One or Eight’s NEO Talks “Kawasaki,” Says J.Cole “Save” Lyrics His

One or eight was a groundbreaking year.

In August, the eight-member Japanese boy band released their first track, “Don’t Tell Nobody,” along with a music video that was written and directed by OneRepublic. Ryan Tedder. The group, however, first debuted the “Kawasaki” performance video in June. The video gained 6 million views in five days. And at the beginning of this month, a remix of the song and a clip for it with participation Big Seanfell out The Bounce back The singer discovered One or Eight while watching their performance. NEO spoke to us about what it’s like to work with famous musicians, his biggest influences, and what kind of artist he aspires to be.

We had an opportunity to perform in front of Big Sean…we tried,” NEO said Us Weekly in an exclusive interview. “We asked him if he could add a verse for our updated version, and he gave us a big yes, and that’s how it all happened.”

During the filming of the music video in Los Angeles and Japan, when Big Sean noticed that the group was nervous, he told him: “Guys, let’s have fun.” And that energy really helped us enjoy the shoot, which turned out great, just like the music video,” said NEO. “The great lesson he taught us in the way he conducted himself was to remain humble.”

NEO also shared a major memory from the set: “There’s a scene where Big Sean is right in the middle and the other eight are butting heads in their helmets, but the helmets were so heavy that our necks started to hurt. three seconds later and we had to blast the whole song. So it’s two minutes in a row of hitting the head with a huge ball,” he said. “It was pretty hard for us, but it was fun.”

Besides NEO, other members include MIZUKI, REIA, RYOTA, SOUMA, TAKERU, TSUBASA, and YUGA.

NEO called the song’s success “embarrassing” and said us as he and the members of One or Eight want to keep the momentum going.

“There’s a lot of pressure on us because we’re fighting for the virality of Kawasaki, but we have to keep putting out good music,” he said. “So all the members were always in the studio. We are always training and always ready to do our best.”

Their sound is a mix of hip-hop and pop, and NEO said us that inspiration comes from those he looks up to in the industry.

“Personally, I appreciate it very much J. Cole“, he said. “His lyrics literally saved my life, and lyrics like this make me think. Writing is not easy. And being able to be a great songwriter and a great performer at the same time is what I really want to achieve … He’s my role model for imitation”.

He continued to explain how the rapper 2014 Forest Hills Drive was a “lifesaver” for him: “I had a really dark time in my life and listening to this really lifted my head.”

Now, NEO wants to pay it forward with One or Eight’s fan base, noting that he hopes the group can be a “safe space for listeners.”