Number_i on ‘God_i,’ Head in the Clouds, Performing in the U.S.

Japanese trio Number_i is outright earnest about the way they love making music.

Made up of members Sho Hirano, Yuta Jinguji and Yuta Kishi, the chart-topping J-pop act is wading into the U.S. music market. Last year, the group joined management company and music label 88Rising’s Futures stage lineup at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. It was their first U.S. performance and first major music festival as Number_i.

The three-member group performed their first featured festival set in the U.S. at 88Rising’s Head in the Clouds Festival at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The performance came on the heels of their latest release God_i, featuring a lead single of the same name. Yuta Kishia produced the track, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s Hot 100 chart. The track conveys the message of “wishing to give the courage to take a step forward,” according to a release.

Number_i stopped by The Hollywood Reporter days after their Head in the Clouds set to talk about God_i, the differences in performing for U.S. audiences and how they hope the world sees them.

How was performing at Head in the Clouds? This was your second U.S. performance after Coachella last year, correct?

YUTA JINGUJI Coachella was our very first big music festival event. We were not really used to that kind of atmosphere and everything, but we’ve done a lot of festivals in Japan now. With that experience, we were more relaxed and we got to enjoy [performing at Head in the Clouds] a little bit more.

You quite literally have the No. 1 song in Japan [at the time of this conversation]. How are you feeling about your latest release, God_i?

SHO HIRANO We definitely appreciate the fans around the world, and this time we wanted to give back to the fans and people who enjoyed our music, so it had that special feeling to it.

I’m wondering if there was one particular song of yours that you found fans at Head of the Clouds this past weekend really enjoyed the most or resonated the most with?

YUTA KISHI AND SHO HIRANO We heard from some crews and staffers that when we performed Bon, a lot of people they weren’t at the stage [originally], but then they just came from behind [to see the performance], so I guess it did attract a lot of people that way. But it was a hot day and towards the end of the day we were all tired. We were blacking out a little bit, so our memories might be a little blur.

All three of you obviously have your own individual taste in music, how does that factor into the music you make as a group?

SHO HIRANO Obviously, we grew up listening to different types of music. We grew up in different environments and everything, but we’ve been together for over 10 years now, so we have one solid core that’s kind of common in all of us. I think that it comes together that way.

Do you feel that over time you’ve been able to understand one another in a way that only you could, almost in your own shared langauge of music?

YUTA KISHI When I listen to their demo version, it’s really always refreshing and sometimes surprising. But then I would understand, oh yeah, he’s going to like that.

There’s certainly a difference in the way audiences enjoy concerts when you play domestically in Japan and here in the U.S. How much of that have you noticed?

SHO HIRANO [The audiences] are different. The American audience – even though they don’t understand the lyrics because our lyrics are sometimes in Japanese – they enjoy the sound and then the vibe of it. Then they express that excitement physically, so that’s very exciting [to us].

Going off of that, I think it’s always really powerful when music transcends language barriers. How does it feel as an artist to play in another country where fans might not speak the same language, but they’re still singing along or connecting with the music?

SHO HIRANO We believe that music goes beyond borders, of course, and good music, good anything, can be understood and shared by people across the world. We just make good music, whatever we believe in and whatever we are happy with, and we’d like to spread that to more and more people.

As a performer, you’re going to be perceived by the public in a way that is usually out of your control. But you’re a creative and an artist, and I assume there’s a way you’d like people to perceive you in that area. What is that for you?

YUTA JINGUJI It’s a tough question. Not just artists; we all get misunderstood or misjudged at times, so that doesn’t bother us too much. What we are focused on is making something [where were can] just be ourselves, create what we like to create and then pursue that. Eventually, if we can make a lot of people that support us happy, then that’s all we care about.