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OWV - While being more united than before, the initial goal is also to increase the power of the individual

The boys group OWV was formed by 4 former trainees of the widely popular audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”. After their breakthrough year in 2021 when they released a full album and held their first tour, they will release the single “You” as their first release in 2022. Including the highlights of the work that paints different kinds of “beginnings”, they talk freely about the reasons why they aimed for this world, their memories from high school and secret stories of their formation.

The reasons why each member aimed for the world of artists.

Please tell us about your reason for aiming to enter the world of artists.
Katsunari: When I watched a music show performance of BIGBANG-san as a middle schooler, I thought they were amazing. I got so hooked on them that I went to all the lives they had in Japan that year. It was fascinating how wide their fan base was and that they are loved by both men and women, so aiming for this artist image I entered this world. I started joining auditions during my last year of university, and before I had given up on it believing it was “a world I had no connections with”.

Until joining the audition did you have any experience in singing and dancing?
Katsunari: I didn’t have any experience, so I struggled. But I believe that it was a necessary effort to get closer to my ideal image, and I didn’t want to quit back then, a feeling that grew stronger, so I joined “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”.

How about you, Honda-san?
Kosuke: When I was in elementary school, my routine was to watch “Akko ni omakase!” (literally: leave it to Akko!) at home during lunch on Sundays. During the 6th grade, I thought “I want to appear there!”, so I applied for an actor’s school which had an ad in the newspaper. That’s how I entered this world. Until my 2nd year of middle school I focused on learning acting, but then after seeing AAA I wanted to be in a dance & vocal group, so I started dancing.

I have heard that you were part of the track and field club in high school.
Kosuke: I got into the high school thanks to a track and field referral, but I had to leave the club due to an injury and afterwards I started to learn dancing. After graduating from high school, I started to go to a dance school and as a result, I could debut like this, so I’m thankful to Akko-san. One day I want to appear on “Akko ni omakase!”!
TN: Akko-san: Wada Akiko.

I think there were some twists and turns in your life before the formation of OWV, but did you ever waver in your wish to enter the artist world?
Kosuke: I was disheartened over and over and I also thought I should give up. I wondered, too, whether I should return to Fukushima and become a dance instructor there. But my parents always told me “Work hard and don’t come back until you have achieved something.” and I was able to persist. This made me reach a turning point.

What was the occasion for you, Urano-san?
Shuta: During my 6th year in elementary school I joined an artist agency and was a back dancer. I had experience in dancing before and my mother had sent the application to the agency. The wish to also become the main character grew stronger by experiencing big stages.

You didn’t have any interest in the artist world originally?
Shuta: Not really. Until the first semester of the 6th grade I studied everyday for the middle school entrance exam, but in summer I took up the audition. Bringing together studies and entertainment activities had been difficult and when I stood before the choice of choosing “studies or entertainment world?” I choose the entertainment world. When I got into K-POP during middle school, I realised the charms of performing on stage. Slowly the feeling of “I want to be active in a dance vocal unit” became stronger and I seriously started to learn singing and dancing. When I was a high school student, I worked hard on my dream with the belief “I won’t give up until I succeed. One day I will succeed!”

Which K-POP groups did you get into?
Shuta: The ones I first thought were cool were SHINee-san. I also like groups such as BIGBANG-san, INFINITE-san and Boyfriend-san and watched them. There were K-POP fans in my whole family.

Is there anything that has influenced you, Sano-san?
Fumiya: I started being interested in dancing after watching “Okaxile” (a collab unit made of NinetyNine’s Okamura Takashi-san and EXILE-san formed in the variety program “Mecha2 Iketeru!”). However my hometown was in the middle of nowhere and had no environment to challenge dancing, so the whole middle school I did baseball and the whole high school I was in the track and field club.

When did you start dancing?
Fumiya: I always wanted to but I actually started when I moved to Tokyo after entering university. As I continued to practise, I had the luck to work with a lot of people and brushed up my skills through stage experience. Just like Shuta, I became interested in being the artist by performing as their back dancer. But I originally didn't like singing, so I imagined doing only dance related activities, but I became more interested in singing so I am here now.

When you were still in your hometown, did you have the feeling of aiming for the entertainment industry?
Fumiya: I had the vague feeling that “I want to be famous!”, but I can’t say it was something concrete.

Please tell us about an event at high school that left an impression on you.
Kosuke: At the sports festival matches, I was serious about basketball. I went to the gym early in the morning even before the basketball club and practised. Thanks to this we took the second place. Besides being second, it was a battle within the school, so it wasn’t anything special (laughs). But I was popular because I stood out in basketball. I only pursued coolness so I went only for the three point throws. But I made quite a lot of them so I was popular with the juniors.
Fumiya: Right when I entered high school dance became compulsory and I became the dance leader of my class who choreographed and chose the song, which left a deep impression on me. I had no experience, but my physical abilities were relatively high compared to the class, “You can dance, right?” and I got the job. Back then my fading passion for dancing was revived.
Shuta: In my case it’s the school festival. My class did a dance performance and we were quite serious about it, with the production and lightning. We practised until late and made the costumes with a lot of enthusiasm. On the event day, more than 100 people came to watch and it felt great to hear the cheers from so many people.
Katsunari: I had a dance performance at the school festival of my high school. It was under the direction of a girl who was good at dancing but I was entrusted with dancing in the middle. Back then I didn’t like to stand out and it was embarrassing to hear my name among the cheers the day of the performance, but it was fun! I think without this experience I wouldn’t be here today.

I thought that if these 4 people came together, we would be even stronger.

I heard that OWV was formed around Honda-san.
Kosuke: After PRODUCE 101 JAPAN endet, I talked about wanting to do something, but only when I was asked by the agency “Don’t you want to be in a group?” I decided on it earnestly.

So it’s that 4 people who got along from the start came together?
Kosuke: I often talked with them, so it naturally became these 4 members. The mainstream is to have odd numbered groups, so I thought having an even number and just 4 members would be challenging, but that’s why it’s cool.
Katsunari: Especially because of the small number, I feel like we would fail if we didn’t stand out individually.
Kosuke: Each one of us is specialised in something and as an aura. I thought I could do it on my own too, but we would be stronger if it’s the 4 of us. It’s a bit embarrassing to say it yourself, but we are like “the 4 heavenly kings” (laughs).

How did the formation talk move forward?
Kosuke: In the beginning I talked with Fumiya, but it was right when Fumiya met Katsu, so he asked about his feelings regarding this.
Fumiya: When I told Katsu-kun about the project idea Honda-kun had been in charge of, he said “I want to hear more about it”. So the four of us came together again.
Kosuke: Rather than Shuta being invited, he just was there at the side, too, each time I met Fumiya (laughs).
Fumiya: We didn’t feel comfortable together.
Shuta: I heard the talk about the project from the side, and ended up suddenly answering “OK!” (laughs).
Kosuke: Shuta was back then already an allrounder who could sing and dance, so he was absolutely necessary for the group.

Do the 4 of you have something in common?
Katsunari: That we are all very competitive. I think the 4 of us continue to do what we once have thought of doing, and I believe that is the driving force behind the group.

Did your relationship change compared to the time of your formation?
Fumiya: We became closer.
Shuta: Also, our individual characters have become more prominent.
Katsunari: We have been together for a long time, so I feel the tempo has become better in the talks for recordings and such. Also, it has become easier for us to judge “It’s better to do this like that”.

You formed the group during the pandemic, but I think the period when you couldn’t meet because of the stay at home period was also long.
Shuta: Because we couldn’t meet directly, we decided things remotely. The tempo of the talk between the members had been funny and we thought it would be good to show it like this to the fans, so we named it “Honausa radio” and uploaded it irregularly on Instagram back then. It was a great success that we continue it as a fanclub exclusive content now.
Kosuke: The length of “Honausa radio” is about 10 minutes, but recording time sometimes took more 6 hours. We carefully selected and edited this, and that was only possible because we were at home every day. This was very useful for interviews and program recordings.

This year is the year for OWV to improve our individual power

Please tell us of the highlights and concept of the new single “You”.
Katsunari: The title track, “You”, was written with the idea that it would be a starting point for something. It was our first time trying a mid tempo ballad as a title track. The melody is absolutely different from the title track of our album “CHASER” that we released last year and we decided on it together because it has a gap and we felt it is connected to us showing different sides of us in our work & flavour as artists. We were also particular about the blue and white costumes and the form of each member, but technique inside-out was used (* a manufacturing method that shows the lining from the collar, sleeves and hem). This expresses that “You”, the fans, and “I”, us, are two sides of the same coin. I hope you will pay attention not only to the lyrics and the slightly sad melody but also to our costumes which are also made with our feelings in mind.
Fumiya: “Sound The Alarm” is a dance track in a similar style to the main tracks OWV has released so far. It has also the theme of “beginning” and it’s a strong song with an image of an alarm that wakes something passionate in you. The rap and vocal line is perfectly parted into a 2:2 ratio, with Honda-kun and Katsu-kun rapping and me and Shuta doing the vocals, so each of us shows what he got.
Shuta: TALK TALK TALK is a pop song that we first performed on our first live tour and it’s about the beginning of love. It’s “THE LIVE SONG” in which we can liven up along the fans and in pre chorus “TALK TALK TALK” and the chorus I want to the fans to sing along once you can talk at lives again, and there is also a way to wave the penlights, so I want to perform it more and more at lives in the future.

What are your personal goals now that April and the term starts?
Katsunari: I want to try skateboarding.
Shuta: You were inspired by the Olympics (laughs)
Katsunari: No no (laughs) it just seems fun and actually I did it a bit in high school. I would like to visit the park while being careful not to get injured. You only live once, so I want to try everything!
Shuta: I recently started going to the sauna regularly. I go about 2~3 times a week and I also go alone. It feels good to sweat!
Kosuke: Some time ago, I saw at the rooftop of the supermarket a sign saying “looking for members for a tennis club” and I ended up wanting to get into some sport in addition to OWV’s activities. I’m also interested in taking care of the equipment and yesterday I watched a video about how to take care of your gloves on YouTube (laughs). I want to get into a sport with carefully cared for equipment!
Fumiya: I would like to be able to do a “leg split” like you see in KungFu movies. I want to be able to hook my keys between two stones so I’m working hard on it while being in pain. This year I will reach the milestone of becoming 25 years old, so my body is still flexible, but I want to perfectionate my body more and more without neglecting it. Because if I stop, my stamina will decline.

What is your aspiration as OWV?
Kosuke: I think it’s a year in which we should be united more than ever while also improving our individuality as it was our first goal. All members will do their best so that each one of us can specialise in a field in which they can be active.
Katsunari: I would like to challenge unit songs or solo songs.

Lastly, please give a message to the readers who are preparing to choose their future path.
Shuta: It’s better to study so that there won’t be any regrets left. It is up to each one on their own whether they can bring out what they had worked hard on in university entrance exams or job exams. However, the results of your hard work will remain and even if you fail, it’s just one part of your life, so I hope you won’t be depressed by it.
Kosuke: If you find something that you really want to do, you will easily see what you need to work hard on. I think that’s all you need!

We all have experienced setbacks, but what can we do to turn them into something positive?
Fumiya: In a way “misunderstandings” are necessary. “Misunderstandings” that cause trouble to those around you, will make them think “you are unreliable”, but if you become a narcist in a good way, thinking “If it’s me, this will succeed for sure.” or “My belief is second to none.” , you might not blur into the background even if you fail.