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JO1 backstage at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York, NY for the JO1 WORLD TOUR JO1DER SHOW 2025 'WHEREVER ... [+] WE ARE' concert tour.
LAPONE ENTERTAINMENT, Photo by @ogata_photo
JO1 has officially made their mark in the U.S. live music scene after the J-pop boy band sold out every date in their first-ever stateside concerts.
The JO1DER SHOW 2025 ‘Wherever We Are’ world tour made stops in Los Angeles and New York from March 1 to March 4, 2025, letting American fans finally see the group live outside of festival stages like KCON. The sell-outs — alongside overwhelming crowd energy witnessed on the scene — show JO1 on the way to cementing a larger international presence and positioning them as an undeniable J-pop act to watch in America.
While JO1 has long been known for their polished choreography and sleek boy band aesthetic ever since coming together in the first season of the survival show Produce 101 Japan, the sold-out U.S. leg of their U.S. tour also showcased the group’s edgy and spontaneous stage presence, delivering extra ad-libs and hyped-up shouts throughout songs, that helped set them apart from their contemporaries. The energy was particularly impassioned at the final U.S. tour stop at Brooklyn Bowl on March 4 — coinciding with their fifth debut anniversary — with the music venue-bowling alley allowing for intimate interactions between members and fans, playful moments like when several JO1 members had a stage security guard read some prepared English remarks, and also a standout moment when member Keigo bowled a strike live on the scene before the group returned for an encore.
The 17-song set opened with “Love Seeker,” one of the group’s eight Number One singles on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, with the quick-paced set finally giving the guys a whole show to make an impact on American audiences. From group leader Yonashiro leading conversation with the crowd with his self-taught English skills to Sukai taking charge with his intense and improvised ad-libs to make each performance unique, not to mention the crowds of fans that waited outside to catch a glimpse of the guys as they exited the venue despite the New York cold, this tour felt like the beginnings of J-pop’s new global breakthrough arriving.
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The JO1DER SHOW 2025 ‘Wherever We Are’ tour culminates with two sold-out shows at the legendary Tokyo Dome on April 20 and 21 to mark another significant milestone for the group at the iconic indoor stadium. With such a strong stateside showing for their first outing, JO1 can hopefully keep the momentum going in 2025 and beyond to help usher in an exciting new wave of Japanese-pop acts impacting the global market with an edge and passion unique to them.
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