JYP Entertainment, a major South Korean entertainment agency, announced on the 12th that they will hold Season 2 of the joint audition project "Nizi Project" with Sony Music Entertainment, a major Japanese record company, and will debut a new male idol group.

Auditions are planned to be held in 11 locations, including 8 cities in Japan, Seoul, South Korea, and New York, USA. Applications will be accepted on the official website starting today (13th).

Applicants must be male, graduating from junior high school in March 2023 or up to 22 years old (at the time of application deadline), regardless of nationality.

JYP representative, producer and singer J.Y. Park will participate in the final selection in each region.

This audition introduces a new "lyrics and composition" division, which was not present in Season 1.

This is a reflection of J.Y. Park's opinion that to become an idol, the ability to write lyrics and compose based on one's own thoughts and values is necessary.

Regional auditions will be held in November-December of this year, with the final members announced in December of next year.

The official debut from JYP is scheduled for March 2023.

The process of forming the 9-member girl group NiziU in Season 1 was broadcast on Nippon TV and the video streaming service Hulu, gaining immense popularity.

All NiziU members are Japanese, but they debuted after receiving Korean-style training at JYP headquarters.

This is an example of "K-POP incubating," where local groups are nurtured through the K-POP idol training system.

NiziU's debut single "Step and a step" released last December and their second single "Take a picture/Poppin' Shakin'," both reached number 1 on the Oricon daily and weekly singles charts.

They appeared on the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen just 29 days after their official debut.

These are English translations of articles from our GTTOUR Japanese website.