JYP forms new Japanese boy group NexZ

From left: NexZ members Ken, Yuhi, Yu, Tomoya, Haru, Yuki and Seita (JYP Entertainment)

JYP Entertainment has finalized the members of its new Japanese boy group, NexZ, through the global audition "Nizi Project Season 2."

In the final episode of "Nizi Project Season 2," which ran on JYP's official YouTube channel and streaming service Hulu Japan, the seven members -- Tomoya, Haru, Yuki, Ken, Yu, Yuhi and Seita – were announced with their new group name NexZ. All but Ken, the only Korean member, are Japanese nationals.

The global audition held preliminary rounds in 11 cities, including Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Okinawa, Tokyo, Sendai, Kobe, New York, Los Angeles and Seoul. Twenty candidates who passed preliminary rounds went through a training period and fierce competition in Tokyo and Seoul, and the group was whittled down to seven.

NexZ, an abbreviation of "Next Generation," shows JYP's ambition to showcase music and performances that will lead the next-generation music industry, the agency said. It was named by JYP Entertainment chief Park Jin-young, who also served as a judge for the Nizi Project.

"I hope that NexZ will open the future with the new generation," he said at the finale.

After their debut was confirmed, "Miracle" – the song used in the final round of the audition -- was officially released on several music platforms on Monday. The song, composed and written by Park, depicts the hard work and challenges that the seven members have gone through to finalize their debut. The performance video was also released in Korean and Japanese.

The "Nizi Project" is a joint audition program presented by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music. Based on JYP's K-pop group training system, the project aims to create a competitive Japanese idol group. The first season, which launched in 2020, produced the girl group NiziU, which has been steadily gaining popularity in Japan since its successful debut.

By Lee Jung-youn(jy@heraldcorp.com)