ONE N’ ONLY look.1
ONE N’ ONLY is a dance and vocal musical group composed of TETTA, REI, EIKU, HAYATO, KENSHIN, NAOYA that came to the stage in 2018. As their name suggests, the six members aspire to be a one of a kind band on the world stage. After uploading their music videos featuring their cool dancing onto TikTok, they promptly gathered international attention in Brazil and other Latin American countries. They now have more than 5.8 million followers on TikTok and are the top ranked Japanese male artist band in number of followers. In April 2023, their live tour to three cities in Brazil “LATIN TOUR 2023” was a huge hit. After this they staged a nationwide tour to the 47 prefectures in Japan for their “ONE N’ SWAG – Hook Up!” show which sold out soon after tickets went on sale. This April they released “DOMINO” a song which blends their strength which is “JK-POP” with the Latin music which they experienced first hand.
Their name One N’ Only implies how their music is shaped through personal experience. Their music and dance is a direct expression of the path that they have taken and this strikes a chord with the fans. The “DOMINO” music video uses a brilliant yellow as a key tone, which coincides with the Onitsuka Tiger yellow. I asked the band members about the Look 1 style which employs brilliant colors and a floral pattern as the basic tone.
HAYATO: “I have never before worn such colorful shorts; they were a refreshing first for me! I like the shiny sneakers the most. I like their flamboyance! They are light and easy to dance in so I want to use them regularly!”
REI: “The clothes that I wore were an all-blue base tone. The hue was closer to deep blue which I felt was elegantly Japanese. Shorts tend to lend a casual impression, but these ones possessed a certain amount of elegance. I thought that wearing shorts would require some degree of courage, but anyone can enjoy wearing these ones! At first sight, the sandals were hard soles, but were surprisingly easy to walk in. Ordinarily I tend to develop sores when I wear them, but these were designed well and easy to wear!”
TETTA: “It was a cute style with a floral pattern that anticipates the coming of summer. The base is a ringer tee shirt which I often wear and enjoyed it! The pant material had an interesting feel to them and were thus easier to throw on!”
EIKU: “The yellow of the floral motif tee shirt was a highlight color. Actually, this tee shirt is asymmetrically designed in that the left arm is a tee shirt while the right arm has no sleeve. I enjoyed the idiosyncratic design sense and the sneakers were light weight and easy to walk in!”
NAOYA: “My clothes were an all-in-black style. The base is a floral motif tank top with a see-through top thrown over it. It is sexy and it is fashion that I want to attempt to wear this summer! The outer was airy and easy to move around in. The shorts I don’t usually wear, but the floral pattern seems to bring the whole ensemble together so this was a new one!”
KENSHIN: “My garb is all-in-yellow (laughing)! It is brilliant and original, so may be hard to throw on. But you grow accustomed to this ensemble, so I dare everyone to try it on! It has a fine texture and elegant sensibility about it so I recommend wearing the top and bottom as a set! Perhaps your persona will irrevocably alter wearing this get-up! I feel kind of courageous (laughing)!”
The six men dressed in summer colors demonstrated some dance moves in between photo shoots. When they did their dance video for TikTok, they rehearsed everything from where to stand, their dance moves, and continued practicing until everyone was satisfied. They say that their bonds as a team have become stronger after completing their nationwide 47 prefectures tour in April.
TETTA: “Through this tour, our bonds have grown even stronger. Being with each other everyday, we have shared in the hardship and joy. We spent some fulfilling time together, although it only lasted a short while. The experience we gained was major.”
KENSHIN: “We also honed our live act. Our bonds with SWAG have grown and we went to regions in Japan we ordinarily would not have gone to. Going on a nationwide tour across Japan to the 47 prefectures was a great experience.”
NAOYA: “There are unforeseen accidents on tour. The size of the stage changes depending on the venue, so that where we stand suddenly changes. One episode that remains in memory occurred on the first day on tour. For our first performance in Ishikawa, our wardrobe didn’t arrive so our staff had to go to the local shopping mall to buy costumes and mixed and matched them with our ordinary clothes. After that we were able to cope with anything.”
HAYATO: “Speaking of accidents, when we did the Kumamoto live show, there was a blackout during our first number, so we exited the stage to regroup. SWAG backed us up and we got to know them a lot better. Even if the size of future tours gets bigger, I hope that the distance between us remains close. We have another tour “ONE N’ SWAG 2024 ¿Fiesta?” planned in September at our largest venue to date the Tokyo Garden Theater. We hope to kick up a row for this live performance!”
→ For Look 2, I asked them about what they would do together on summer vacation and small ambitions that they wish to accomplish!
Direction : Shinsuke Nozaka
Photo : Yoshiaki Sekine (SIGNO)
Stylist : Kosei Matsuda
Hair,MakeUp : Kohei Nakajima (TETTA・EIKU・HAYATO), Maki Sato (REI・KENSHIN・NAOYA)
Text : Saki Shibata
Movie : DONKI (NOBODCR)
■PROFILE
ONE N’ ONLY
ONE N’ ONLY is a musical group comprised of three vocals TETTA, REI, and EIKU, and three rapper/dancers HAYATO, KENSHIN, and NAOYA. They began as a self-styled JK-POP band, and after their Latin America tour in 2023 developed their own “Jatin Pop” style by blending JK-POP with Latin musical tastes. They continue to develop a unique style as a dance and vocal group. Their music videos released on YouTube drew widespread acclaim, particularly from Asia, South America, and some of Europe. They were the top ranked Japanese boy band music artist on TikTok with 5.8 million followers and 520 million playbacks. They will embark on their “ONE N’ SWAG 2024 Fiesta” tour from September 27 to Tokyo, Osaka, and Aichi Prefecture for a total of five shows.