Naniwa danshi, INI, BE:FIRST... Which is the most popular male group debuting in November?
November is a month full of male group debuts
For a long time, the Japanese male idol market was almost exclusively dominated by Johnny's. Nowadays, it is slowly becoming more and more open due to the popularity of Korean idol groups in Japan and the rise of LDH, an agency led by EXILE and Sandaime J Soul Brothers, which can be called mature idols.
And this November, the power structure seems to be about to change even more than before. That's because three promising male idol groups will be making their debuts at once, almost at the same time.
One is Naniwa danshi, debuting from the reigning powerhouse, Johnny's Office. The other two are INI and BE:FIRST, both born from audition programs. Here's a brief explanation of the appeal of each
Naniwa danshi is a royal glittering idol group consisting of seven Kansai Johnny's juniors. They are currently still in the position of pre-debut juniors, but they have already gained immense popularity among teenage girls
Last year, when they decided to hold a fund-raising event at Abeno Harukas in Osaka as part of the 24-hour TV program, they were flooded with fans who wanted to see them. The story goes that the event had to be cancelled because safety could not be ensured. Not only have they already appeared on TV a lot and increased their fan base, but one of the members, Michieda Shunsuke is also highly regarded as an actor and is beginning to be widely recognized by people other than Johnny's fans.
The two groups formed from auditions
On the other hand, INI and BE:FIRST are both dance vocal groups consisting of members who were selected through fierce auditions
INI's birth program was "PRODUCE 101 SEASON 2," which aired on TBS.
As you can see from the above, SEASON 1 had already been held, and the 11-member group JO1, which is now immensely popular, was born at that time.
INI is the younger sibling of JO1
Like JO1, there is 11 members. The audition process was broadcast live on TV from start to finish, and the successful candidates were decided by viewer votes, so they have already gained a considerable number of "oshi-fans" fans. As a result, they have already gained a considerable number of fans and are sure to top the charts as soon as they make their debut
The birth process of BE:FIRST is almost the same as that of INI. They are a 7-member dance vocal group, and were born out of "THE FIRST," an audition created by popular rapper Hidaka Mitsuhiro, better known as SKY-HI
The show was broadcasted on Nippon Television's morning information program "Sukkiri" and on the video streaming service Hulu, and like the INI, it attracted a lot of attention and gained a lot of fans. However, there was a difference in the selection method: while the INI members were chosen by viewer votes, the BE:FIRST members were all chosen by SKY-HI. It will be interesting to see if this is a good thing or a bad thing
Despite these differences in characteristics, the starting point for each group is almost the same in that they have all attracted a great deal of attention before their debut and have already gained a certain amount of fans.
So, which group will be the first to stand out from these three groups? Or will the three groups stand side by side and the male idol market will plunge into an even more fierce battle? Or will Johnny's show their true strength? ......? We asked a number of music and entertainment reporters, editors, and writers to find out.
Popular industry forecasts are...
The results showed that the Naniwa danshiwere the ones with the most "head start".
"I think the Naniwa danshi are ahead of the rest, followed by INI and BE:FIRST. I have the impression that the latter two groups are more popular among fans, but Naniwa danshi's popularity is overwhelming in terms of the response and enthusiasm when it comes to actual articles
In addition, many of the Naniwa Danshi are new to the world of Johnny's fans. Fans of Johnny's idols used to be fans of Arashi, but now they're fans of Snow Man, but this is not the case with Naniwa Danshi. That can be the reason why they have gained such a wide range of fans. Maybe it's because many of them are really good-looking and have a prince-like quality that is easy for young people to understand
However, I have the impression that their fan base is different from the other two groups. While the Naniwa Danshi's fans are mainly junior high and high school students, INI and BE:FIRST's fan base seems to be mostly adults. So even if they have more fans than the other two groups, the amount of money they spend might be the same as the other two groups," said an editor in charge of entertainment at a women's magazine.
A music editor of a web magazine also made the following analysis
"Each of the three groups has a different style, but Naniwa danshi's members all have good faces and are young, so they have a prince-like and fresh feeling, and I think they're ahead of the rest at the moment. However, after their debut, I expect that INI will grow.
The reason for this is that they are born from the big content of Produce (also known as PRODUCE 101), which also produced JO1, so their fans are more attached to them than ordinary idol groups. Especially in terms of talent, they are more outstanding than the other two groups.
It's sorry to say this, but at the time of the first season of Produce, when JO1 was born, the audition itself was still a bit of a wild card, so most of the applicants were ordinary people with no experience in singing or dancing. However, after seeing the success of JO1, many kids who were semi-professionals who had been doing music rather well took the entrance test for Season 2 because they realized that they could do it.
Originally, produce was an audition for kids who had the ability but not the luck to make their debut, so in that sense, INI is a different group from the original concept. In addition, they didn't make their debut right after the audition in June, and are now training hard in Korea. I'm sure they'll be even more talented when they debut, so I'm personally looking forward to their debut song the most"
Johnny's strong on TV
On the other hand, many people said that BE:FIRST was a little late to the market compared to Naniwa danshi and INI
"BE:FIRST has also won a audition, so they have high ability, but I think they are at a disadvantage compared to INI, who is also selling their ability. Even though the audition was aired on "Sukkiri," Produce has received far more attention, and to be honest, INI has the better talent at the moment
The most important thing that I'm worried about is that BE:FIRST is not selling themselves as an idol group. They are not allowed to be asked idol-like questions in interviews, but it is difficult to call them an artist group since many of them have no experience in singing or dancing. I think they'll try to be more J-pop than K-pop INI, but they still don't have a strong fan base, I have the impression that there are many issues that need to be cleared in order for :FIRST to make a breakthrough" (music writer).
To sum up the various voices, Naniwa danshi in first place, INI in a close second place, and BE:FIRST in third place need another new weapon to catch up
"But when it comes to gaining support not only from the core fans but also from the general public, I think that the Naniwa danshi of Johnny's, who are strong in TV, have an advantage.
If INI puts more effort into TV exposure, the competition will become less certain, but judging from the way JO1 is being marketed, INI will probably focus on content seen by people who are interested in K-POP. In this way, Johnny's has the power to push them on TV, so I think that when the time comes for their debut in November, Naniwa Boys will get solid TV exposure and become established as TV personalities" (entertainment writer).
It seems that breaking down the stronghold of Johnny's is not an easy task. Anyway, let's look forward to the release of their debut songs in November.
[+1,050, -58] I got the impression that some of the opinions are biased depending on the person publishing the article.
Each group is a wonderful group with different qualities and personalities.
It's not good for the image of the group if the article is written in a way that might stir up the fans
[+1,000, -89] Even if you stir things up with articles like this, we fans would never say anything bad about another group in order to lift up our favorite group! As you can see from the auditions for both INI and BE:FIRST, they all worked very hard to get their debut and it was a painful and sad experience to see their rivals fall away one by one. Even so, when I saw them making desperate efforts for their debut, I was moved and wanted to support them, so I became a fan. So, MINI and BESTY are kind people who know the pain of others.
I'm an ex-army, but I've seen so many bad comments from armys about Japanese artists and idols that I got sick of them, and I couldn't accept BTS, so I quit. I don't want to be in the same category as them. Good luck Japan!〜♪
[+869, -45] BEFIRST has many inexperienced members...
One of them has no experience in singing or dancing, and another has no experience in singing but has been in the world's number one dance competition four times, so I guess.
I'm not sure if you're just saying that the power of Johnny's is collapsing, or if you're saying that Johnny's is still strong?
It's true, though, when you consider the power of the office.
I'm sure they all have their own strengths and I hope they all do well
[+806, -122] I'm a BESTY, but I wonder if this was written by a reporter who doesn't know that even inexperienced dancers can be as good as or better than experienced dancers. I think it's great that an inexperienced dancer is dancing as well as the winner of the World Dance Olympics. I think you should check it out before you write about it. I understand that you are pushing for Naniwa danshi.
I wonder if Johnny's is worried about BEFIRST. Maybe that's why they're writing this article, because they think their group is so bad.
But rather than saying which one is the best, wouldn't it make everyone happy if everyone worked together to make Japanese boy groups more exciting and improve their level? I don't want it to be like only Johnny's has benefited so far anymore.
By the way, in order of the number of views on YouTube, BEFIRST has the most views, followed by INI, and Naniwa danshi is third.
[+783, -34] As for their debut, it's obvious that Naniwa is the stronger of the two, as they have been working hard in the media and have built up their popularity over the years.
However, I'd like to cast my vote for BE:FIRST.
I'm a Johnny wota, but when Niki-kun was chosen for ENHYPEN, I thought to myself, "Oh, a kid with this much skill would be out of place in Johnny's and won't be able to do anything satisfying for him.
To be honest, I felt sorry for him.
Johnny's has an image of doing a wide range of things rather than focusing on dancing and singing.
That's why I agree with SKY-HI's goal of creating a place for kids who want to dance and sing properly.
I think there should be such an agency in Japan, and I think it would be beneficial for the Japanese idol scene as a whole to not be dominated by Johnny's anymore.
There should be a variety of groups and fans should be able to freely choose their favorite group.
[+757, -34] Have you properly researched that BE:FIRST is mostly inexperienced?
There is one member with no experience. The other members have been in dance schools since elementary school, or have been in groups with offices, although they haven't made a major debut.
Some of the members have been working professionally in different fields
If you don't do a proper research and write about it, it will be judged as a random evaluation of the other groups.
This is a great opportunity for boy groups to compete and become more active in Japan.
The power of the media is also important.
[+724, -72] Produce has received far more attention, and to be honest, INI has the better talent at the moment
↑What? What research? Is it a personal opinion?
[+580, -26] In the first place, Naniwa and INI/BEFIRST are not comparable. As for MINI, we hope that INI will be able to catch up with Naniwa-san one day.
BEFIRST and they will be debuting on the same day, so it's not that there aren't some tense moments, but we hope to work together in the Japanese music industry.
INI also has a lot of inexperienced people (*^^*)
Inexperienced people work many times harder than experienced people.
The experienced people pull the inexperienced people up so well that they are able to perform without feeling the difference in ability.
I bet BEFIRST is the same, right?
[+450, -7] About produce 101 Japan "The audition process was broadcast live on TV from start to finish..."
But, only the last episode was broadcasted on TV
[+425, -11] I hope you don't take this for granted. There are many mistakes in the content. It was a random opinion piece of my personal shallow and biased knowledge.
First of all, everyone is working hard as a group. Please write more useful impressions instead of stirring up a win and lose situation. It was not worth reading. Good job to those who read it.
[+380, -16] ＞here's a brief explanation of the appeal of each
Where did you write about the appeal of BE:FIRST? I've only seen the Naniwa danshi raise.
There are no inexperienced members in BE:FIRST anymore. They grew rapidly at the training camp and SKY-HI recognized that they could sing and dance, so they became the debut members.
I guess you don't know that the kids singing ability is so good that Ryon (a voice trainer who teaches famous artists like RISA) said they doesn't need any advice.
If you're going to write an article like this, you should watch both BE:FIRST and INI auditions before you write it.
If you like Naniwa danshi, why don't you just write about the good parts of Naniwa danshi?
[+334, -44] In terms of YouTube videos, my preference would be INI, BEFIRST, and Naniwa, in that order. It's just a preference of the video.
I signed up for all three CDs, though.
I wish that Johnny's Office would stop trying to destroy or kick down boy groups from other offices like they used to do, and instead have a fair and friendly competition with each other.
[+302, -3] I don't know where you're getting this from, but are you late to the BE:FIRST party? There are a lot of fans who love the boss and all the artists, and there's a phenomenon that has surprised everyone. Even though they haven't debuted yet. With such warm support, a talented group is about to debut. Let's have the three groups make the Japanese music industry more exciting!!
[+283, -4] "A music editor of a web magazine also made the following analysis"
If this is indeed true, that editor is also not appropriate.
Naniwa Danshi average age: 21.7 years old
INI average age 21.3 years old
BE:FIRST average age 19.7 years old
It's almost the same, and if anything, BE:FIRST is the youngest.
If you're making money writing articles, please do your research.