It’s been an thrilling and busy time for J-pop group JO1.
Group members Sho Yonashiro and Keigo Sato are sitting in a convention room at The Hollywood Reporter’s L.A. workplace. The pair, dressed casually earlier than they depart for a flight to Las Vegas for a cease on the iHeartRadio Music Competition, are the one two members of the 11-person J-pop group who’ve made the journey from Japan to the U.S.
The 11-piece outfit — comprised of members Yonashiro, the group’s chief, Ren Kawashiri, Ruki Shiroiwa, Junki Kono, Sato, Takumi Kawanishi, Syoya Kimata, Shosei Ohira, Sky Kinjo, Shion Tsurubo and Issei Mamehara — was shaped by the Japanese spin-off of well-liked Korean music competitors collection Produce 101 Japan. Within the 5 years since their 2020 debut, the group’s been busy.
The group is again with a brand new single, “Handz in my Pocket,” from a single album that options three extra new songs. The almost three-minute tune is catchy and enjoyable. Sato says that because the group has expanded globally this previous 12 months, the concept of a signature JO1 tune was on the thoughts. “Handz in my Pocket” appears to be that for the group. “That’s one thing that actually helped affect us after we had been deciding which tune to decide on,” the 27-year-old explains by a translator.
For the primary time, all members of the J-pop group got here collectively to resolve on their subsequent single. “It was exhausting,” Yonashiro jokes. The 29-year-old, the group’s chief, says it was an excellent alternative to all contribute on this manner. “Really, we didn’t have any issues,” he later provides.
JO1 additionally picked the perfect components of two totally different choreographers’ work to create the dance. “It [was] actually enjoyable and actually troublesome typically as a result of [it was a] little bit tougher,” Yonashiro says. He says it wasn’t that the choreography itself was significantly, however “moving into the fitting mindset” was a tough needle to string at occasions.
In 2025, JO1’s most important aim gave the impression to be a push into world markets, much less frequent on this planet of J-pop, significantly within the U.S. They launched into their first U.S. tour, attended U.S. award reveals and music festivals and have launched English-language variations of their final two singles, “Be Basic” and “Handz in my Pocket.” The group has come to the Los Angeles space 4 occasions within the final 12 months alone. “Subsequent 12 months, I believe we’ll do the identical factor,” says Yonashiro concerning the group’s world future.
“We wish to go around the globe to carry out. We would like folks in each nation to know our title,” the chief provides. The singer notes that he thinks it’s vital that the group doesn’t quit on selling their music globally. Sato says he desires the group to formally debut in America, saying charting on Billboard is an aspiration for the group. He additionally provides that he desires to carry out at Coachella. The group additionally took half within the U.S. present, KPOPPED, from Apple TV, which paired Ok-pop and J-pop teams with western artists for a particular collaboration efficiency.
Yonashiro says the L.A. date of JO1’s 2025 world tour has been a standout second for him. The tour helped the group notice what a big fanbase that they had overseas. “Everybody was ready for us. I couldn’t imagine that,” he says. “Everybody remembered our Japanese lyrics and [were] singing [them].”
For Sato, getting the prospect to carry out on the Dodgers’ Japanese Heritage Evening was a spotlight. “Clearly performing on the Dodgers is such an enormous deal, however what made it further particular is the truth that the Dodgers have plenty of Japanese gamers,” he explains.
“With the ability to see Japanese folks acting on the worldwide world stage and simply dominating makes us really feel like we should be like them,” Sato continues. “It’s very inspiring to us.”