INI

INI is a Japanese boy band. There are eleven members who are from Japan and China. It was formed from the survival audition program called Produce 101 Japan Season2.  This  is the Japanese version of a popular audition program from South Korea.  people auditioned for the show. The show started with 101 trainees passing the audition, and 11 members were chosen through this program. After the end of Produce 101 Japan Season2, INI flew to South Korea to prepare and produce their debut single. They released their first single called "A" on November 3, 2021. It sold over  copies in its first week and reached the top in the "Oricon Weekly Single Ranking". INI won the “Favorite Asian Artist Award” at “2021 MAMA (Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS)”, one of the largest music award ceremonies in Asia, held on Saturday, December 11. Their debut single "Rocketeer" was nominated for "The Rookie of the Year Award" of "The Japan Record Award" (affiliated with TBS Television).

It is managed by Lapone Entertainment, a joint company between Yoshimoto Kogyo and CJ ENM.

https://lapone.jp/

 Name 
"INI" means connecting members (I) and you (I) with network (N). This name was chosen from the votes by fans and announced in the last episode of the audition program. The official fan name is "MINI : Me + INI" . In addition, there are some meanings in this name, for example, "We want to see (in Japanese, see is mini) INI", "M (memory), I (me), N (network), I (you)" and "We will make memories together".

 Members 
Name / Birthday / Nation

Fujimaki Kyosuke (藤牧 京介) / August 10, 1999 / Japan
Gotou Takeru (後藤 威尊) / June 3, 1999 / Japan
Ikezaki Rihito (池﨑 理人) / August 30, 2001 / Japan
Kimura Masaya (木村 柾哉) / October 10, 1997 / Japan
Matsuda Jin (松田 迅) / October 30, 2002 / Japan
Nishi Hiroto (西 洸人) / June 1, 1997 / Japan
Ozaki Takumi (尾崎 匠海) / June 14, 1999 / Japan
Sano Yudai (佐野 雄大) / October 10, 2000 / Japan
Tajima Shogo (田島 将吾) / October 13, 1998 / Japan
Takatsuka Hiromu (髙塚 大夢) / April 4, 1999 / Japan
Xu Fengfan (許 豊凡) / June 12, 1998 / China

 Discography 
+Single:『A』1. Rocketeer
2. Cardio

3. RUNWAY(INI Ver.)

4. BrighterReleased: November 3, 2021
Label: Lapone Entertainment

Formats: CD, Digital download

First week sales: about 508,000 copies (half million)

 Events 
*Concert
+INI FIRST FAN MEETINGDate: November 13, 2021 - November 14, 2021
Type: Offline / Live Streaming

Location: PIA ARENA MM (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan)
*Festival
+KCON:TACT HI 5Date: September 26, 2021
Type: Live Streaming

Location: South Korea
*Award Ceremony
+2021 MAMA（2021 Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS）Date: December 11, 2021
Type: Offline / Live Streaming

Location: CJ ENM content World (Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea)

※INI performed with the video recorded in advance in Tokyo.

 References 

 Other websites 


Category:2020s establishments in Japan
Category:2021 establishments in Asia
Category:J-pop music groups
Category:Japanese boy bands
Category:Musical groups established in 2021
Category:Produce 101