VIBY, the rookie group that made history by entering Japan’s Nippon Budokan in record time, is drawing massive attention for their unique growth narrative.
VIBY (Io, Renki, Akito, Ryoha, Kotaro) is the first artist from Rii.MJ, a new label led by General Producer Kim Mi-jung, who is recognized for her K-pop planning capabilities. The members were directly scouted and trained across Japan. Their group name is an abbreviation of ‘Voyage Into Bright Youth,’ signifying a journey toward shining youth, and they express the process of five different members becoming one team through powerful performances.
Their journey began with a documentary released prior to their official debut. Aired via the Japanese OTT platform ABEMA, the video candidly captured the members nurturing the same dream while undergoing about two years of training in unfamiliar South Korea, gaining enthusiastic responses.
In March, they released their pre-debut song ‘Ni Ochitara,’ with its music video directed by director Shunji Iwai of the film ‘Love Letter,’ surpassing 10 million views on YouTube. They then released their first physical single, ‘Miracle : The First Light,’ in June, landing at No. 5 on the Oricon Weekly Single Ranking to announce their official debut.
Notably, on August 31, they held their showcase ‘VIBY LAND’ at the Tokyo Budokan just 68 days after their debut, gathering about 10,000 spectators. Setting the record for the fastest Budokan entry by a Japanese artist, VIBY has also swept numerous global brand advertisements, proving their explosive popularity.
Having shown rapid growth in Japan, VIBY is now expanding their stage back to South Korea, where their trainee days began, to connect with domestic fans. As part of this effort, they released Korean language versions of ‘HANAMARU’ and ‘Gotcha’ on the 26th.
Beginning with the release of these Korean adaptation songs, VIBY plans to dive into full-scale domestic promotions, including music broadcasts.
