Number_i’s Kouhaku Debut and the Challenges Facing TOBE Trainees
In TOBE, Mr. Takizawa has been producing new groups one after another with his strong management skills. However, at the same time, concerns have arisen regarding his method of nurturing young talent.A group formed this year has disappeared from the official website.
On November 19, it was announced that the three-member group Number_i, consisting of Shiyoh Hirano(27), Yuta Kishi (29), and Yuta Jinguji (27), will be performing at the 75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve. This marks the first time that an artist from Hideaki Takizawa’s entertainment agency, TOBE, will appear at the prestigious event. The agency’s artists continue to make headlines.
“Former ‘Kis-My-Ft2’ member Hiromitsu Kitayama (39) appeared on the November 20 ‘TV Tokyo Music Festival Special 1964→2024 – 60 Years of Hit Songs! Best 100 ‘Shocking Singing Clips’ (TV Tokyo). ‘Number_i’ will also perform on the December 4 ‘2024 FNS Kayo-sai Night 1’ (Fuji TV), and the seven-member group ‘IMP.’ will perform on December 11 for the ‘2024 FNS Kayo-sai Night 2’ (same network). TOBE artists are lined up for major year-end music shows,” said a sports newspaper entertainment reporter.
As ‘Takizawa’s children’ gain momentum, new groups are also being formed.
“On November 11, the seven-member group ‘CLASS SEVEN’ was announced. The members, led by the eldest, former junior Tateki Daito (19), include Shu Yu Takano (15), Karen Takada (15), Hiromi Kondo (18), Taiga Yokota (14), Keine Hoshi (14), and Ren Nakazawa (15), all of whom are in their teens. At the time of the announcement, an official fan club was also launched,” said the reporter.
There are high expectations for the fresh members’ future. However, amid the formation of new groups, a group quietly disappeared.
“TOBE announced the formation of the six-member group ‘DeePals’ in June. The members were the six from ‘CLASS SEVEN,’ excluding Ohto. However, at the same time as the new group announcement, ‘DeePals’ was removed from the TOBE official website and essentially disbanded after just five months.
Initially, ‘DeePals’ was labeled as ‘TRAINEE,’ but with the debut of the new group, this label disappeared, so it can be said that they made their debut. However, the previous group was not well-known and disappeared quietly,” said a TV station insider.
Concerns Revealed by TV Professionals
Currently, “TOBE” also has a five-member group of trainees called wink first. It is expected that they will begin full-scale activities under the production of Mr. Takizawa, but there seem to be some concerns.
“Back in the old Johnny’s Office (now STARTO ENTERTAINMENT), it was common for juniors to raise their profile through TV programs mainly featuring juniors, such as the variety show ‘8-ji da J’ (broadcasted from 1998 to 1999 on TV Asahi) and ‘The Shonen Club’ (aired from 2000 to March 2024, which will change to ‘New Gen!’).
In addition, they would often appear as a supporting act on dramas or variety shows featuring senior talents, with TV as the main platform for their activities. On the other hand, ‘TOBE’ focuses more on music events and music festivals, emphasizing artist activities. While the intention is to focus on their performances, this method provides fewer opportunities to be seen by new fans, making it difficult to gain popularity,” said a television industry source.
Since Mr. Takizawa established TOBE in March 2023, many former Johnny’s talents have moved there. In just one year, groups like Number_i and IMP. have started to make their mark, but the aforementioned TV industry source expressed concerns.
“Number_i has experience from ‘King & Prince,’ which members like Hirano were once a part of, and ‘IMP.’ also had a history with Johnny’s from October 2020 to May 2023. In other words, they started their activities at ‘TOBE’ after having some background. On the other hand, the trainees are starting almost from scratch. Given the current focus on artist activities, a different approach to producing from what was done at Johnny’s will be required, which will be a challenge.”
What kind of dream stories will the young groups like CLASS SEVEN create?
PHOTO： Takero Shigumura
