J-Pop Superstars JO1 Roll Strikes, Talk Favorite ‘Handz in My Pocket’ Tracks and Bridging Gap Between K-Pop and J-Pop

J-pop superstars JO1 rolled up to Pinz Bowling Kitchen + Bar in Brentwood, Calif. recently to toss a few strikes and one wild gutter ball as part of the Billboard‘s “Takes Us Out” series. After putting the fear into host Tetris Kelly by revealing that two of the 11-man group’s members are ringers — with previous impressively high scores of 230 and 180 — they rock-paper-scissore’d to see how the members would be split up for the fierce bowl-off.

Team Ruki leader Ruki Shiroiwa was up first, begging Kelly not to put pressure on him by reminding the host, “hey, we’re on the same team!” Taking the non-traditional approach of not putting his fingers in the bowling ball’s holes, Ruki casually threw a strike like it was no big deal. (Watch the full interview with the band above.)

Then came the actual hard work.

Asked what his favorite part was of recording the band’s recent EP, Handz in My Pocket, Ruki busted a few smooth moves and exclaimed, “dancing!” while showing Kelly some of his signature choreo.

Keigo’s turn started off with a “Japanese joke” when he pretended to drop the ball and then proceeded to knock down nine out of the ten pins. Then, when it was his turn to talk about the Handz EP, he enthusiastically proclaimed his favorite part to be “music!,” while picking the ballad “Just Say Yes” as his track of choice. He picked up the spare, by the way.

Singer Sho Yonashiro added that the best part of performing the new songs was getting to play the tunes for fans all over the world, redeeming his first gutter ball by knocking down seven pins. Avowed “indoor” member Junki Kono added that he and his bandmates were “so honored” to be in Los Angeles, tagging their 2023 hip-hop jam “Trigger” as his favorite track to perform live.

And then things went sideways, as Sukai Kinjo got so pumped up before his turn by throwing air punches and kicks that he hurled the ball into the next lane. “You’re not supposed to be fighting the pins. They’re not your enemy, we’re friends,” Kelly reminded Kinjo as he gave another run at a proper roll.

The men then sat down for some chicken fingers, wings and sliders and talked about what an honor it was to win favorite Asian artist at the recent MAMA awards. They said it was a great honor to win and to be at the show with their peers and fans and to share their success this year at their recent Jam Week event at the Tokyo Dome, where they hosted seven days of listening parties and special events for their JAM fanbase.

With the whole world freaking out about KPop Demon Hunters, Kelly asked the group what it feels like to be associated with the K-pop genre while also being J-pop standard-bearers. “We are in the middle, of K-pop and J-pop and we can create a new JO1 pop,” they explained. “It is like a pioneer. This is a chance to get a new thing.” What makes JO1 different from their peers is their live performance style, which expands on their music videos by being more “crazy and energetic.”

This weekend JO1 will be the first J-pop band to ever perform at the the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in Los Angeles at the Intuit dome alongside Alex Warren, Conan Gray, Jessie Murph, The Kid LAROI, Reneé Rapp, the singers behind the KPop Demon Hunters fictional band HUNTR/X and more. And while they’re pumped to perform, JO1 are also fans and they said they’re psyched to see Zara Larsson take the stage after watching her perform at the Dallas Jingle Ball earlier this month.