NiziU facts for kids

Quick facts for kids NiziU
NiziU in October 2022 (L to R): Nina, Mako, Ayaka, Miihi, Rima, Maya, Mayuka, Rio, and Riku
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop J-pop
Years active	2020 (2020)–present
Labels	JYP Sony Music
Associated acts	JYP Nation
Members	Mako Rio Maya Riku Ayaka Mayuka Rima Miihi Nina
Japanese name
Katakana	ニジュー
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Nijū Kunrei-shiki Nizyû
Korean name
Hangul	니쥬
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Nijyu McCune–Reischauer Nijyu

NiziU (pronounced "NEE-zoo") is a popular Japanese girl group. They were created by two big entertainment companies: JYP Entertainment from South Korea and Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The group has nine talented members: Mako, Rio, Maya, Riku, Ayaka, Mayuka, Rima, Miihi, and Nina. NiziU was formed after a special TV show called Nizi Project in 2020. They officially started their music career on December 2, 2020, with their first song, "Step and a Step".

NiziU's Journey in Music

How NiziU Was Formed

In January 2019, JYP Entertainment shared their plan to create a new Japanese girl group. They wanted to "globalize by localizing," which means making a group that is popular worldwide but also fits well in Japan. To find the members, auditions were held in eight cities across Japan, and also in Hawaii and Los Angeles. Girls aged 15 to 22 could try out.

The group was formed through a TV show called Nizi Project. This show followed 26 contestants and was shown every week from January to June 2020. You could watch it on Hulu Japan and also on JYP Entertainment's YouTube channel around the world. The show had two parts:

• The first part showed auditions in Japan. Out of 26 girls, 14 were chosen by J.Y. Park, the head of JYP Entertainment.
• In the second part, the 14 girls moved to South Korea to train for six months.

In the final episode of Nizi Project, the nine members who would form NiziU were announced. JYP Entertainment teamed up with Sony Music Japan to help NiziU release albums and manage their activities in Japan.

First Songs and Big Success

Before their official debut, NiziU released a digital mini-album called Make You Happy on June 30, 2020. It was a huge hit! It quickly became number one on music charts in Japan. The main song, "Make You Happy," was also very popular. It even appeared on global music charts, showing that people all over the world were listening. In just 15 weeks, "Make You Happy" was streamed over 100 million times in Japan, making NiziU the fastest female artist to reach this milestone.

In December 2020, the Tokyo Skytree was lit up in rainbow colors to celebrate NiziU's official debut.

In August 2020, some NiziU members appeared in the music video for "God's Menu" by the group Stray Kids. Later, in September, all members except Miihi appeared in Stray Kids' "Back Door" music video. Miihi took a short break from October to December 2020 for health reasons, so she wasn't part of all the debut promotions.

On November 25, 2020, NiziU released the full music video for their debut song, "Step and a Step." A week later, on December 2, 2020, they officially debuted in Japan with the physical release of the single. "Step and a Step" sold over 312,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the best-selling debut songs by a female artist in Japan. It also reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.

Even though they had just debuted, NiziU performed at the 71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, a very famous year-end music show in Japan. They were the fastest artist ever to appear on this show, performing just 29 days after their debut! By the end of 2020, NiziU was recognized with a Special Achievement Award at the 62nd Japan Record Awards.

New Music and First Concerts

In January 2021, NiziU shared their plans for the year, which included their first live show, a new single, their first full album, and an English song.

On March 29, 2021, they released the music video for "Take a Picture." This song was used in a commercial for Coca-Cola. It broke records by getting over 12.5 million streams in its first week! The full single, "Take a Picture / Poppin' Shakin'," came out on April 7, 2021. "Poppin' Shakin'" was used in a commercial for Softbank, a Japanese phone company. The single sold over 317,000 copies in its first week. On November 24, 2021, NiziU released their first studio album, U, along with the song "Chopstick."

In April 2022, NiziU released the digital song "Asobo," with an English version coming out two weeks later. On May 8, they performed at KCON in Seoul, South Korea, for the first time. On July 20, NiziU released their single "Clap Clap."

NiziU went on their first Japanese tour called "Light it Up." It started in August and finished in October. After that, they had their first dome tour, "Burn it Up," performing at huge venues like Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome Osaka in November and December. During this tour, they released a ballad song called "Blue Moon" on December 14. At their last concert, they announced that their song "Paradise" would be the theme song for the movie Doraemon: Nobita's Sky Utopia, which came out in March 2023. NiziU also planned another Japanese tour for 2023, which ran from July to September. Their second studio album, Coconut, was released on July 19, 2023.

Meet the Members

Here are the nine members of NiziU:

• Mako (マコ) - leader
• Rio (リオ)
• Maya (マヤ)
• Riku (リク)
• Ayaka (アヤカ)
• Mayuka (マユカ)
• Rima (リマ)
• Miihi (ミイヒ)
• Nina (ニナ)

NiziU's Music

Studio Albums

Extended Plays (Mini-Albums)

Singles

Concerts and Tours

NiziU Live With U 2022 "Light It Up"

NiziU Live With U 2022 "Burn It Up" (Dome Tour)

NiziU Live With U 2023 "Coco!nut Fes."

TV Shows and Videos

Reality Shows

Music Videos

Awards and Achievements

See also

In Spanish: NiziU para niños