Concert Review: Rising J-Pop Group ONE OR EIGHT Performs First-Ever North American Show in New York

Rising J-Pop (Japanese pop) boy group ONE OR EIGHT made their North American performance debut last night, April 20, at Racket NYC. The group is embarking on their first-ever global fan meeting tour, SHUKAI, which recently had performances in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. New York was the first of two North American shows, the second being in Los Angeles on April 23.

The tour comes hot on the heels of their most recent single release, "DSTM", which samples Rihanna's song, "Please Don't Stop The Music."

The show opened with performances of two of the group's officially released songs, "Don't Tell Nobody" and "KAWASAKI", brimming with energy to kick off the evening. Throughout the show, each member performed a solo song, with Mizuki, Souma, and Neo - three of the group's rappers - each taking the stage in the first half of the set.

The SHUKAI tour is unique in that it doesn't just include a performance, but also a mid-show Q&A and games section, which allows new and old fans to get to know the group members even better. A host/translator took the stage to introduce the segment, which began with a brief Q&A. A few fans were selected to ask questions to members of the group. 

Next, the group was split into two teams, which they appropriately named themselves "Team Brooklyn" and "Team Yankees." They competed against each other, first in a soccer ball-juggling competition, and then in a round of charades. If you're curious, Team Brooklyn (consisting of Reia, Takeru, Ryota, and Tsubasa) came out on top.

The second half of the set consisted of more full-group stages, including the unreleased songs "My Lil Heart Attack" and "Day Ones." The other members also performed solo stages, and there were also two unit stages - consisting of the group's rap line and vocal line.

The energy that ONE OR EIGHT have, while together on stage or performing solo, is palpable and infectious. While they're still a relatively new group, I can see a bright future ahead for them.