ENSTARZ EXCLUSIVE: Travis Japan Post-AGT: Sitting Down With The First Johnny's J-Pop Idol Group To Make It Onto Mainstream U.S. Television
Sometimes, when growing up in the U.S., it's very easy to forget that there are whole entertainment industries thriving on the other side of the world. However, if you grew up or live in Japan, which has the second largest music industry in the world for the record, you more likely than not have encountered the J-Pop idols of Johnny & Associates. Domestically, Johnny's idols are featured EVERYWHERE, from TV dramas to commercials to even large-scale national events, like the Olympics and the Japanese emperor's enthronement.
However, if you utter the name Johnny's in the U.S., you would likely be met with blank stares...until recently.
Earlier this month, J-Pop idol band Travis Japan appeared on America's Got Talent, marking the first Johnny's group to appear on mainstream U.S. television in over thirty years — the last time this had happened was SHONENTAI's appearance on the Merv Griffen show in 1984. Drawing attention with their glitzy outfits and endearing humor, Travis Japan comprises seven members:
- Miyachika Kaito or "Chaka"
- Nakamura Kaito or "Umi"
- Shimekake Ryuya or "Shime"
- Kawashima Noel or "Noel"
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Yoshizawa Shizuya or "Shizu"
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Matsuda Genta or "Genta"
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Matsukura Kaito or "Machu"
Travis Japan's televised AGT audition garnered three yeses from the celebrity judges, which included Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, and Heidi Klum, and ecstatic cheers from the in-studio audience.
As a long-time Johnny's fan, it was wild and incredibly encouraging to see the warm reception from a mainstream American audience for what had long felt like a niche fandom. Unfortunately, Travis Japan's journey on AGT ended with the semi-finals.
Now that this particular experience on American TV is over, we were finally able to sit down with the boys in an all-English interview. Despite not being completely fluent in the language, we chatted with Travis Japan about their experience living in the U.S., their dreams for what's coming ahead, and the heavy responsibility they feel representing Japan to a global audience.
Q: Thank you so much for sitting down with me today. What surprised you the most about living in the U.S.? What do you miss most about Japan?
Noel: The roads are wider than in Japan. When we want to go somewhere, we need to go by car. There's no public transportation. It's really hard. That was the biggest surprise for us. We tried [using public transportation] once, but the time was inconvenient. However, the thing we miss the most in Japan is the convenience stores.
[Agreement from everyone]
Noel: 7-Eleven here is not the same. We miss onigiri, bento, or something like that.
Q: What was the most valuable lesson that you learned from choreographer Travis Payne?
Genta: I think...just passion! Strong passion.
Machu: Yeah, passion is important.
Shime: Each choreography has its own feeling and story.
Noel: And to be nice to people.
Q: What are you guys passionate about?
Noel: Work. To have fun.
Genta: Imagine.
Noel: To imagine being in front of our fans. We had a concert in Japan two years ago in the summer during COVID, where we had live streaming. [Even though the audience couldn't be there with us,] we shared the time during our concert through the monitor.
Q: How many hours a week do you get of free time? What do you do with your free time?
Shime: It depends on the person. Dinnertime is usually free time. In my case, I eat with the members or voice train by myself and watch movies. I also practice English with Machu. Just English.
Machu: For one hour.
[Exclamations of surprise]
Q: What kind of movies are your favorite?
Shime: I usually watch the Disney channel or Disney+.
Q: What about everyone else? How does everyone else spend their time?
Machu: Also, on weekends, we always make multiple Instagram posts.
Noel: On the weekends, we have a schedule for social media.
Q: Does that count as free time? It sounds like work!
Machu: Yes, it counts! A few days ago, we got to visit an American diner, so we ate hamburgers and other American food.
Noel: Fries. French toast. Waffles.
Machu: So, it's free time, but we also take photos.
Noel: We will talk with each other and shoot YouTube videos, where we play games. We have the best time in the world!
Q: When you do go out and go to the diner, that's all in LA, right? Do you guys have a favorite place in LA?
Umi: My favorite place is Signal Hill. There are mountains and lots of houses. Kind of similar to Beverly Hills. If you come to this place, you will get love. You have to come! Hang out or have dinner.
Q: What is the most memorable performance you've done?
Noel: Our most memorable performance was AGT. Both times were great, but the first time was really memorable.
Q: You guys seemed a bit nervous in that one. Were you guys nervous?
Noel: Super nervous. It was the first time in 38 years that Johnny's talent was on American TV. It was a great breakthrough and something new. Not only for us, but for our company.
Q: Did you notice something different about the AGT audience?
Noel: It was totally different. Because in Japan, nowadays, [due to the COVID-19 pandemic] they can't scream. They can only wave their uchiwas (fans with idols' names or faces on them). We were so surprised [by the audience cheering at AGT]. For me, when I went to New York, I went and saw many musicals. And every few moments, the audience would stand up, clap, and cheer. And afterwards, they would take a seat. The same thing would happen at AGT. The audience would stand up and give a standing ovation. It was the first time for us to experience that from on the stage. Before, we were only on the audience side, so it was completely changed.
Q: Did the audience reaction encourage you for the next time for the semi-finals?
Noel: Yes, it did.
Q: Even with the audio issues, did the audience react a different way than you expected?
Noel: Actually, we didn't feel like that because we did our best. Unfortunately, we didn't advance. Maybe, the problem was not the sound issue. We don't want to complain about that. The program is really nice, and we never complained about that.
Q: What is your relationship with the other Johnny & Associates groups? Have you received any advice from your sempai (seniors) about breaking into the U.S.?
Umi: Everyone sent us "Ganbare!" (Similar to "Hang in there!") Everyone leaves sweet words and comments.
Machu: Also, when we performed at AGT and in the auditions for the first time, our association's sempai all said afterwards that Travis Japan was so amazing!
Noel: Each of us has relationships with different sempai. But, some of the sempai, even though we've never had any relationship with them, still reached out to congratulate us.
Q: How have things changed for you since World of Dance and America's Got Talent?
Noel: Now, we have more confidence.
Q: What are your hopes for the future? How do you hope things will change?
Noel: We are not just dancers. We are not just singers. We are not just a specific job. We're idols. And being idols help us to take on multiple roles. And we have the great outcome from World of Dance, and we have confidence in dancing. We need to combine it with singing or other performance skills to be the biggest stars.
Genta: So, after performing, I found a lot of programs and thought that, I need to practice more in singing and dancing. I changed my mind to become more positive.
Q: What does "making it in America" mean to you? What does "making it" look like?
Noel: To be recognized by all of the American people.
Chaka: When it comes to one of my own dreams personally, making more money would be nice!
Umi: In my opinion, buying a house in Malibu is successful. Housing is so expensive. By the way, I will own a house on the mountain.
Noel: On top of the mountain!
Shime: We want our fans and people in the world to know us, listen to our music. For example, our song is "When I Dream Higher."
Machu: Everyone knows us in the world.
Q: Do you feel you have a responsibility to spread Japanese culture abroad?
Noel: Yes, we think so. It's not duty, it's kind of a right because our name. We're called Travis Japan, so Travis Japan can represent Japan. Most American people will ask us, "Are you from Japan?" When we say we're from Japan and that we're Japanese talents, a Japanese boyband, for that person, [it's important that] they don't only think "he's Japanese" and "he's from Japan," but that Japan is a good country. Travis Japan is a good group, so Japan must be great.
Chaka: At first glance, we might not seem like we display specific Japanese culture, but if we are successful, then we can make a new culture for people to get to know about Japan.
Noel: Most people in the world think that Japan still has samurai. We can have a new model.
Machu: We want to become the culture.
Q: How do you plan on maintaining your identity as you venture into the American market?
Noel: First of all, we should say we are so proud of our Johnny's culture. But, we also have to be something new, for Japanese culture and the world. We want to keep our Johnny's culture, but add some parts to be more famous in the world. For example, with AGT, we changed our lyrics from Japanese to English. If we can release our songs to the world, we would need to change them, so the lyrics can be recognized. I think that's a good way.
Q: What is the legacy of Johnny Kitagawa in your eyes? How has he personally affected your lives or how you see the world?
Noel: He has a great legacy. A huge one. Each of the Johnny's talents are really huge. We learned to be nice to people and to have confidence to be on stage.
Chaka: Johnny-san has always had a lifelong dream. He can't stop creating entertainment.
Noel: He continued to create new things.
Chaka: And thus, we can't stop.
Noel: Yeah, having a dream is the best way to believe as a talent.
Machu: Entertainment is so great.
Noel: Entertainment is important, but it's not necessary to live. If we have no entertainment in our life, we can live. But, without accepting entertainment in our life, we are boring.
Machu: Entertainment is happiness.
Shizu: [in Japanese] One of the biggest elements of Johnny's legacy is the ability to just keep creating something new over and over and over. And to keep on reinventing yourself in order to adapt and continue to impress and surprise and delight people. That spirit of challenging is a core component of the Johnny's identity and something that's really been important to us in this new adventure and kind of also part of the backing of why we took on this new experience in the first place.
Q: Finally, if you want one thing for American audiences to walk away knowing about Travis Japan, what would you like them to know?
Genta: Anyways, just the name, Travis Japan.
Shime: We want American audiences to know that there are seven great guys here.
Noel: We want to release our songs. For that, we would like them to know our songs and our performances on YouTube, on Instagram, or on social media. Please search our videos or please subscribe to our channel!
And that does it for our interview with Travis Japan! We had a great time speaking with the boys, and wish them luck on their quest to break into the American entertainment industry. If you want to learn more about Travis Japan, follow them on the Travis Japan official Instagram, the Travis Japan official YouTube channel, or the Johnnys & Associates Twitter.
Also, since speaking with the boys, Johnny & Associates and Universal Music Group announced that Travis Japan had signed with Capitol Records for their international debut. Congratulations, Travis Japan!
Travis Japan's debut single arrives October 28, 2022.
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