JO1
is a Japanese boy band formed through the reality competition show Produce 101 Japan. The group is composed of eleven members: Issei Mamehara, Ren Kawashiri, Takumi Kawanishi, Shosei Ohira, Shion Tsurubo, Ruki Shiroiwa, Keigo Sato, Syoya Kimata, Junki Kono, Sukai Kinjo, and Sho Yonashiro. JO1 is the first Produce 101 winning group that is intended to be permanent. It is managed by Lapone Entertainment, a joint venture between Yoshimoto Kogyo and CJ ENM.

Since debuting with the single Protostar on March 4, 2020, JO1 has achieved seven consecutive Oricon number-one singles as well as six number-one songs and one number-one album on the Billboard Japan Hot charts. Among the group's accolades are one Japan Gold Disc Award, three MAMA Awards, and three MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

Name 
The moniker "JO1" was picked by Lapone Entertainment from recommendations made by the public (dubbed "national producers") via the official website of Produce 101 Japan. According to the initial suggestion, the letter "J" in the name refers to Japan, the group's origin nation, while the "O1" refers to the first year of the Reiwa, when the group was originally established. However, "JO1" officially means that "the trainees who have dreamed together at Produce 101 Japan will become one and aim for the top of the world". The name was revealed in the final episode of the show.

History

2019: Formation through Produce 101 Japan 

JO1 was formed through the reality competition show Produce 101 Japan, which was aired primarily on streaming service Gyao! from September 25 to December 11, 2019. A total of 6,000 participants auditioned for the show, ranging in age from 16 to 30 and not affiliated with any talent agency. The final 11 trainees were picked by viewers from the original 101 trainees through online voting and announced during a live television broadcast on TBS. Unlike previous Produce 101 franchise-winning groups, there was no intention of restricting the group's activity after its debut.

Most of the Produce 101 Japan trainees had no experience in the entertainment industry, resulting in JO1 members having varying levels of experience. Ren Kawashiri and Shosei Ohira have previously worked as backup dancers for SMAP, Tomohisa Yamashita, Wanna One, Pentagon, and Exile among others. The latter, Keigo Sato, Syoya Kimata, and Issei Mamehara went to a local dance school, with Kimata also active as a cover dancer and Mamehara as a dance instructor for kids. Ruki Shiroiwa was a member of Johnny's Jr., the trainee group of Johnny & Associates, and Tsukicro, a voice actor music group. Shion Tsurubo spent ten months as a trainee at South Korean company FNC Entertainment, whereas the other four members had never received any dance or vocal training.

2020: Debut and The Star
JO1 headed to South Korea shortly after the conclusion of Produce 101 Japan to produce their first single, Protostar, where they went through an "intense" one-month boot camp to strengthen their skills and chemistry as a group. The single was released on March 4, 2020, and achieved immediate commercial success, debuting at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart with over 300,000 copies sold in the first week, making JO1 the seventh artist to accomplish so with a debut single. Its lead track, "Infinity", also reached the top of the Billboard Japan Hot 100. On March 24, JO1 made their first live television appearance on NTV's morning show Sukkiri.

On August 26, JO1 released their second single, Stargazer, with Hui from the South Korean boy band Pentagon co-producing the lead track "Oh-Eh-Oh". Unlike Protostar, the training and production for the single were done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stargazer  marks the first time that members have contributed to the production; group leader Sho Yonashiro authored the lyrics and dance leader Ren Kawashiri choreographed the track "My Friends". On September 5, JO1 headlined the 31st Mynavi Tokyo Girls Collection Autumn/Winter 2020 in the Saitama Super Arena.

On November 25, JO1 released their first studio album, The Star. It includes all tracks from their two singles as well as seven new songs. The album debuted in second place on the Oricon Albums Chart and the Japan Hot Albums, trailing only Be by BTS. On December 2, JO1 made their first appearance at the FNS Music Festival, performing "Shine a Light," the album's promotional single.  The group held their first live-streaming concert, Starlight, on December 19, attracting an estimated of 120,000 viewers from over 30 countries. By the end of the year, JO1 had received the Rising Star Award from the MTV Video Music Awards Japan as well as the Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist. The group was later named one of the Best 5 New Artists at the Japan Gold Disc Award alongside SixTones, Snow Man, NiziU, and Yoasobi for their net sales in 2020.

2021–2022: Open the Door, Kizuna, and first arena tour
In February 2021, JO1 made their debut appearance in South Korea for the first time by performing on M Countdown and holding their second online concert, Starlight Deluxe. Challenger, their third single, was released on April 28 and includes Kit Kat Japan's commercial song "Tsutaerareru Nara" as well as Japan Hot 100 chart-topper "Born to be Wild". It eventually became the eleventh best-selling single in the first half of 2021, with over 298,000 copies sold.

JO1's fourth single, Stranger, was released on August 18, 2021, preceded by the release of "Freedom" and the opening theme song for the television drama , "Dreaming Night". Both songs charted in the Japan Hot 100, while the lead track "Real" peaking at number one. Stranger was the group's fastest single to sell 400,000 copies on the Billboard Japan charts. JO1 later performed at the  Pacifico Yokohama in the joint live concert KCON World Premiere: The Triangle on September 23, alongside other Produce 101 Japan subsequent groups:  and . It was JO1's first performance in person since their debut due to the pandemic. On October 9, Lapone Entertainment announced that member Sukai Kinjo, who had skipped the event, would suspend his activities to receive treatment for adjustment disorder.

To comply with the COVID-19 preventive measures, JO1 held their first live concert, the 2021 JO1 Live "Open the Door",  at the Makuhari Messe On November 19–21, instead of the planned national tour. The concert drew 45,000 spectators in total during the five shows. It featured songs from the group's fifth single, Wandering, which was supported by double lead tracks,  and "Prologue". The latter was produced by  and used as the closing theme for the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Except the song "Oasis," Kinjo managed to participate in the recording of the single before his hiatus. Upon its release on December 15, Wandering became the group's first single to be certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of over half a million units.

JO1 stated on February 14, 2022, that Kinjo would resume his activities. The group later released two new songs, "Dreamer" and , as the theme songs for their first drama series Short Program and documentary film JO1 the Movie: Unfinished - Go to the Top, respectively. On April 22, JO1 released the digital single "YOLO-konde", produced by 3Racha of Stray Kids. The NHK program This Is JO1 - Go to the Dream showcased JO1's concept development and lyrics writing process for the song. On May 25, JO1 released their second studio album, Kizuna, which includes selected songs from the previous three singles as well as nine new songs, including "Dreamer" and "Move the Soul", the opening theme of Aniplex's original anime series Fanfare of Adolescence. It was the group's first number-one album on the Oricon Albums Chart and Japan Hot Albums. To promote the album, JO1 embarked on their first arena tour to five prefectures in September and October 2022, attracting 110,000 people.

2022–present: Debut on Kōhaku Uta Gassen, Equinox, and first Asian tour 
JO1 released their first English song, "All Hours," for YSL Beauty Japan in June 2022. Midnight Sun, the group's sixth single, was released on October 12, 2022, becoming their first single to sell 600,000 copies on the Billboard Japan charts during its debut week. Its lead track, "SuperCali", spent two weeks in the top six of the Japan Hot 100. By the end of 2022, JO1 was reported to rank high on several Billboard Japan year-end charts, including the top ten for the highest album and single sales, as well as at number 25 on the Artist 100 chart. The group made their debut on the NHK's annual New Year's Eve musical show Kōhaku Uta Gassen with "Infinity".

On April 5, 2023, JO1 released their seventh consecutive Oricon number-one single, Tropical Night, featuring "Tiger" as the lead track. The single contains "We Good" and "Romance", which were used as theme songs of the television series  and Blue Birthday, starring members Syoya Kimata and Tsurubo Shion, respectively. JO1 made their debut at the annual K-pop joint concert  Dream Concert in Busan in May and headlined its Japanese edition the following month alongside Jaejoong and Junsu.

JO1's third studio album, Equinox, is slated to be released on September 20, 2023. It will include songs from the previous two singles as well as the self-produced song "NEWSmile", the theme of the morning news show Mezamashi 8. To support the album, JO1 went on their second arena tour, Beyond the Dark, from August to October, with an encore performance in Kyocera Dome in November. The group's first Asian tour is also planned to begin in four cities in the same month.

Members 

  – dancer, vocalist
  – vocal leader, vocalist
  – dancer, vocalist
  – performance leader, dancer, vocalist
  – dancer, rapper
  – rapper, vocalist
  – group leader, vocalist
  – dancer, rapper
  – vocalist, rapper
  – rapper, dancer
  – vocalist, rapper, dancer

Other ventures

Endorsements
JO1 has kept a number of domestic sponsorship partnerships, from national brands, such as ABC-MART, FamilyMart, and Y!mobile, to international ones like Kit Kat, Louis Vuitton, and TikTok. They have also worked for companies in various industries, ranging from the Credit Saison credit card to the Osaka Gas power package plan, as well as for national organizations like the Japan Racing Association and JA Kyosai. In 2021, JO1 signed a one-year "official beauty partner" contract with YSL Beauty Japan, tripling the fragrance Libre's sales. The following year, YSL Japan named JO1 as the brand's first male ambassador, citing the group's genderless image and enthusiastic fans. In November 2022, JO1 and Sanrio released eleven new characters as the group's alter egos, dubbed . The character designs were based on the group members' original ideas and sketches. In the same year, JO1 was named the ambassador of Hot Japan with JO1, a project that promotes Japan's charms both domestically and worldwide, with the backing of governmental agencies and corporate sectors such as GMO Internet Group, Mitsui Fudosan Group, and ANA X. The project resulted in a YouTube content series and the NHK travel documentary JJJJO1. JO1 has been on the front covers of numerous magazines throughout the years, including Aera, An An, Elle Japan, Nylon Japan, and Vivi.

Philanthropy 
On March 11, 2021, the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, JO1 and the social platform service Heyhey launched a special charity event in which any funds received would be donated to a foundation assisting the rehabilitation of the afflicted areas. A total of about 4,000 people took part, raising around ¥1.85 million ($17,000).

Members Sho Yonashiro and Ren Kawashiri, as well as other Yoshimoto Kogyo entertainers Kiyoshi Nishikawa and Tōru Hotohara, met Prime Minister Kishida at his office  on March 3, 2022, to film a video encouraging people of all generations to take the COVID-19 booster shot. The video, which was released on March 17 on Yoshimoto Kogyo's official YouTube account, outlines the importance and side effects of the booster dose, to ease the public's anxieties about vaccinations.

Discography

Studio albums
 The Star (2020)
 Kizuna (2022)
 Equinox (2023)

Concert tours

Tours
 2022 JO1 1st Arena Live Tour "Kizuna" (2022)
 2023 JO1 2nd Arena Live Tour "Beyond the Dark" (2023)
 2023 JO1 1st Asia Tour "Beyond the Dark" Limited Edition (2023)
One-off concerts
 2021 JO1 Live "Open the Door" (2021)

Online concerts
 JO1 1st Live Streaming Concert "Starlight" (2020)
 JO1 Live Streaming Concert "Starlight Deluxe" (2021)

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Radio

Bibliography

Audio books

Photobooks

Awards and nominations

Listicles

Notes

References

External links 
 JO1 official website (in Japanese)

JO1
Produce 101 (Japanese TV series) contestants
2019 establishments in Japan
Japanese boy bands
Japanese dance music groups
Japanese idol groups
Japanese pop music groups
Musical groups established in 2019
Singing talent show winners