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| Park Jin-young, founder and producer of K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment, speaks during an online press conference, Monday. Courtesy of JYP Entertainment |
By Dong Sun-hwa
JYP Entertainment, home to K-pop giants 2PM and TWICE, will again join hands with Japan's Sony Music to debut a new Japanese-speaking boy group in 2023.
The two companies, which gave birth to all-Japanese girl group NiziU through the first season of their audition program "Nizi (Rainbow) Project" last December, will kick off the second leg of the project and select the members for a new boy group.
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| All-Japanese girl group NiziU / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment |
On Monday, JYP's founder and producer Park Jin-young and Sony Music CEO Shunsuke Muramatsu held an online press conference to offer a glimpse into the new project.
According to them, the auditions will take place in 11 cities around the world, including Seoul, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sapporo between November and December. Men aged 22 or younger, who have a command of the Japanese language, are eligible to apply. Entry is open to Japanese speakers of all nationalities. Applications for various positions, including songwriters and vocalists, open July 13.
"Nizi Project" will go to air later this year. JYP and Sony Music will single out the winners in December 2022 and debut a new act in 2023.
"When I first started the 'Nizi Project' two years ago, I was pretty anxious," Park said during the media event. "But I am glad that I am now announcing the beginning of its second season… It was incredible to see so many people supporting this project."
NiziU, which comprises nine winners from the first leg of the "Nizi Project," was catapulted to fame in Japan even before making its official debut, thanks to the huge popularity of the program. The rookie act recently conquered major music charts in Japan with its second single, "Take a Picture / Poppin' Shakin.'"
"It was rewarding to see how 'Nizi Project' delivered a message of hope to people amid these tough times… The second season will bring a different story to viewers, distinguishing itself from the previous season," Sony Music's Muramatsu said.
