[JO1] Stage Navi 220527

The global boy group JO1 is made of 11 members chosen in the audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN”. They, who keep on attracting attention with their refined performances, released their second album. This time, we asked the group leader ,Yonashiro Sho, and the dance leader, Kawashiri Ren, who leads their performances, about the group’s songs, the appeal of their performances, all about from their debut to now, conflicts they felt as the leaders and finally their bond with the members.

You released your second album “KIZUNA” on May 25th. 2 years have passed since your debut and I believe just like the says the bond of JO1 has deepened in this time, but what kind of feelings are put into this album?
Sho: From our debut in 2020 until now, we overcame various hardships by cherishing our bonds. However, I feel that now as we have entered our third year, we are at our true starting point. As we had been unable to do our activities as we had imaged them due to the pandemic, JAM supported us the whole time and last year at our first lives with an audience we had been able to meet them, so I hope to have more concerts and give back more to JAM who support us in the future. That’s why, there is both our bond with JAM and the bond of us in “KIZUNA”. Those are the two bonds that make the album.
Ren: Of course, we have to improve our singing and dancing, but by experiencing live shows with an audience I was able to feel the connection with JAM and also the one among the members once more and deeper than ever. I think this album was made while keeping this “connection” in mind. In terms of performances, I think all 11 members being uniform is a certain thing, but also the cohesiveness of the group as a whole while each individual also stands out on his own is easy to understand, so I would be happy if you could pay attention to this.

There are 7 new songs starting with the lead track “with Us”, and 12 other songs that had been featured on your 3rd to 5th single, but please tell us your personal favorite of those.
Sho: I really like “Touch!”. The melody feels a little soft, but this is something really nice in my opinion. I like this feeling that makes me want to listen to it over and over.
Ren: All songs are my favorite, but today I feel like choosing “ZERO”. Actually JO1’s logo changes a bit with every CD, but this time it was changed under the motive of a gear. The image of these gears being interlocked into each other and everything being connected is strong. This emphasizes the theme of bonds which we talked about earlier. Especially the lyrics of “ZERO” “Our story that is stretching endlessly It was decided from the moment we met The circle you call fate” is something I really like. The keyword “The circle you call fate” fits to how I feel today, so I think I pick “ZERO” as my favorite song today (laughs).

Well then, please tell us about an event that deepened the bonds of you two further.
Sho: I feel there was not that one occasion. Because I often talked with Ren since our debut already. After practice ended Ren and Junki came to my room and we talked for a long time. While talking about a lot of things like about the group or about the future, I guess our bonds deepened without us realizing it. And we often go out on free days. Hence, there is not that one occasion…
Ren: Right (laughs). I think surprisingly we have been talking a lot since the audition already. Cause we are both the kind of people who proactively start to talk to other people. Since we became JO1 members we somehow do things together (laughs).
Sho: But actually, we weren’t engaging much with each other during the audition.
Ren: Because we were only the same team for the very last performance. So I guess from then on (we became closer).

As you are the leader, Yonashiro-san, and you are the dance leader in JO1, Kawashiri-san, I believe you are often relied on by the other members. Is there anything you were able to consult with each other?
Sho: I consulted Ren way too often that I can’t even remember one thing (laughs bitterly). As JO1 has 11 members, what everyone wants to do is different, our personalities, our values and the way we express ourselves are also completely different. Ren teaches everyone the dances while I support them in their daily lives and I often observe their personalities. We are the two oldest members of the group, so we have a little more life experience than the others, right? That’s why, it might be that things that are common sense for us are not like that for the others and in the beginning we struggled a lot with that or rather we said something like “sure enough it’s different”.
Ren: In this business there is no right answer. It is also not like winning a game. It is not a world that has something that makes you improve for sure when you train like this, so in the beginning we had no idea what was the right way for us to proceed. In this day and age where we could not see what was awaiting us I often talked with Sho-kun and the other members about what we should do.
Sho: Exactly that’s why I feel that being attentive to everyone’s feelings is the most important thing. There might be times when I think something should be done but the others think differently, and just like Ren said, there is no right answer. Hence, it might happen that even though we think something is right, it will not be the case. Besides, we get to know about other values by being with others. This is the environment in which we can improve, so I feel we have to talk with each other on the spot.

In this case, do you have something you keep in mind in order to deepen the bonds with the members?
Ren: It might be something very trivial, but it is to say things like “Good morning” or “You have worked hard today”. Out of the 24 days a day has, we might be together for 20 hours, so the sense of saying something like “Good morning” is fading fast. So I try to turn it on again by saying “Good morning”. As long as I live I plan to say “Good morning” in the sense of work is about to start and “You have worked hard today” in the sense of ‘you have done well today, see you again tomorrow’. It is something natural for me to greet the people we work with, or rather it is a matter of courtesy to say this for me, but some members who have not worked yet or have not experienced this business yet seemed to be puzzled by this at first. Like “Why are you saying Good morning in the middle of the night?” But I also thought like this in the beginning (laughs). Thus, I keep these greetings in mind.
Sho: I am both the leader and the oldest member, so I am careful to make the greetings loudly. If I don’t do that, other members might assume it’s okay not to greet. I don’t mean to set an example. but if I don’t use honorifics when I am talking with the manager, the members won’t do so either and since I don’t want to be a bad example I always keep in mind to keep the way I appear acceptable.

Because you two are the oldest members, you might feel a little tense at times, right?
Ren: I am not sure whether it is something good or not, but I am the type of person who wants to match the atmosphere of the other one or what they are looking for. For example, if there is someone who seems to like cheerful people, I may joke around and talk cheerfully in an interview or in a serious discussion like this, I will talk about what's on my mind so far. Even when I am with the members, when I feel now is the time to have fun I will join them and fool around, but on the other hand when I feel they don’t want my attention, I will leave them alone and I just end up thinking about the other one. It is not that I am acting like this on purpose, but I subconsciously adjust which part of myself I will show. Thus, I feel like I never let my guard down. It might be that I don’t want people to feel bad around me.
Sho: Back right at the early times of our debut, I felt I had to do the things properly to a perfect degree.
Ren: At first, you worked so hard that you pretty much overdid it, didn’t you? (laughs bitterly)
Sho: I ended up being exhausted by this (laughs). But I realized that surprisingly in this business just being polite is not everything. This is just my opinion, but if you are too polite, you can make others feel distant from you. So, recently I feel like I try not to create too much distance, and if it is possible become friends with everyone. Because it is usually more enjoyable to talk about things that interest you than talk about superficial things that are not really interesting, and there are also people accepting this. However, I felt if I made up something, I would get caught on the spot.

Prior to the album release, on 22nd April, you digitally released your first collaboration track “YOLO-konde” which was produced by STRAY KIDs’ 3RACHA (BangChan, Changbin & HAN) and JO1 wrote the lyrics.
Sho: It was the first time they provided a song for us and I was really happy to collaborate with Stray Kids-san like this. They told us they want us to perform the song with our own way of performing and singing, so we wrote lyrics while thinking what we can express in this song. On the demo version Stray Kids are singing, but this was so well done. I was deeply impressed by the world view and high quality of Stray Kids-san who produce their music themselves, and I strongly felt that JO1 should be able to do the same in the future.
Ren: We wrote the lyrics based on a circus concept, so while I was in charge of making the choreography I kept in mind to make the most out of this vibe while not making it boring to look at, and I asked the other members for their opinions. I hope you all will check it out too and tell me your opinions about it.

Kawashiri Ren

I trust my senses and aim for the top

When asked about the good sides of the members, who he often watches over as their dance leader Kawashiri Ren answered “That they are competitive”.
“There are both members who say it openly and members just keep it in their hearts. But they all have something ‘I won’t lose to anyone else just in this one thing’ even compared to the others, which is something good in my opinion. I feel having someone who can be your friendly rival so close leads to current JO1’s strength.”

This friendly rivalry led to everyone’s huge improvement in regard to performances.
“Junki dances naturally, and Sho-kun is also serious about dancing. Their personalities also come out in their dancing. Ruki has a clear idea of ‘coolness’ in his mind and is good at showing this. Once Shion is into something, he is stronger than anyone else in it. When something gets him, all his goodness comes out. Sukai has insane athletic skills (laughs). He is also smart. Hence, he is one who can do what I tell him on the spot. Keigo got his own “Keigo-ness” (laughs). I think it is great that exudes his own vibe in everything he does. Shosei’s hands are cute when he dances (laughs). Like they always curl up a little. Mame is more amazing than me in his own field. Our genres are different, but it is so amazing what he can do in his age and I simply respect him for this. Syoya has his own sensibility, but it resembles mine a little. When I tell the members ‘Raise your hand as if it was heavy’, I can say ‘Do it as if your hand was stuck in jelly’ in Syoya’s case. When I tell him something in a way he can easily imagine, he can do it in an instant, which I like about him. Takumi is someone who has multiple eyes. He can look at himself from above and from the side. I feel he dances while having those images in his mind which is really amazing. In my case, I want to trust my senses. I want to trust my senses in the way that when I think it will look beautiful if I raise my hand here, I move like that.

JO1 reached its 3rd year and a new chapter opens up in front of you. What are your future goals?
“Our greeting is always ‘Go To The TOP’ but we don’t put emphasis on what the Top actually is. We keep on aiming for the top and work hard to get there. I think this is the right path for us, so I would like to keep on cherishing this greeting.”