I feel really glad that these two are in the group.
If I wished for something now… what could it be? I want to have a body I think of as beautiful. I want to train my body more and grow my hair longer. I want to get closer to my ideal figure.

I want Shion’s special skill of being to to instantly reply the calories of something to be more known

By the way, there are the lyrics ‘shine more’ and I hope that Shion’s side of knowing the calories just by looking at the food can be more recognised (laughs). He is usually right! It seems like his father told him ‘Be careful not to consume too many calories’ and he has been aware of this since a while. When I choose products in the conbini for example, I ask ‘Shion, how many calories (has it)?’ and he will quickly tell me those. This is just too amazing and I really suspect that he might have a scouter (a device from Dragon Ball that measures the fighting strength of the opponent) (laughs).

Vol. 3: https://domani.shogakukan.co.jp/722869

Maybe, everyone likes me (laughs)

Move The Soul

My recent trouble is to keep up with Mame-chan’s games (laughs)

This song sings of ‘victory and defeat’ and right now I think the member who is the most competitive is Mame-chan. We often play FPS games (first person shooter games) together, but when he loses he says with a straight face ‘Next! Next! Next!’ (laughs). Without inserting a break, he says ‘Let’s keep going!’ and starts the next one. However, the enemies are quite strong and he can barely win… If that is the case, Mame-chan is absolutely not satisfied until he wins. I get dragged into this and my recent worry is whether I can keep up with this for a long time (laughs).

I am currently studying Chinese

There are the lyrics ‘Beyond myself’ and there are a lot of things that I want to challenge after coming out of my shell. Right now I am putting my strength into my Chinese studies. I want to do something no one has done as JO1 yet. I think we will improve both as a group and individually by doing this, so I am studying hard.

Algorithm

I am listening to Keshi-san’s music in the morning.

In my algorithm I often incorporate Ghibli related things. My favourite Ghibli movie is ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Howl is just cool and more than anything the art is so beautiful. I try to reflect the colours I like in this movie in my makeup and fashion.
In the morning, I listen to a ‘into the morning playlist’ selected by the streaming service. I especially like Keshi-san’s music which is often played. KIZUNA

Maybe, everyone likes me

This time the album title is ‘KIZUNA’. Speaking of bonds, I was unable to practise with the other members for two days due to some other schedule. Afterwards, when I finally went to the practice again, Junki-kun told me ‘If you are not here, I miss you’. Mame said pretty much the same, which made me happy. Maybe, everyone likes me (laughs). Of course, I love everyone, too.
Lately thanks to me being known to like beauty and makeup I can also often do schedules related to beauty. I was especially happy to be in charge of the makeup for ‘YOLO-konde’. I gathered reference material for everyone and was able to instruct ‘use this colour for the eyes and that one for the lips’. It was hard, but it felt extremely rewarding. If I get the chance, I would like to challenge it one day again.

[JO1] Web The Television 220530

https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1086643/

JO1 are releasing their 2ND ALBUM “KIZUNA“! “I often think ‘It is great that Sukai is here’”, says Ohira Shosei

The global boy group JO1 are releasing their second album “KIZUNA”! This time, we asked Ohira Shosei, who is in charge of rapping in the group, about the highlights of the album and more.

Sukai is a classmate of the same age, so he is someone really close to me.

JO1, who have entered their 3rd year since debuting, released their 2ND ALBUM “KIZUNA”. The lead track “With Us” is a song that describes bonds.
Even if there are troubles, we will always walk together… The song “With Us” has that message from us. There is a new and unprecedented feeling not in the song itself but also the clearly audible sound in the background. And, can’t you feel the fresh cheerfulness from the bouncy dancing?

On the 2ND ALBUM “KIZUNA” there is also the singing of Kinjo Sukai who took a hiatus for some time.
One piece was missing the whole time, so it feels that JO1 is finally complete and ready to make various moves. Sukai is a classmate of the same age, so he is someone really close to me. The one I talk a lot to about singing and dancing is Sukai. I often think ‘It is great that Sukai is here’.

You need to try everything.

Before the album release the two classmates turned 22 years old.
It was so fast (laughs). I felt like I came of age just yesterday, but I’m already 22 years old! One year went too fast! Recently, I bought a school backpack for my niece and back then I thought “You became an adult~”. But, I was surprised how expensive it was! It means that I became so mature that I could afford that (laughs).
What makes me think “You are still a kid~” is that I cannot eat wasabi. (Kimata) Syoya who loves Sushi told me “But sushi is delicious because there is wasabi”, but I replied “Is that so? I cannot do that” and keep on eating it without wasabi. I still have a childlike taste (laughs).
Sure enough the one who I think of as mature in JO1 is (Yonashiro) Sho-kun. He is understanding and has a big heart! The image of an adult I had since I was 19 years old is someone who has composure. Someone who has their own area. I started to have some composure… I guess?

While he felt his growth as a person and as a man, he also felt his growth as an artist at the first live shows with an audience that were held last year.
I was good at hyping up (laughs). As it was my first time so I tried it while being nervous, but I did well. Cause you need to try everything. I will continue to hype them up in the future!

[JO1] W online 220526

https://w-online.jp/archives/8637/

Special Interview with Shiroiwa Ruki (JO1) “Confidence is something you always need to have”

Since the year started, JO1 have continuously made rapid progress starting with the streaming of their first drama “Short Program” in which all 11 members played the main characters, the nationwide release of the documentary movie “JO1 THE MOVIE ‘Mikansai’ -Go To The TOP”, which looks back on the two years since their debut, as well as them being the Wednesday personalities of “All Night Nippon X”. Here appears Shiroiwa Ruki from the global boy group who released their 2nd album “KIZUNA” on 25th May. He talked about the journey until the release of the album and his struggles before becoming a part of JO1.

A huge bond between JAM and JO1 was born

The catchphrase for the 2nd album “KIZUNA” is “Let’s enjoy our bond together”, but what kind of feelings does the title KIZUNA carry for you?
For the previous release, the 5th single “WANDERING” a member was missing due to his poor condition. In this situation we reached our second anniversary since our formation and had the opportunity to meet JAM directly, so of course also among the members we felt that a huge bond between JAM and JO1 was born. I think “KIZUNA” is an album that came to be with the feeling that we will advance forward together again. I believe that the chances to stand in front of everyone and to go to meet the fans will increase, so I want to deepen the bond further.

Did you feel the members' improvement, including your own one, during the recording?
We recorded until quite recently, but the number of songs including the 7 new ones is also a lot and we had to complete each one of them in a compact timeframe. I felt that everyone's absorbing abilities are getting better year by year as we did not not just memorize the songs, but we also had to learn the choreographies. We are getting better also in regard to performances even in this short time. Also at the MV filming I felt that each one of them knew how to show themselves.

The hurdles required by your surroundings also become higher, right?
As we keep on being active as JO1, we also have to improve, and because everyone has expectations we cannot betray those and I feel I want to surpass those expectations. Speaking of the featured tracks of the album, “Walk It Like I Talk It” or “Algorithm” are songs with a melody we have never challenged before. Since we felt that when we release our 2nd album we want to challenge ourselves and show a new side of ourselves, we discussed this with the staff and were given songs which we barely had so far.

There is a lively exchange of opinions among the members, right?
For me 2021 JO1 LIVE “OPEN THE DOOR” was huge (JO1’s first concerts with an audience taking place at Makuhari Messe on 3 days from 19th November 2021 to 21th November 2021. All together 45.000 people attended the 5 shows). We performed two shows in one day and we had to perform about 40 songs, so in this situation the exchange of opinions between the members had been lively. To be more concrete, these were live shows with a huge meaning as they significantly changed as we went from completing what was given to us to thinking overselves.

I want to make a year in which I can improve while enjoying it

What did you feel at the first shows with an audience, performing in front of a huge number of people?
Exactly because we like performing more than anything else, we felt once again that we have made it this far. No matter how much we practiced or how many songs we recorded, if our voices do not reach you live, we cannot feel everyone’s response. To be honest, there were times when I wondered why I was even doing this. I believe this was not just me, at some point pretty much all members were worried. I am generally a positive person, but before we did “OPEN THE DOOR”, I was often worried.

Why did you end up being negative back then?
I think in addition to being unable to perform in front of people the whole time, being the center of “WANDERING” felt heavy and I became anxious. But “OPEN THE DOOR” took place and I could see and experience with my own eyes that this many people support us and I felt greatly relieved. With everyone being there, I felt like I could clearly see the reason to stand firmly even if I felt down or stumbled. Exactly because there were hard times, I strongly felt that I am supported by everyone after all.

We heard that you have been building up muscles since “OPEN THE DOOR”?
So far I did not want to get bulky, so I did not do much muscle training. Everyone has their own preferences, so I believe there are also members who want to get bigger muscles, but I do not like that so I did not do it. However, in regards to dancing, training your trunk and inner muscles keeps your axis in place. Hence, I try to do planking at least every day no matter how exhausted I am and no matter how late I return home. But I barely talk about it because I am doing it in secret… (laughs) 1 minute is already gruesome when you do planks. But since I started this, my appearance has not changed much, yet my dancing has become more sharp and it became easier to be uniform with everyone. It will take some time until there is some visible result, but I am challenging myself how much I can change in the one year of 2022, including in regards to performing.

Is there anything you train other than planking?
I regularly go to a new vocal teacher. The teacher’s teaching style is thorough and each time I go I make various discoveries and I really enjoy the moments when I can feel that. I want to make it a year where I can improve while enjoying it.

The world is slowly returning to its normal operation and this could be another motivation to improve, right?
That’s right. It is one part of my motivation that slowly the opportunities to be able to meet everyone offline increase. I want to show everyone who came for us a cool side as much as possible and want them to happily return home.

“With Us” is a song that breaks a new ground for JO1

Out of the new songs featured on “KIZUNA” which one would you especially recommend?
The title track “With Us”. When I first listened to the demo I felt how different the atmosphere was compared to our usual songs. Personally, including the rhythm, it feels very much like a western pop song. I think it is easy to remember as it is very catchy and stays in your ears. Speaking of the performance, as the title “With Us” already suggests, it has a choreography which everyone can enjoy dancing together. Previous title tracks mostly had brazen intense choreographies, so also in this aspect it was a new, unseen challenge for JO1.

I also felt a new JO1 in the way you sang.
Another song in this regard is the earlier mentioned “Walk It Like I Talk It”. I personally think that this song will widely stand out on the album. It is an interesting song, the choreo is also fun and I simply think that when we perform it it will be cool. I think JAM will all like it as it is a song that has a JO1ness.

The album has 5 editions with 4 of them having a different track listing.
Our songs have various stories throughout the two years of our activities. Speaking of past songs, you can also enjoy substories like “ICARUS” being the answer song of “MONSTAR”. By changing the track list, the impression of the songs also changes. Exactly that’s why it had been hard to decide on the “OPEN THE DOOR” set list until the very end. I’m very grateful to be able to perform so many songs. There is emotional attachment to every single one of them and I hope you will enjoy various track lists.

Confidence is something you always need to have.

Next I would like to ask about your career. You started your artist activities early, but since when were you interested in the entertainment world?
To be honest, I was not very interested until I graduated from highschool. It might have been my puberty but I strongly felt I was made to do it.. I never send my resume on my own as people around me or my family did so. Hence, it might have been a little late that I thought to myself “I wanna do this seriously”.

Does that mean that even when you took lessons, you could not enjoy those?
There was a very strong sense of being obligated to do so. I think because I did not find a meaning in why I was doing this, I barely put energy into it. In elementary and middle school I played soccer and I rather wanted to go to soccer training and matches than to the entertainment lessons. In fact many times I prioritized soccer over this. I finally became serious about it when I thought about my career path choices at the time whether I would graduate from high school or not. However, back then I decided if my flower did not blossom before I became 20 years old, I would end this path.

When you were serious about it, you made the age of 20 an end point.
That’s right. I believed that when I do not make it come true by the age of 20, even when I seriously aim for my dream, I should quit because I might not be the one made for this. But in the end it was fruitless and I once gave up on my dream. But my parents applied me for the audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”, telling me “This is truly the very last time”. However, back then I already had put a closing mark on it and I barely had any enthusiasm. But after I was decided as one of the 101 participants, I felt it would be disrespectful if I did not work hard on it and as a result I decided that once more I would seriously work on my dream that I had not given up on. Now that I am active as JO1 like this makes me feel that everyone around me has changed my life.

You surely have built up a not so short career, but did you have confidence that you would win the audition?
I believe that confidence is something you always need to have. But overconfidence is a no-go. When I was active before that, too, I had a small number of fans. From their point of view my existence is a dream or hope. I think that if I was a fan, I would not like it if the person I was supporting had no confidence and I would want to support someone with confidence. So, when I step on stage I do so with full confidence and I have this confidence because I am the type of person who prepares and practises to be like this.

Lastly, please give a message to the readers who are in preparation to choose their career path!
I willfully decided the timing and that I wanted to stop at the age of 20. If the people around me had not applied me to “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”, I think I would have given up on my dream just like this. Since I made this experience I can tell you that “There is no such a thing as being too late to chase your dream or not being made for it”. I think the time to work hard is when you realize your dream, so I really do not want you to give up on it and I want you to go after your dream to the point of burning out. We also want to increase our activities to become the goal or dreams and to be the support of these people, and we want to walk ahead of the people chasing their dreams. Let’s work hard together!

[JO1] Classy Online 220524 / 220525

https://classy-online.jp/lifestyle/214116/

Mornings activities for a healthy mind and body. Ohira Shosei’s morning routine

As you are highly popular you have a highly busy schedule. Please tell us what you do for your physical well-being.
My routine is to wake up every morning at 7AM. I wake up my body by opening the curtains and bathe my body in the sun. Then I fully open my windows and get ready while playing my morning playlist. The morning is such a good time, right! It gives me kinda an elegant feeling, so in addition I am careful about what I eat. In the morning I eat yogurt and healthy frozen food to keep my diet balanced. I have been regularly ordering healthy food for a while and basically I eat healthy at night, too, to keep myself healthy.

What a healthy morning routine! Is there something else you do?
What I took up recently is to read a book in the morning or when I have some free time. Just today I finished reading the novel “Sakura no you na koibito” (Love like the falling petals). Right now I want to know more about money, so I am learning by reading money related books. I want to increase my knowledge a bit.

Caring for himself by self praise “You worked super hard!”

You lead a healthy lifestyle, Ohira-kun, but how do you care for yourself when you feel like you are losing your balance?
I often go to the sauna! I sweat, detox and get a break from everything. Also, I go to sleep after praising myself “I worked super hard. I’m so cool!”.

By the way, who do you believe is someone who is good at being pampered among the members?
(Kimata) Syoya is. You can tell that he talks with everyone and tries his all to make things work out! He often comes to me, too and he is cute (laughs). When I went to consult with him, he said “That happened. But it’s not bad. You had a good experience!” and he turned it to a good sense and turned the atmosphere bright and funny.

Do you get pampered by the members?
Rarely. But, when I talk to the other members I tend to forget what was troubling me. I like talking, so I guess this is how I release my troubles well.

https://classy-online.jp/lifestyle/214135/

[JO1] Fully loaded with a happy aura! Ohira Shosei’s tricks to fulfil your dreams

I think people and jobs are attracted to a happy aura

Ohira-kun, you enjoy working without forgetting yourself no matter how busy you are. What is your trick to become positive no matter when?
The secret to always being energetic and doing everything with enjoyment is “super positivity”. I think it's just right to be misunderstood. In Japan there is a culture that you should always be humble, right? But nowadays times are changing and aren’t people who display too much confidence cool? If you can ask for something, “you have no choice but to go for it!” Hence, I live valuing being narcistically and thinking positively. Also, I always try to smile and have a happy aura.

You have a lot of solo schedules such as being a voice actor or appearing in variety shows, don't you? Please tell us how you plan to fulfil your next dream!
That’s right. Thankfully I can do a lot, but I always voice what I want to do such as “I like beauty” or “I want to try being a voice actor”. I think this all is connected to my current self. I mentioned that earlier, too, but by displaying a happy aura people and work will naturally gather around you. Thus, the most important thing is to voice what you want to do while doing everything seemingly always happily!

By the way, do you ever feel down at work?
This rarely happens. However, when we are severely critiqued in a shooting setting, I change it into something positive, saying “This person puts us on a trial, right?” and along with Junki I tell everyone this. Rather than taking it too seriously I try to keep in mind to think of it as “I’m grateful for these things being pointed out!”.

The “feeling well” member according to the strong Ohira-kun is…

Who do you think is the most “feeling well” member of the group?
(Direct answer) It is Sho-kun (laughs). I feel it is because he does not think too deeply in a good sense. I think it is his spirit of “nankurunaisa“ (‘everything is gonna be alright’ in Okinawan). He always says “It’s okay” and has a broad mindedness that kindly accepts you.

Lastly, please boldly recommend a song for the readers who are busy both in private and at work!
I recommend “Touch!”. It is a pure love song and a song we have never tried before. I think the cute and sweet melody line along with the lyrics will make everyone happy. I especially want people in love to listen to it.

[JO1] QJWeb 220523

https://qjweb.jp/feature/70984/?mode=all
This interview shares some questions with the magazine interview from April 2022 but some answers were differently worded and expanded.

JO1’s dance leader Kawashiri Ren talks about the change in the 2nd album “My view regarding singing has changed.”

JO1 is a global boys group made of 11 members chosen in the survival audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”. They will release their second album “KIZUNA” on 25 May, their first album in one and a half years.
Kawashiri Ren talks about the group’s growth since their 1st album “The STAR”, the budding bonds, the challenges and future goals because they reached their third year, his own place in the group and JO1’s unique relationship.

Kawashiri Ren
Born in 1997, from the prefecture of Fukuoka. He has been active as a back dancer since his teenage years and in 2019 he participated in the survival audition “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”. He achieved his debut as a member of the global boys group JO1 in March 2020. He is entrusted with the role of the dance leader in JO1.

“KIZUNA” seems simple, but has a deep message

What did you think when you first heard the title of the album, which has a different taste compared to before?
I thought it felt new. As I got more familiar with it, I realized “It’s good, isn’t it?” and including the content, it is an album that is like “the more you chew on it, the better it becomes.”.The lead track “With Us” is a happy song we never had before. It was the first time we filmed an MV with a fun atmosphere. I think both in terms of facial expressions and performance, you can see an unknown face of the members.I feel JAM will like cool songs like “Algorithm” and “Walk It Like I Talk It”, so I will be glad when they like it.

I think you made various new experiences in the time since the last album such as the second training camp in South Korea or your first live performances with an audience. Are there any visible improvements or changes in the current JO1 because of all those?
Including the 1st album “the STAR” in all singles before, stylish songs, pretty songs, cool songs and various other kinds of songs became one on the singles, but starting with the 3rd single the songs stayed faithful to the concept of “We want to express this”. Thus. it might be that the songs all have a little bit of a similar atmosphere.
But “KIZUNA” contains songs of various colors just like “The STAR”. I think this in order to show our new expressions after experiencing various concepts and growing since the 3rd single. I feel that the arrangement of the song makes it easy to contrast JO1’s growth since the 1st album, so I hope you can enjoy it in that way, and I think it’s something interesting.

And the Kawashiri Ren you want to show through this album?
My image is strongly connected to dancing, but recently I grew to enjoy singing. I have been dancing for a long time, so I have the freedom that I can try to do something else while dancing once in a while, but I’m still struggling with singing. However I tried various kinds of songs and by piling up experience gradually the thoughts “I want to insert this kind of atmosphere” or “I want these words to stand out” became stronger. In this album, I have been able to have deeper discussions and I tackled the recording while consulting the members who are good at singing like Junki, Sho-kun, Takumi and Sukai. I sang trying to convey the simple but deep message of “KIZUNA”, so I hope you will pay attention to my singing, too.

I heard that you were present during the “Move The Soul” recordings of all the other members.
It’s just that I like listening to people recording (laughs). When I thought about how to make this song more interesting, I thought it would be more fun to know about the ideas of the members than thinking on my own, in the sense of “Look at the forest and not just at the tree”.
The differences between the members, like “This guy wants to sing this part in that way”, are interesting and this deepened my understanding of how the parts are connected. The members also discussed with each other what parts of the others were good. Various ideas, discussions and what we are going to create have become possible environmentally in the third year, too, and I think that each of us has become more proactive on both sides.

What was the occasion that amplified your feelings towards singing?
It was the time of “OPEN THE DOOR” last year. Everyone took the dance lessons together, so there were chances to discuss it. Hence, we said that it would be better to practise singing together, too, so that we could also get in sync in this regard. Since then, my view regarding singing has changed. The feeling of “I want to do this more” has become stronger.

An atmosphere in which the members can be in a friendly rivalry with each other

From the episode about singing you just told, we can feel that the team feeling has grown stronger in this third year. What is your position in the “team” JO1?
I think my role changes depending on the occasion. When everyone has too much fun, I guide the flow, saying “This way!”, and when it is the opposite and it’s difficult for everything to get hyped up, I laugh loudly by myself (laughs). I feel like I am in a different mode each time.
It is not that I force myself to be so, but I’m a “worrier” by nature. When we all talk together, It’s better to have fun, and since there are a lot of funny members in JO1, I want them to come alive when it is time for this.

When you are talking, the word “fun/enjoyable” is often mentioned.
My slogan is “When in doubt, turn where your excitement goes”. No matter what it is, isn’t it better to enjoy it? When I’m worried about what I should do, I keep in mind to choose what makes my heart more excited.

Do you enjoy it right now?
I do. I always have fun. Each day feels like a class trip (laughs).

While living a joyful life like this, do you have a rivalry with each other?
We do. I don’t know whether this is the right way to say it, but there is the part that thinks “I want to win”. Because everyone has something that makes me think “That guy is amazing~” I want to be as good at singing as Junki, I want to be able to show powerful dancing like Mame and I want to steal their skills. I feel that because we are all the same kind of humans, there is no way that I can’t do it. So, whatever the outcome, I try to imitate them. I hope that the eventuell outcomes will benefit JO1, so in a positive sense everyone is my rival.
On the other hand, Keigo and Syoya say “I want to become a better dancer than Ren-kun one day”, and I think each member has some feelings of rivalry when they do not say it. I hope this atmosphere of being able to be each other’s closest friendly rival will continue forever.

JO1 puts an emphasis on a high synchronicity in performances, but recently we have also heard statements of “taking an extra step”. What is that extra step?
When it comes to an uniformed dance, there are people who have to change what they want to do or what they thought they would be, right? Even so, there are moments when it is more beautiful to have the aim of the directions of everyone’s expression uniform, and on the other hand, I think there are also times when it is more beautiful when it is not like this.
I think it is better to have a group that can intentionally generate moments of being uniform and not being uniform. I think the choreographers work with this in mind. They sure have intentions like “Here I want them to be uniform” or “Here it is better to show everyone’s energy”, so our closely visible goal right now is to be able to get a picture of this, digest it and express it with our own intentions.

I never score over 80 points.

Furthermore, it seems the group is entering a phase where they are more aware of their “external reach”. How would you perceive the genre and character of JO1?
We are not involved in choosing the songs, so we have not directly said “We want to do a song like this”. But, it is often that the songs we recorded and perform, so the finished products, are different from the demos and original choreographies. I think this gap might be the “JO1ness”.
I think this “JO1ness” is something that comes out on its own, rather than something we think of as “Let’s do this” and make it happen, and it is something that is judged by the audience. I don’t think it is pretty to direct this “character” from our side, going “The JO1 way, the JO1 way”. I believe that as long as we continue to do this seriously, the “JO1ness” will continue to emerge.
However, it is not interesting when the result is always the same. I think it is important to keep on changing. The process of continuing to change, isn’t that the most beautiful thing ever? We are in the middle of our lives. There is no final goal in the change.

It seems that “YOLO-konde”, for which 3RACHA (a producer unit of Stray Kids’ Bang Chan, Chang Bin and Han) provided the music, was another symbolic challenge for JO1. We heard that you were in charge of the choreography, but did you communicate with them?
Regarding the music we received a video message, but there was nothing like that regarding the choreography, so…. (straightens his posture) I would like to ask “How was it?”. But I am nervous.

What was important for you when you made the choreography?
When we all talked about the song together, the keyword “circus” came up. There are a lot of similar words in the lyrics, so I wanted to create something interesting that does not bore the viewers while expressing this in the choreography. Like something is happening here and there, here is someone alone, now everyone together.
The members also share their opinions a lot with me. I enjoyed making it while asking them “Which atmosphere is better?” when mentioning ideas.

It is a mean question but… Would you give 100 points for this?
No no no no (laughs) Hm… 60 points.

Does it mean that for the remaining 40 points you have to grow?
Well, I might not ever get more than 80 points in my life (laughs). The choreography… something like this, well, the result changes a lot each day. Like what you choreographed today, makes you say “That’s not good, this is better” tomorrow, so it forever changes.
And even if I have the aim to update myself, the previous version might have been better in the eyes of the audience. I really don’t know the right answer. But, I guess I scored 60 points because I was able to incorporate what I wanted to do, what I wanted to show and what I wanted the audience to see.

3RACHA are pretty much the same age as you, so did you receive some motivation from this collaboration?
I got a lot. It is hard to say, but sure enough I want to catch up on them. It made my fire burn hotter and it was a really valuable experience.

If you get the chance would you like to do something creative in the future again?
That’s right. I like these kinds of things. Choreographing is a given, but I also want to create our stages. I would like to challenge myself in everything I can even when it is not about the group.

You seem like the type of person who is always working, but do you have some break from your busy life?
Without a doubt you can say that I am this kind of person. I even think sleeping is a bit of a waste of time (laughs). I am often asked “What is your method to relieve stress?”, but I do not have one. Stress is, well, when you live it happens, but when I am asked “What is the best method to relieve stress?” out of nowhere, I cannot think of anything. I would like to know the recommendations of the readers (laughs). Well, but right now it could be games. Recently, me and the members are into a new game.

“With the members”, this is surely one of the interestings parts of JO1. Do you ever have a time when you want to be alone?
Both at work and in private I am always with the members. It is funny (laughs). If I had to say when I want to be alone, it would be when we move by car. Even when I am tired in the early morning or late at night, Junki and Syoya are really lively. Syoya, he never sleeps! In the car, he is constantly talking to me… Well, he is cute and fine like this however. When we leave the car, Sho-kun and I always say “Syoya was energetic today again…” (laughs).