ONE N’ ONLY Talk Producing New EP ‘Young Blood’ & Singing in an Unfamiliar Language: Interview

ONE N’ ONLY is a Japan-based boy band formed in 2018. They made their debut with “I’M SWAG,” then went on to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 songs chart with its second single, “Dark Knight,” on the list dated May 20, 2019.

Currently a six-member dance and vocal unit, the boys categorize their “one and only” style of music as neither J-pop nor K-pop, but as “JK-pop.” Their popularity has gradually expanded beyond Japan and the group’s fans — collectively called SWAG — are located in countries in South America and Asia as well. ONE N’ ONLY has been uploading dance videos on TikTok with songs in various languages, garnering more than 4.3 million followers — the most among Japanese music groups – generating over 200 million views.

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In an interview by Billboard Japan last December, the members shared that they never expected the kind of global popularity they are enjoying. KENSHIN looked back on the initial response from South America: “We danced to songs from various countries and developed a huge following in South America,” he explained. “We gained about 100,000 followers on our best days at the time. None of us could read Portuguese at first, so we all started studying it bit by bit.”

REI spoke about the love being sent their way from abroad. “We actually had online chat sessions with people from Brazil and Spanish-speaking countries,” he shared. “When we got feedback face to face, we realized that people really understood how much we enjoyed singing and performing even if they didn’t understand our language.”

The ONE N’ ONLY members haven’t been able to visit their international fans yet because the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented them from holding concerts outside of Japan. But HAYATO notes that the group managed to take advantage of this setback: “The global K-pop boom has helped us reach a wider audience through TikTok, which is something we’re happy about.”

EIKU also expressed gratitude to fans who voluntarily add subtitles to their social media updates. “We really appreciate our SWAG in Japan and abroad for spreading the word about us,” he said.

In the group’s latest interview this month, the members discussed their first EP YOUNG BLOOD due Feb. 16, elaborating on the things they focused on during its production and what they like about the project. NAOYA commented on HAYATO’s contribution to “What’s Your Favorite?,” currently making the rounds on TikTok with its cute “shachi-koi dance”: “It struck me again that our leader (HAYATO) can do everything. I knew he was an amazing choreographer, but he can also come up with such a catchy dance!”

TETTA spoke about his favorite part of the track: “It has a really funky sound so it’s easy to get into the groove, and I also think it had a sexy feel to it,” he shares. “I personally liked the nuance of the first verse and wanted to sing that part, so was happy when I was actually assigned to it.”

Regarding the title track, KENSHIN explains that the song is about the group’s determination to keep forging ahead. “It expresses our current feelings,” he says. “It’s packed with our resolve to keep pushing ahead, so I’d be happy if that reaches our fans abroad.”

HAYATO adds that the song is designed to be understood by the music itself, even if the listener doesn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics: ”The lyrics are in Japanese, but it doesn’t sound like it. It’s representative of what we call our ‘JK-pop’ sound, so it should sound familiar to people everywhere.”

All six members contributed to the lyrics for the song “STARLIGHT – Mirai no Tobira -,“ and it holds a special place in their hearts. The lyrics came together after all the members wrote out how they felt about their currently situation.

“The COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to our live performances, so we wrote the lyrics based on how we all felt about that,” says REI. KENSHIN adds, “When we wrote out our feelings, it turned out that all of us felt the same. I felt really happy that we saw eye to eye even though we each could have written something different.”

EIKU shares the thought that went into the song’s imagery. “When I first heard it, the sound evoked words like ‘light’ and ‘shine’ to me,” he recalls. “From there I thought, ‘What are some things that exist before they shine?” and ‘raw stones’ came to mind. Our relationship with our fans during the pandemic is exactly like that. We’re raw stones and our SWAG makes us shine. That’s what this song is about.”

The subtitle of the song, “Mirai no Tobira,” means “future door.” NAOYA explains his word choice: “I came up with the subtitle ‘Mirai no Tobira.’ I had a hard time deciding among a few candidates, but ended up choosing the one that I thought was the best fit, and also might look different when we performed it several years down the line.”

The EP also contains the Portuguese version of “L.O.C.A,” and the members admit that singing in an unfamiliar language was an ordeal. “We’re not familiar with Portuguese,” says TETTA, noting that they had no previous experience with the language compared to English. REI explains that “words that only use four sounds in Japanese might use sixteen in Portuguese, and there are many pronunciations that don’t exist in Japanese. It was so hard!”

But when the interviewer said, “Now that you’ve put this song out, your fans might be hoping to hear other Portuguese versions in the future,” HAYATO replied, “We actually would love to put out songs in various languages. Not just Portuguese, but also Spanish, Indonesian, Thai, and more, as we’ve been receiving lots of responses from those regions.”

KENSHIN also showed enthusiasm for singing in multiple languages. “It was hard to sing in a new language,” he added with a laugh. “But that’s what makes it possible for many people to enjoy our songs, so we’ll keep doing our best!”

This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan.