Japanese group JO1 enters a new chapter today with the release of their first full English-language EP, ANIMAL, marking their first official U.S. debut project. Alongside the EP, the nonet kicks off their ANIMAL North American Tour celebrating the release, playing Danforth Music Hall in Toronto tonight.
In hindsight, this has been long overdue, as the group has been a fixture in American projects and events. Since their debut in 2020, the group – comprised of Sho, Ren, Ruki, Junki, Keigo, Takumi, Syoya, Sky, and MÁME – has set their sights on North America. The pandemic slowed down their global plans, but didn’t stop their growth in Japan and the rest of Asia. The group has won multiple No. 1 singles and albums on the Billboard Japan charts and dominated the awards circuit since their debut. Not to mention, headlined Japan’s biggest venues, including the Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome Osaka.
As the world opened up, so did JO1’s expansion, performing throughout the U.S., including KCON LA three times (2023, 2025, 2026), iHeartRadio’s 2025 JingleBall (LA and Dallas), The GRAMMY Museum (2025), Good Day, New York (2025), the Dodgers Game for Japan Heritage Night (2025), and more. ANIMAL is, in fact, their second tour in North America, as they had stops for their ‘WHEREVER YOU ARE’ World Tour in 2025.
JO1’s ANIMAL
LAPONE Entertainment
It only made sense for them to create their first full English album, working with Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Dem Jointz. In fact, the guys have been anticipating this English album for months. At KCON LA this year, the guys were excited to talk about the album and the tour, sharing how connected they felt with their North American fans.
“We come to the U.S. a lot [more] recently,” Sky says through an interpreter. “[After] meeting U.S. fans, they’re so different from [Japanese] fans when it comes to expressing their passion as part of their culture. They show how good they are as people. [In the end], meeting U.S. fans inspired us, and we want to keep meeting them and having more opportunities with them. We thought this was good timing.”
With its high-energy six tracks, the album itself expresses who JO1 is. According to the group, ANIMAL captures who they are instinctively, exploring themes of freedom, individuality, and breaking expectations and barriers. Their title track, “ANIMAL,” is a raw, high-energy dance anthem they deliver through their beats, lyrics, and performance. For them, it’s the idea of “unleashing the side of yourself that is often kept hidden.”
When Sky jokes, “It makes me hungry. Not like I want to eat, but I want to hunt. [Okay, eat hungry too.] After performing, I get a little bit hungry too. When Sho gets angry, he becomes an animal.”
The group laughs. Sky, who is right behind Sho, pats Sho on the back, telling him, “Hangry.” Sho smiles and nods in agreement.
The strong beat also drives “ANIMAL,” playing like an intense heartbeat. At least for Keigo, he relates the track to “jungle.” He explains, “The jungle beat is very popular internationally. That’s something I had in mind when I started making the songs with them. The fact that I was able to incorporate some of that essence into the song made me really happy.”
The music video expands on that theme of unleashing their inhibitions, as the video follows the group leaving the confines of their “cage” and entering this new, chaotic world – similar to their expansion into North America. Oh, and the video’s choreography is equally intense and intricate, filled with animalistic poses and moves. When it came to the choreography, Performance Leader Ren didn’t think much about where the inspiration came from; he focused on feeling the rhythm and what makes them want to dance.
“We wanted to really just make [songs] that a greater audience would really appreciate and make them want to dance too,” Ren states.
Sky liked that the group got to show their wild side, which represents their new chapter. He says, “People think Japanese people are very polite [which we are], but we want to show our animal and wild side. That’s what this chapter is about. It’s really getting out of our shell and showing that we can be wild too and change what people think about Japanese people.”
With the album entirely in English and produced by Dem Jointz, the members faced some challenges. The members all participated in the creative process, working with Dem Jointz, but JO1 admits they were a bit nervous. Knowing they would be working with one of the iconic producers in hip-hop, because “he just knows every genre in music,” felt a bit intimidating.
“Dem Jointz is really awesome,” Sho shares. “The EP theme is ANIMAL. Dem thinks a lot and has a lot of ideas, so when we were recording, he said things needed to change, and it happened a lot. The hardest thing was answering him about the English lyrics. The rhythm is really difficult.”
Rather than record separately in the booth, Dem Jointz had the group in the same recording booth. Junki recalls Dem having his bottle of tequila and just chill vibes. He reveals, “It was like his energy put us into this different mindset [from what] we usually do. I think we were able to make like the best songs because of that.”
MAME admits he struggled a bit with the language barrier, especially pronouncing certain words. Now imagine having to rap and sing it. It took a lot of adjustment, and he took it as a learning opportunity. He says, “I learned a lot because I put myself in a situation where it was difficult, but I was able to get out of it. I really learned a lot.”
Many of the members were proud of what they accomplished, despite the difficulty of the English lyrics. But this is what they wanted to do together as a team: showcase their skills and abilities.
“I was like, ‘Oh wow, we’re really doing this’,” says Ruki. “We were able to make the five songs in English, and we just wanted to make sure that the songs are as good as possible. We really put emphasis on the choreography and made sure it fit each song well. That’s something we want not only for Japanese JAM (their fandom name) but all of global JAM to be able to see and be excited about [the album] — and know that we tried very hard. We put our 100% effort into it.”
Syoya adds, “Being able to come to LA and see and experience new things [with the members]. It’s something that I would never be able to do if I was alone. I’m so happy that I was able to do this with everyone, and all this experience really gave me a lot of power.”
Throughout the interview, Takumi makes jokes with the members and flexes his arms when they talk about “ANIMAL.” He is surprised when he is caught flexing when the question is directed at him – since he composed the title track, which causes everyone to chuckle. He says he really enjoyed the entire process of making this album, and it “broke the conventions that he had in his own mind.” He describes, “Oh, it can be done this way, [regarding the] creative music aspect. It made me realize I can do it however I feel is correct. It really gave me this new sense of freedom being an artist.”
With the album release and tour, JO1 is excited to share a bit more of their performance, music, and culture with the world. That’s why they included elements of Japanese traditional music and culture in some of their songs and music videos: to show the world how proud they are to be from Japan.
“It’s actually really important to us that we’re able to combine [our culture in our music],” Junki says. “Being a Japanese artist is something that we’re extremely proud of. We want to keep representing Japan to the world through our music. We [never] forget our roots. That’s who JO1 is.”
TOKYO, JAPAN – SEPTEMBER 29: Members of the Japanese boys group JO1, (L-R) Keigo Sato, Ren Kawashiri, Issei Mamehara, Takumi Kawanishi, Junki Kono, Sho Yonashiro, Syoya Kimata, Ruki Shiroiwa and Sukai Kinjo pose during a photo session ahead of a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on September 29, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)
Getty Images
With the tour starting today, the members will be singing their English songs – along with their previous songs – in the setlist. They hope fans will enjoy and embrace the group, and truly feel their passion as artists.
Sho states, “We want everyone to feel [that we did our] best in this album – and feel what we’ve unleashed: our culture and our power.”
Ren is ready to take each stage and album as a challenge, because that’s who JO1 is – they are challengers who are ready to take on anything. He has hopes that people will feel inspired by them and challenge themselves as well.
“Let’s go, baby,” says Ren. “All of this, it’s a challenge, and we want to continue. We want to keep challenging ourselves in October during our tour. We’re trying to challenge ourselves to get on the Billboard charts as well.”
JO1’s first English EP, ANIMAL, is available now on all major streaming platforms. Physical copies of ANIMAL are available at select retailers. The group begins their ANIMAL North America Tour in Toronto tonight (October 2), then heads to New York (October 4), Chicago (October 6), San Francisco (October 8), and ends in Los Angeles (October 11).
Leave a comment