Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Idol Fandoms 2020: Sexy Zone

 When I was coming back to being a general Johnny's fan again a few months ago Sexy Zone was one of the groups that I found myself more interested in now then I ever was before. Picking up their albums I was surprised to find that they had a rather solid song discography and some songs I love.

Looking back I can see why the group did not work for me, outside of the terrible name. Between not really interested at the time in following another young group while still following Hey! Say! JUMP, NYC and Juniors, and the sidelining of two of the members it was hard to feel right to support them. When Kis-My-Ft2 had a similar split it was easier to take as the four members pushed to the back were at least still a part of the group's songs and were given their own opportunities to be seen and strengthen their position in the group. Something that did not seem to happen with Sexy Zone.

Of course that imbalance looked to have changed around their 5 year anniversary and it is really the period after that I really got into them. And I am glad as I have liked Nakajima Kento since his Junior days and seeing the group interacting older it is interesting to see how the different personalities work together. With Matsushima So being my favorite member of the group I was on the fence about adding the group to my growing list of groups to actively follow, but with the news of him beginning his return to the group I do not have an excuse.

I look forward to the group's future as they seem to have the potential to do some interesting things with the label change. I would like to see them give a try for the international market as the group seems to have had trouble with standing out among the other Johnny's groups so focusing on other markets would be a smart move. Plus I am all for any Johnny's group to expand beyond Japan being an international fan.

No comments:

Post a Comment