Japanese Girl Group NiziU Claims First Place on Korean Music Shows…Expansion of Cross-Border K-pop Model

NiziU, a Japanese girl group under JYP Entertainment, secured first place on Korean music shows with their new song “LOVE LINE (운명선)”. After releasing their second Korean single album “LOVE LINE” on the 31st of last month, the group began their music show promotions starting with Mnet’s “M Countdown” on the 3rd, and they won first place with their new song on MBC M’s “Show! Champion” on the 9th. This marks their second success in approximately 1 year and 5 months since they first reached first place just 9 days after their official debut in October 2023. Korean music shows are rapidly emerging as a global stage for Japanese idol groups. Yonashiro Sho, the 30-year-old leader of the Japanese idol group JO1, recently filmed Mnet’s “M Countdown” at CJ ENM’s headquarters in Seoul. JO1 was formed through the Korean-Japanese joint audition program “Produce 101 Japan” and is part of K-pop-style groups that operate based in Japan while following the K-pop production model. Until recently, these groups kept their connections to Korea low-key out of concern over criticism that they were focusing too much on overseas activities. However, this perception is changing. Yonashiro said, “We study K-pop trends, fashion, and Korean language together,” adding that they even danced to the recent popular “Han River Cat Challenge” on Korean TikTok. Japanese groups such as JO1, &TEAM, ME:I, and INI have started appearing frequently on Korean music shows despite not officially debuting in Korea. This shift became evident after JYP Entertainment’s Japanese girl group NiziU became the first Japanese idol group to win first place on a Korean music program in 2023. Since then, activities in Korea have become routine, with groups like NCT Wish and NEXZ releasing their debut albums simultaneously in both Korea and Japan. Rapone Entertainment, CJ ENM’s Japanese subsidiary, is behind these efforts. Rapone manages JO1, INI, and ME:I and actively promotes them in Korea. Since their debut in 2020, JO1 has had every single song of theirs top Japan’s Oricon chart. INI surpassed 1 million album sales last year, becoming one of the few Japanese groups to achieve this alongside Snowman, while ME:I won the New Artist Award at last year’s Japan Record Awards and topped the Oricon chart. Despite strong performance in Korea and appearances at major Japanese events like NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen”, these groups still prioritize Korean music shows as a gateway to building a global fanbase. According to CJ ENM producer Jung Yu-jin, these shows are regarded as gateways for building a global fanbase. Initial concerns that K-pop techniques would be provided solely as a model for J-pop without any return disappeared as these Japanese groups adopted Korean-style training methods and promotion strategies. Yonashiro said the members trained from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day in Korea, a schedule that is uncommon in Japan. JO1 now defines their own style as “KJ-pop”, which blends elements of K-pop and J-pop. The establishment of the K-pop production method in Japan benefits Korea’s music industry by creating a new generation of Japanese artists trained in K-pop. Producer Jung said, “While most participants in the first season of ‘Produce 101 Japan’ had a background in J-pop, more trainees prepared under the K-pop system from subsequent seasons onward.” Momo Nara, the 22-year-old leader of ME:I, is a K-pop trainee who made a comeback after competing on “Produce 101 Japan The Girls”. She debuted as a J-pop girl group at age 12 but lived in a small room near Hongdae in Seoul while training at a K-pop academy.