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Travis Japan

Japanese pop music group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Travis Japan is a Japanese boy band managed by Starto Entertainment formerly known as Johnny & Associates.[1] Their name is a tribute to the American choreographer Travis Payne, who assisted in their 2012 group formation during the production of stage show Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n. Partii.[2] The group resided in Los Angeles, California in March to October 2022, to study English and train with local choreographers and vocal coaches.[3]

Quick Facts Origin, Genres ...
Travis Japan
OriginTokyo, Japan
GenresJ-pop
Years active2012–present
LabelsCapitol
Members
  • Kaito Miyachika
  • Kaito Nakamura
  • Ryuya Shimekake
  • Noel Kawashima
  • Shizuya Yoshizawa
  • Genta Matsuda
  • Kaito Matsukura
WebsiteTravis Japan (Capitol Records)
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History

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2012–2017: Formation and member changes

In February 2012, while watching a play, Yoshizawa, Nakamura, Abe, Miyachika, Kajiyama and other Johnny's Jr were called to the rehearsal room, where they met with Travis Payne. Nakada, Kawashima, Morita, and Shimekake, active at that time as Jr. A, and who were later called "Older Brothers", were also there. By then, Travis Japan was formed with the five members mentioned first, whom were later called the "Younger Brothers", but in July it was informed that the nine would act as Travis Japan in Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n。Partii.

By 2015, they would continue performing in Playzone, but they would also be chosen as back dancers for Masahiko Kondō, Arashi and Tackey & Tsubasa.

By 2016, the subgroups' relationship as one group had not deepened, and they had even thought of appearing as "Older Brothers" and "Younger Brothers" in "Johnny's Ginza 2016" in May 2016, but reconsidered after the possibility of losing their job after the end of Playzone. Shortly after that, Abe expressed his intention of leaving. By October 2016's performances, the group was made up of 8 members. It continued like that until January 2017's "JOHNNYS' ALL STARS IsLAND", where this time, Nakada was the one mentioning his desire to pursue his dream.

Without Abe and Nakada, Travis Japan had 7 members working during their performances in 2017. In September's "Johnny's You&Me IsLAND", Morita was absent, leaving the group with 6 members. Information about the start of the Fuji Television variety show "Johnny's Jr.dex", as well as "Johnny's Happy New Year IsLAND" event in October lacked Kajiyama's name, leaving the group with 5 members. After that, at the performance of "Odaiba Odoriba Saturday and Sunday Playground" on November 18, 2017, 7 people appeared, including Genta Matsuda and Kaito Matsukura, who were active as back dancers for Sexy Zone and the stage performance "Endless Shock". The performance was actually an audition for Matsuda and Matsukura to see if they would join the group. They later revealed that they were told that for them to join, they would have to appear with the other five. The seven-men group appeared in the December broadcast of "Johnny's Jr. dex".

2018–2022: Pre-debut activities

In March 2018, on the "Johnny's web" official site, regular posts started on their blog. Official member colors were revealed in the "About" page. On August 8, 2019, they opened an official Instagram page. By October 10, 2022, they accumulated 980,000 followers.[4]

They became the first Johnny's act to perform with an overseas artist, when they participated as special guests at the "Austin Mahone Japan Tour 2019" on October 14 and 15, 2019. In 2019 they performed at the sold-out "Tora-ja ~ NINJAPAN" planned and composed originally by Johnny Kitagawa and directed by Hideaki Takizawa. The performance lasted for 3 years.

The group held their first Johnny's Jr solo concert at "Summer Paradise 2020", on August 1–10, 2020. They also performed at Arashi's last concert before hiatus, "This is Arashi Live", on December 31, 2020.[5]

"+81 Dance Studio" is the name of the YouTube channel opened on August 25, 2021, the first one for a Johnny's Jr. solo (group) act. Their performances there are of new dance versions of classic J&A artists songs. The first song dance-covered there was Arashi's "Love So Sweet".[6] They were the only Jr. group to perform at "Johnny's Festival – Thank you 2021 Hello 2022" on December 30, 2021, after receiving an offer from Arashi's Jun Matsumoto, who produced the event, as back dancers for KinKi Kids. On March 3, 2022, on an Instagram Live, members informed of their travel to Los Angeles, California to study. On March 28, 2022, they competed in the World of Dance Championship Series – Orange County 2022, earning third place in the team category and winning the Best Costume and Crowd Favorite categories. On July 13, 2022, they auditioned for America's Got Talent, qualifying for the live shows' semifinals on August 13. On July 19, 2022, Yoshizawa announced a temporary hiatus due to tendonitis, returning to activities after August 13.

2022–present: Debut and later activity

On September 29, 2022, it was revealed that they would be signed to Capitol Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music, and would make their worldwide major debut with their first single on October 28, 2022, first debut at the firm in nearly 11 months since Naniwa Danshi. The group opened a new official website, Twitter and TikTok. A solo YouTube channel was also launched [7] On October 10, 2022, the name of their debut song was released. A teaser of "Just Dance!" was released on their YouTube channel.[8][9][10]


Travis Japan got called back to perform in America's Got Talent in 2024, for their special series "Fantasy League", show that aired 22 January 2024, singing their debut song "Just Dance", after having a disappointing performance and mixed reactions from the judges in their appearance at the semifinals in August 2022, which cost them a "Red buzzer" vote from Howie Mandel barely at the start of their performance.[11][12][13] This time, though, it was different, because they received praises from all the judges, especially from former Spice Girls member Mel B, who was their coach. Unfortunately, the group did not make it past the qualifying round.[14][15]

Members

Current members

Former members

Filmography

Television programs

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Details Notes Ref(s)
2025 Travis Japan no JUST! Shin Nihon Isan Two members of Travis Japan embark on a journey each week to uncover Japan's lesser-known treasures, while facing unexpected challenges. [17]
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Discography

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Perspective
Quick Facts Studio albums, EPs ...
Travis Japan discography
Studio albums2
EPs1
Singles7
Music videos10
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Studio albums

More information Title, Details ...
List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions, sales and certifications
Title Details Peak positions Sales Certifications
JPN
[18]		 JPN
Cmb.
[19]		 JPN
Hot
[20]
Road to A 111
  • RIAJ: Gold (phy.)[22]
Viisual[23]
  • Released: December 4, 2024
  • Label: Capitol, Universal Japan
  • Formats: CD + BD/DVD, download, streaming
 111
  • RIAJ: Gold (phy.)[25]
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Extended plays

More information Title, Details ...
List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions and sales
Title Details Peaks Sales
JPN
Cmb.
[19]
Moving Pieces – EP
  • Released: June 5, 2023
  • Label: Capitol, Universal Japan
  • Formats: Download, streaming
Track listing
  1. "Moving Pieces"
  2. "Charging!"
  3. "Still on a Journey"
  4. "Keep On Smiling"
 5
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Singles

More information Title, Year ...
List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, and album name
Title Year Peak positions Album
JPN
Cmb.
[27]		 JPN
Hot
[28]		 WW
[29]
"Just Dance!" 2022 7428 Road to A
"Moving Pieces" 2023 43—
"Candy Kiss" 42—
"T.G.I. Friday Night" 2024 72—[A] Viisual
"Sweetest Tune" 52—
"Say I Do"[31] 2025 TBA TBA
"Tokyo Crazy Night"[31]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
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Promotional singles

More information Title, Year ...
List of promotional singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, and album name
Title Year Peaks Sales Album
JPN
Cmb.
[27]		 JPN
Hot
[28]
"Level Up" 2023 —68 Road to A
"Crazy Crazy" 2024 610
  • JPN: 20,748 (dig.)[32]
 Viisual
"Fly Higher" 65
  • JPN: 14,666 (dig.)[32]
"Bo$$y" —71
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
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Other charted songs

More information Title, Year ...
List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released, and album name
Title Year Peaks Album
JPN
Hot
[28]
"Still on a Journey" 2023 65 Road to A
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Original songs

More information Title, Lyrics by ...
Title Lyrics by Music by JASRAC
Yume no Hollywood
（夢のHollywood）[33]		 Ma-saya [ja] Josef Melin [sv] 1L0-3418-9
Dance With Me 〜Lesson 1〜[34] Komei Kobayashi [ja] Figge Boström
Josef Melin		 1L4-1272-8
Happy Groovy[35] Aya Harukazu [ja] Takarot [ja]
Didrik Thott		 1L7-0920-8
Lock Lock[36] Mine O-Bankz
Erik Lidbom [simple; ja]
Christofer Erixon		 1L9-7780-6
VOLCANO[37] Satoru Kurihara [ja] Hikari [ja]

Geek Boy / Al Swettenham

 1M9-3827-8
Talk it! Make it![38] Komei Kobayashi Josef Melin 1N1-9560-1
Namida no Kessho
（Namidaの結晶）[39]		 Susumu Kawaguchi [ja] Takashi Tsushimi [ja]
Susumu Kawaguchi		 249-4116-6
Unique Tigers[40] Travis Japan A. K. Janeway 249-4117-4
FREE YOUR MIND Komei Kobayashi Josef Melin 1N8-4094-8
BLUE MASQUERADE Komei Kobayashi José Manuel Moles
Paula Guasp
Roger Argemí Tutusaus		 1N8-6975-0
Together Now[41] Komei Kobayashi Kenichi Sakamuro [ja]
Figge Boström		 1N8-3838-2
GET ALIVE[42] Funk Uchino Susumu Kawaguchi
Steven Lee
Drew Ryan Scott
Jimmy Andrew Richard		 1O4-8163-1
The Show[43] Hikari Hikari
Samdell[44]		 1P3-4645-2
BIG BANG BOY Yui Mugino Peter Ants Nord 1P9-6630-2
To the Top Komei Kobayashi Ronnie Icon
Willie Weeks		 1Q1-5898-6
Bring Back Shun Kusakawa [ja] Erik Lidbom
Gustav Mared
Michael Lee Cheung / MLC		 1Q1-5900-1
Party Up Like Crazy[45] Steven Lee Steven Lee
Takuya Harada		 1Q6-3994-1
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Music videos

More information Title, Year ...
List of music videos
Title Year Ref.
Namida no KESSHO 2019 [46][47]
Big Bang Boy 2021 [48][49]
Just Dance 2022 [50][51]
Moving Pieces 2023 [52][53]
Candy Kiss [54][55]
Level Up [56][57]
Okie Dokie! [58][59]
T.G.I. Friday Night 2024 [60][61]
Sweetest Tune [62][63]
Crazy Crazy [64][65]
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Career highlights

Special events

International TV programs

Dance contests

Concerts and solo shows

  • Odaiba Odoriba Sat/Sun Asobiba (November 18–19, 2017) Odaiba Wangan Studio[77]
  • Johnnys' Jr. Festival 2018 (February 26, 2018) Yokohama Arena[78]
  • Summer Paradise 2018 (August 18–24, 2018) TOKYO DOME CITY HALL[79]
  • Travis Japan Concert 2019 〜Present〜 (March 26, 2019) Yokohama Arena[80]
  • Johnnys IsLAND Festival (May 25–26, 2019) Saitama Super Arena[81]
  • Summer Paradise 2019 (August 10–22, 2019) TOKYO DOME CITY HALL[82]
  • Austin Mahone Japan Tour 2019: Special Guest Opener (October 14–15, 2019) Yokohama Arena[83]
  • Summer Paradise 2020 (August 1–10, 2020)[84]
  • Travis Japan LIVE 2020 ENTER 1234567 (September 26–27, 2020) Yokohama Arena[85]
  • Travis Japan Live tour 2021 IMAGE NATION (March 22 - July 16, 2021) 12 City / 33 Venue National Tour[86]

Stage

Notes

  1. "T.G.I. Friday Night" did not enter the Billboard Global 200, but peaked at number 105 on the Global Excl. US.[30]

References

External links

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