ZILLION: Eight Members' Growth After One Year Pre-Debut—Feelings Behind Their Latest Work Expressing Human Emotion and Aspirations for Their February 2023 Live
This interview was originally published in Japanese on thefirsttimes.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.
ZILLION Interview
ZILLION is an 8-member dance vocal group with an average age of 19, born from the audition “ONE in a Billion” where Shota Shimizu served as chief judge. Their third pre-debut single “STEP / 冗談じゃないわ” was released digitally on November 30th. “STEP” is a positive song featuring Motown sound that energizes listeners and inspires the group themselves. We interviewed all eight members—Luna, Tyra, Kei-ji, Lion, Kashin, Kaora, Wataru, and Moka—about this single and the activities that left the strongest impressions during 2022, a year of non-stop lessons, experiences, and full-speed momentum.
CONTENTS
The starting point and origin for their February live at KT Zepp Yokohama / A new discovery that the group and units can showcase different worldviews / The moment they became united in mind and purpose, creating a good MV / Usually surrounded by members, but during production they’re alone—wanting everyone to experience it on TikTok / A live where people will want to come see ZILLION
The starting point and origin for their February live at KT Zepp Yokohama
Q: You’ve released two pre-debut singles and one EP, appeared at various events and lives. 2022 was really a year of “running full speed ahead.” What activities left the strongest impressions on each of you?
Lion: For me, it was the “123she” MV shoot. It was ZILLION’s first unit song (Moka, Luna, Lion, Kashin, Kei-ji), and while I was anxious about not having everyone there, I was excited and enjoyed the new environment. It was also my first time doing an MV without dancing, so that felt fresh and really memorable.
Q: I think unit collabs are a unique weapon for a group like ZILLION where everyone’s a lead, and they’ll be a highlight at live shows too.
Lion: There are things like vocal compatibility between members that we’d never noticed before—new discoveries. I want to keep challenging unit songs going forward.
Luna: For me, it was being the opening act for Shota Shimizu’s tour at Zepp. I was singing the opening and shaking with nervousness, but when the curtain went up and I felt the audience’s warm gazes, I thought, “I can do this.” I still can’t forget that moment, and I think our vision became clear because of it. That day feels like the starting point and origin for our live at KT Zepp Yokohama this coming February.
Tyra: For me, it was the new artist photo shoot. With the goal of each member becoming someone to admire—as ZILLION’s goal—we all researched the visuals together, including costumes and makeup. This artist photo has a unified green theme, but I think each person’s original atmosphere comes through, so it was a really fun shoot and left a strong impression.
Q: You all seem to have strong individual preferences when it comes to visuals, so it must’ve been hard to unify everyone’s opinions.
Tyra: That’s exactly it (laughs). Kashin was the one who gathered everyone’s preferences and opinions together, and Kashin worked hard between us and the staff, and we ended up with something everyone was completely satisfied with.
Kashin: I worked really hard (laughs).
A new discovery that the group and units can showcase different worldviews
Q: Eight people, eight colors—and they’re all bold, vivid colors. So Lion, as the leader, it must be tough to consolidate everyone’s opinions.
Lion: I prioritize listening to everyone’s input, but when things still won’t settle, Wataru and I end up leading the discussion, and then we confirm it again with everyone before deciding. It sometimes takes time, but I think that’s necessary time to make a good work.
Moka: For me, it was getting to participate in two unit songs—”123she” and “NO 盛れNO LIFE”—both featuring two different units. Each had a completely different worldview, and I realized that one group could express so many different aesthetics. Like Lion mentioned earlier, discovering that we can show different worldviews both as a full group and in units was a valuable experience for me.
Kaora: For me, it was standing on stage at Shibuya eggman during the “TOKYO TRAX” event in August. I was happy that we could all think together about how to structure the choreography and presentation to match the stage size, and about the setlist. We had eight different opinions, but coming together as one heading into our first live house stage was something I could really feel, and it left a strong impression.
Wataru: In “やめとこっか,” there’s a scene where all eight of us dance energetically, but considering the stage size, we couldn’t physically fit everyone on it. Still, we had a strong desire to convey the impact to the audience, so I remember we all tried different things and went ahead with the performance.
Kei-ji: Every single live I’ve performed at left an impression on me. I started doing beatboxing in third grade and was doing it confidently, but it was at live performances that it first changed into “certainty.” In “やめとこっか” I do beatbox, and because I’m doing it confidently and putting out something I’m satisfied with, it really stands out in my memory. The dancing, which was completely new to me during auditions, has given me more tools thanks to the members’ support, and I’ll keep training more!
Wataru: The activity that left the strongest impression on me was the “Timeless” MV shoot. A regular guy who was just living a normal student life until recently—and suddenly I’m being filmed singing and dancing. When they call cut, staff bring me water, fan me with a paper fan, three people wiping my sweat… it felt so unreal. Watching it from outside before, and now doing it myself—I couldn’t believe it was real.
Kei-ji: Though honestly, only Wataru got three people to wipe his sweat (laughs).
Wataru: They brought water too, and honestly I still can’t get used to it. The staff are standing, but is it okay for us to be sitting?
The moment they became united in mind and purpose, creating a good MV
Kashin: For me, it was during the “One Day” MV shoot—the scene where we were dancing while getting rained on. Originally we weren’t supposed to get wet, but they decided it looked better that way, so we got absolutely soaked like we were under a waterfall (laughs). At that moment, it felt different from our usual dance scenes—there was a real sense of unity. The shoot was hard that day, everyone was tired, plus we were wet and cold, but we’d form a circle and pump each other up like “Let’s go!” We were just filming a scene of dancing in the rain, but I felt ZILLION’s essence more than ever before. My heart was really moved—in fact, ZILLION’s energy grew even more from the next day on. Just remembering that moment gets me a little emotional. There were no spectators, but it was a moment where we became one in purpose and thought—uniting to convey our feelings and leaving a good MV.
Wataru: Being able to unite like that and have everyone’s perspective shift at once might seem fleeting, but I think this group’s cohesion in those moments when we come together is really incredible.
Lion: Even the girls’ team talks about that MV shoot afterward—how hard it was but what a good shoot it was. I think all of us really felt again how important it is to run toward one shared goal.
Usually surrounded by members, but during production they’re alone
Q: In August, your first featuring single “すきの気持ち feat. ルナ” was released.
Luna: I was really happy, but I also felt some anxiety. Usually the members are around me, but during the production period I was alone, and I also participated alone in the dating reality show “今日、好きになりました。セブ島編.” So there was a lot to feel uneasy about. But the members listened to and watched the finished product early and told me “it was good,” which made me so happy. I got to perform it at a live, and I was really nervous, but I think this became one of the different forms of ZILLION I could be part of.
Q: You performed “STEP” and “冗談じゃないわ” at ‘TGC teen’ the other day, right?
Kei-ji: It was my first time on such a big stage, and the audience size was completely different from anything before—way more people than I imagined. There were people with cameras and people waving penlights, so I was super nervous, but it was an amazing experience.
Wanting everyone to experience it on TikTok
Q: “STEP” feels like you’re singing it for yourselves, and listeners will feel energized and hopeful. You’ve sung songs with all kinds of musical styles so far. When you heard this Motown-influenced track, how did you feel?
Kashin: I originally did rock dancing, a genre that originated in the 70s-80s. Since I was little, I’d been exposed to Black music like James Brown, so hearing this song brought those times back. I loved the rhythm and kept listening to the demo more than usual.
Kaora: Moka and I start the vocals, and when the lyrics came, I could really relate to them. I’ve always done dancing, so I’ve listened to a lot of Black music, and I’m really happy we can sing this kind of music as our group now. I enjoy dancing to it, and I relate when I sing it too—I’m just really happy about this song. ZILLION hasn’t really done upbeat, “you can do it” positive lyric songs like this before, so it feels like a challenge, and with that included, I’m really enjoying it.
Kashin: Like Kaora said, this is ZILLION’s first song with this kind of tone. The dance has always had high difficulty before, but this time the chorus choreography is something everyone can easily copy. I’m hoping people will do it on TikTok and such.
Q: For the February live, we don’t know yet if voice-outs will be allowed, but if they are, simple choreography would let everyone enjoy it together.
Kashin: If it’s hand motions that anyone can do, the audience can participate too, so it makes the live even more fun.
Tyra: The choreography is like—each move is a pose that gets photographed, and it uses numbers for the poses, so I think it’s interesting.
Q: “冗談じゃないわ” is such a fun song. It’s completely different from “STEP”—it has this mysterious air, but when you listen all the way through, you can feel ZILLION’s essence. I think it’s a song that really captures you.
Luna: This dance is catchy—like “what’s with this move?” and you can’t help but copy it. With songs like “Timeless” and “One Day,” we often matched the choreography to the lyrics and carefully incorporated the lyrics’ meaning into the dancing, but this time it’s more catchy. Like, “this kind of movement exists?” and once you see it, you definitely want to copy it.
Moka: Even comparing “STEP” and this side by side, both have human emotion in them. With our past songs we’d sing to someone else or about ephemeral feelings and love—things you can’t see—but this time both songs are about the real circumstances we have within ourselves, so they’re more straightforward. It’s a challenge, and it makes me feel like we have to work hard.
Q: The lyrics are really fun too.
Lion: When I first saw the lyrics, I thought it might be a positive song, but when I heard the whole thing, it ended up feeling like a fight song directed at ourselves. Ultimately it goes to “I’m absolutely going to make this come true,” so both songs ended up being positive in the end, I think.
A live where people will want to come see ZILLION
Q: The February live, which felt so far away, is getting closer. What kind of live do you want to create?
Lion: Having experienced all kinds of lives, I want to give 100% of what we’ve learned and experienced at the KT Zepp Yokohama live. I don’t just want it to be ZILLION—I want it to be a fun live we create together with the fans who come to see us. The live house shows we’re doing now are themed around enjoying together, so I want February’s Zepp to be created together with everyone too.
Wataru: Having experienced all this, I think each member has different feelings they’re carrying toward this goal, so it could easily become a mess (laughs). I want each person to think carefully about what we need to do when we get there, then unite it all and explode.
Tyra: We’ve challenged ourselves with lots of things at events and lives, improved them, and updated them. I want to showcase all that at Zepp. I want to enjoy it together with the fans, and when Zepp is over, I want people to think “I want to go see ZILLION live again.”