NiziU is the newest girl group under JYP Entertainment, in collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment Japan. NiziU is a 9-member girl group, formed from the Japanese survival show, Nizi Project. They'll be promoting both in Japan, as well as South Korea. The line-up was revealed on June 26, 2020.
Background on Nizi Project: Nizi Project was split into two parts. The 1st part took 26 finalists from a nationwide audition and put them in a 5 day/4 night training camp. Out of the 26, 13 were taken to South Korea to train for six months. The 2nd part of the show showed the 13 trainees being evaluated through various challenges. Out of the 13, 9 were selected to debut into the group NiziU.
The official fandom name for NiziU is WithU
Members
Spoiler
Stage Name: Mako (マコ)
Real Name: Yamaguchi Mako (山口真子)
Birthday: April 4, 2001
Trivia:
JYP trainee since 2007
She placed 1st in Nizi Project Part 2
Stage Name: Rio (リオ)
Real Name: Hanabashi Rio (花橋梨緒)
Birthday: February 4, 2002
Trivia
Prior to Nizi Project, she was a member of the EXPGLab group, KIZZY/BUNNIES under the stage name HanaRio. She left EXPGLab in March 2019.
She placed 4th on the show.
Stage Name: Maya (マヤ)
Real Name: Katsumura Maya (勝村摩耶)
Birthday: April 8, 2002
Trivia:
She was a YG Entertainment trainee
She placed 5th on the show.
Stage Name: Riku (リク)
Oe Riku (大江梨久)
Birthday: October 26, 2002
Trivia:
She placed 2nd on the show.
Stage Name: Ayaka (アヤカ)
Real Name: Arai Ayaka (新井彩香)
Birthday: June 20, 2003
Trivia:
She placed 8th on the show.
Stage Name: Mayuka (マユカ)
Real Name Ogou Mayuka (小合麻由佳)
Birthday: November 13, 2003
Trivia
She placed 7th on the show
Stage Name: Rima (リマ)
Real Name: Yokoi Rima (横井里茉)
Birthday: March 26, 2004
Trivia
JYP Trainee since January 2019.
Her father is the well known Japanese rapper, Zeebra. Her mother is the model, Nakabayashi Miwa.
She speaks English fluent
She placed 3rd on the show
Stage name: Miihi (ミイヒ)
Real Name: Suzuno Miihi (鈴野未光)
Birthday: August 12, 2004
Trivia
JYP trainee since late 2018 / early 2019.
She placed 6th in the show.
Stage Name: Nina (ニナ)
Real Name: Nina Hillman (ヒルマンニナ) / Makino Nina (牧野仁菜) (I've seen both of these used)
Birthday: February 27, 2005
Trivia
She's Japanese-American and was born in Seattle, Washington.
Prior to auditioning for Nizi Project, she was signed under Amuse in 2017 as an actress.
Also prior to auditioning, she has only lived in Japan for two years.
She placed 9th on the show.
Releases
Spoiler
SINGLES:
Step and a Step (debut single)
Release: 2020/12/02
Tracklist
Step and a Step (Title)
Joyful
Sweet Bomb!
Make You Happy
PRE-DEBUT RELEASES
Make you happy (pre-debut digital mini album):
Release: 2020/06/30
Tracklist:
Make you happy (Title)
Baby I'm a Star (Nizi Project Part 2 opening song)
Boom Boom Boom (Finale song)
Beyond the Rainbow (Finale song)
I've been following Nizi Project since the 1st episode. I can't wait to see them debut soon. I wonder if they'll gain a lot of traction like Twice did. And NiziU is also set to have promotions in South Korea I believe.
ooh i've been hearing about them, idk if i'll pay attention to the group since their style seems to be just cute twice but rio and mayuka look really cute tbh
Nina not making the group would have been a big plot twist. In my opinion, I think Mayuka is the most promising so far. She did earn 3/4 on the final evaluation during the Tokyo training camp. : O
They're releasing a pre-debut mini album on 06/30. There was also a teaser for it released for it earlier today!
But for their actual debut, I'm hearing that they're set for the end of the year. Prior to the official line-up being revealed (about a month ago I think) a photo of the group that was taken near the JYP building leaked on the internet. If they're dropping a legitimate mini-album this soon (even though it's pre-debut, it's still less than a week) makes me believe that they've already been working on their actual debut.
They're most likely going to focus in Japan to start off with, but I expect Korean promotions soon enough. They're going to be the 2nd coming of Twice in terms of popularity, I can already feel it. Lol
ooooh this looks p cute!! can't wait for their actual debut :0 and i've heard about nina a lot, it would've been surprising if they didn't debut her tbh
And the MV is out, it's already at 6.2 million views. : O
This sounds like your usual J-pop plus the random "JYP" line at the end. I have it stuck in my head though, so I guess I like it (lol). They look cohesive as a group so I can't wait to see more of them soon!
This sounds like your usual J-pop plus the random "JYP" line at the end.
Interesting you say that. I found them randomly while browsing the JYP YouTube channel and found the song as well as the visuals and everything to be very K-Pop and catchy in its typical way except being in Japanese. Like, I could see that song belonging to TWICE.
As they should be. NiziU is getting a lot of attention due to the success of their pre-debut and now debut single. The success is bittersweet: Miihi isn't there to celebrate with them. She's been on hiatus since October. She was in the MV but isn't seen in the dance shot or hasn't been participating in promotions for the single.
They've also manage to land a bunch of CF deals. Like, it feels like a new thing weekly.
new single announced! it's a double a-side titled "take a picture / poppin' shakin'" and releases on april 7th. i'm so excited!! i kinda sorta fell off like right before their debut and i feel like i missed a lot lol so i'm hoping i can get back on with this. miihi is def my fave though!
yeah i think their stuff is alright but honestly it just feels like japanese twice. the vocals are more j-idol sounding to me but they lack the chorus/unison singing that j-idols usually have so it sticks out to me a lot lol (make you happy is especially annoying with this in the chorus, it feels like it just NEEDS unison singing there lol). it's a weird nitpick but idk. hoping with this 2nd single they do more of a unique sound. that said i really like the members though so i'm excited to get into them more
They are essentially a Japanese Twice. JYP saw Twice was selling ridiculously well in Japan and was like "bet I can make an all Japanese group that'll be just as popular as Twice".
And... that's essentially what has happened. Their debut is the highest selling debut single in Japan, they have gotten a ton of brand/cm deals, got invited to Kohaku (less than a month into their debut as well). But in actual music, they're a K-pop group that is geared for Japan. I'm actually surprised they haven't started promoting in Korea yet, since they have recorded Make You Happy in Korean. I do hope they let the girls have a break though, they been promoting nonstop since Nizi Project ended.
yeah, with their huge success they're probably gonna get worked to death for the next year or two :/ in any case though i'm hoping once they get settled a bit more they try to establish more of their own identity, i understand the japanese twice thing for the first year or two but they can't keep that going for their entire career (well they CAN but like, yknow what i mean lol) so hopefully they find their own style sometime. even if it's just in the b-sides lol. in any case though i'm gonna keep supporting them, i might even get their debut cd if i have the money
NiziU is going to be overworked just like Twice too.
I think they'll find a style or at least fill in the cute-concept sized gap that Twice has left. I think they'll grow into their own identity in the next 2~3 years. I'm enjoying their releases so far too. I just hope they'll become more accessible to international fans. Finding NiziU merch has been a pain to find, even more so than H!P atm.
i'm surprised to hear their stuff isn't that accessible. i guess it's a byproduct of marketing hard towards the japanese market, but also, that makes no sense if h!p is more accessible. i guess they'll expand on it as they release more stuff hopefully
i don't hate it either but its not something i listen 
