HARAJUKU POP WEB > インタビュー > The contemporary princes “9bic” appear in the HARAJUKU POP! Special Interview Part ONE

The contemporary princes “9bic” appear in the HARAJUKU POP! Special Interview Part ONE

2021年09月10日｜インタビュー

Their first appearance in the HARAJUKU POP! 9bic is an idol group based on the concept of contemporary princes. Having performed at the Toyosu PIT for their first anniversary, and having an upcoming show at the PIA ARENA MM for their second anniversary, their momentum shows no signs of slowing down.
This time, we got to know the background of each of the members and asked them about their new song “klaxon” which was released on June 1.

Six colors of unique personalities explode!

──What kind of group is 9bic?

Keiichirou Ichikawa　It is definitely rich in individuality. Each of us has a completely different personality.

──Can you introduce each other?

Minato Kunugi　Kiyoharu is calm, serious, and like a father. He’s always taking care of us, right?

Kiyoharu Rikka　Yes, because there are many younger members (laughs). My role is to support Ichikawa, who is the oldest and does a lot of things for us.

Keiichirou Ichikawa　Minato is the type of person who gets very passionate about what he likes. When he thinks, “This is it!”, he tends to go all the way.

Ryoga Shiki　Ichikawa is extremely kind once you become friends with him. People often say he’s a “Tsundere” (a person who initially seems cold and gradually becomes friendly), but he’s actually just a warm-hearted guy. There’s an episode where he quickly helped Kotaro carry his bags when they went to a convenience store together. It’s very heartwarming, isn’t it?

──That’s too noble…. What kind of person is Ryoga?

Satsuki Kariyase　He’s natural, silly, and cute, but actually he’s quite manly. He’s a very strong puncher.

Kotaro Futaba　What, did he punch you? (laughs)

Ryoga Shiki　No, no, I didn’t. (laughs)

Satsuki Kariyase　Like when there is no screwdriver around to open a battery case, he just punches open everything.

Kotaro Futaba　Sa-chan (Satsuki) is good at singing and he is funny whatever he does. His humor just always hits the sweet spot. His expressions and actions are all so funny, he’s almost like a comedian. Although my sense of humor may be a little different from other people’s (laughs).

Satsuki Kariyase　He’s particularly popular amongst people with a weird sense of humor.

Keiichiro Ichikawa　He’s a bit unorthodox (laughs).

Satsuki Kariyase　But when we took a video to see who could present the funniest TikTok post, I was the one who could make everyone laugh the most. So, I guess I’m the funniest (laughs).

Keiichiro Ichikawa　 I think he’s come full circle and is now orthodox (laughs).

──Lastly, can you tell us about Kotaro?

Kiyoharu Rikka　Kotaro is the youngest, but he seems so accomplished as if he had already lived three lifetimes. He can do everything, including MCing with Ichikawa, singing, dancing, playing the piano, and editing videos. He does everything in a flash, which kind of reminds me of how young he is.

Kotaro Futaba　on’t shrug it off as a result of my youth (laughs)! I want to do everything that’s necessary for the group by myself. Including editing videos, writing lyrics, playing the piano, and everything else.

Someday, we’ll write our own lyrics and music too!

──Now, can I ask you how you all got involved with 9bic?

Kotaro Futaba　I was approached by (the producer) Yapp! because of a video I posted on TikTok. I’ve always liked the idols of Stardust and Johnny’s, and since I was curious, I decided to give it a try. I was worried about being tied down and working normally, so I guess I was lucky.

Minato Kunugi　I received an invitation on Twitter. I wasn’t interested in being an idol, but at the time I didn’t have anything to do or wanted to do, and I thought, “If Yapp! and Yonemura are producing, I’ll be fine!” If I had been invited by someone I didn’t really know, I probably wouldn’t have done it…

Ryoga Shiki　It’s partly because of the two producers in charge. Right when I was wondering whether to go to university or not, I was approached and joined 9bic. I hadn’t really thought about jumping into the entertainment industry, but I was curious to see what that world was like. It was just sort of an accident that I started, but now I’m enjoying it.

Kiyoharu Rikka　I was also thinking about my career path at that time. I was offered the opportunity right at the time when I was job hunting, and to be honest, I was really unsure about the offer, but it was a job that you couldn’t do normally, so I decided to give it a try. I’ve been a fan of Kis-My-Ft2 since I was in middle school, but I never thought I’d be on the idol side myself (laughs). I still admire them, and one day I would like to stand on the same stage they stood on.

Keiichiro Ichikawa　Originally, I wanted to become an actor, but Yapp! and Yonemura invited me by telling me, “If you become popular as an idol, you’ll certainly become popular as an actor as well, so why don’t you give 9bic a try?” I was persuaded by that, and I joined the group thinking that I could do what I wanted if I became more famous.

Satsuki Kariyase　 I like singing, so I had always been looking for an opportunity to sing in front of people. At that time, Yapp! asked me if I wanted to become an idol. Even now that I’m an idol, my desire to deliver my music to many people has not changed. At the moment, we mainly perform songs that have been provided to us, but eventually I would like to increase the number of songs that I have written and composed myself.

Aiming to become a national idol that everyone knows

──What do you want to become as 9bic in the future?

Kotaro Futaba　We want to become an idol that everyone knows. We appear in variety shows, and we also have a member who stars in a TV drama. If we can become a national idol like ARASHI, I’ll be very happy.

Keiichiro Ichikawa　Of course, we want to be popular as 9bic, but we also want people to know us on an individual level. Ideally, I’d like to have a lot of solo work as well.

──Are there any challenges that you would like to tackle as a group?

Kotaro Futaba　Wouldn’t it be nice to play in a TV drama with all the members? It could be a school drama where we all fight for one girl.

Keiichiro Ichikawa　That sounds fun! But I like the stage, too. Now that we have a junior group, 7m!n, and the number of members has increased, maybe the whole agency could work together to realize a new production.

Ryoga Shiki　I would like to have our own TV show. I think it would be fun to have a sports event with everyone or do a serious physical strength test.

──What kind of song is the new single “klaxon”?

Kotaro Futaba　It contains the idea of “sharing both our hardships and joys.” When you live, you may hit a wall, but together with this song, you can get over it.

Keiichiro Ichikawa　The whole song has a lot of energy and a feeling of “it all begins now,” doesn’t it?

──What is the best part of the song?

Minato Kunugi　It’s the final chorus where I sing. Normally, Sa-chan (Satsuki) would be in charge of this kind of part, but this time, for some reason, I was put in charge of it, so I was trying my best (laughs). The lyrics are also great, saying “I’ll be there for you even if you feel like you’re losing sight of the future.” I really like them.

Kotaro Futaba　 I like the rhyme between “klaxon” at the end of the first verse and “let’s suffer and have fun together” at the end of the second verse. Isn’t it just wonderful? I was touched by how amazing and good the lyrics are. Please pay attention to it when you listen to the song.

PHOTO：KURO
TEXT：Ayaka Sakai

9bic

A six-member men’s idol group based on the concept of “contemporary princes.” In addition to working as idols, they are also active as YouTubers under the name “hakoirimusuko.” In the spirit of today’s youth, they use TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram, with a total of over 1.5 million followers on social media. Their popularity among teenagers is soaring!

【Official Site】 https://9bicofficial.net/
【Twitter】 @9bic_official　
【Instagram】 @9bic_official
【TikTok】@9bic_official　
【YouTube】 hakoirimusuko”!