[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).