Six-member Japanese boy band ONE N' ONLY, consisting of Tetta, Rei, Eiku, Hayato, Kenshin, and Naoya, returned with another single that further cements the musical genre the group is creating.

Following their first release this year titled "TALKIN'," ONE N' ONLY showcases yet another high-energy performance with "DOMINO," an upbeat track that is for sure fit for a live show. The track with a Latin-style beat will hook you with its dynamic rap sections and a mysterious melody.

Since the sextet's debut on May 7, 2018, the group has established a unique music style known as “JK-Pop,” a hybrid of J-Pop and K-Pop. Following their successful solo tour in Latin America last year, it further evolved its sound into “Jatin Pop” – a fusion of its own JK-Pop and Latin Pop, incorporating elements of Latin music – further solidifying their "one n’ only" style.

The group's sold-out nationwide tour, 'ONE N’ SWAG ~Hook Up!!!!!!~,' kicked off in October 2023 and will draw to a close on April 27, spanning 47 shows.

Ahead of the single release, the boys sat down with allkpop to talk about their latest music and the "JK-Pop" genre. Read the full exclusive interview below!

allkpop: To start, please introduce yourselves and give us one or two fun facts about each one of you.

Kenshin: Hi, I'm Kenshin, who does dancing and rapping for the group! And I started dancing because of Michael Jackson.

Eiku: Hi! I'm the group's vocalist and dancer. I can also play guitar.

Tetta: I'm Tetta, the group's vocalist, and, of course, I dance as well.

Naoya: Hi, I'm Naoya! I do rapping and dancing as well. I started dancing in high school, in my second year. I also played soccer for 11 years.

Rei: Hi, I'm Rei! I'm 27 years old now. Maybe 8 years ago, I joined this company. I have favorite hobbies like baseball, cars, and boxing!

Hayato: Hi, I'm Hayato! I'm 24 years old. I am studying English, Spanish, and Portuguese right now. I love dancing. I also do rap and I'm the leader of the group!

allkpop: Could you please share with us the reason behind why you named the single "DOMINO"? What message do you want to convey with your new release? Tell us about the preparations as well!

Hayato: The title is referencing dominos, the ones that you line up and fall into one another, and how we'd like that sort of energy for our group and fans. Thanks to Brazilian TikTok, we have lots of fans overseas. We went on tour recently in Brazil, and so, we wanted to add the sound of Brazilian funk and Latin American sound, to the track.

Kenshin: When we were recording, we put in a mysterious tone. We made the vocals a bit dark. And during the vocal performance, we tried to convey that darkness. In the dance, it was also inspired by dominos. We did use full body, and we want our fans to notice the dance choreography and movements of the song.

allkpop: How does "DOMINO" compare to your latest 2024 single "TALKIN'" in terms of sound, theme, or lyrical content? Are there any connections between the two songs?

Rei: “TALKIN’” is a softer song. It was the ending of a drama like a TV series here. So, we had to match that TV series. It was different than usual, but it's still great! For “DOMINO,” the sound is a lot stronger and it's kind of typical of the group. It has a stronger message and sound and has a Brazilian funk. It's high energy that would be perfect for audience interaction. That's the difference.

allkpop: It's been more than 5 years since your debut. What do you think is the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself, both as a person and an artist?

Naoya: Compared to our early days, we are now so much more active around the world, 5 years later. We have done so much that compared to the start, we really have found our own style, identity, and uniqueness, which is also reflected in our new single “DOMINO.”

allkpop: You’re a Japanese group but your producer is Korean. What was your experience like working with a Korean producer? Is there something interesting about the Korean culture or music that may seem related or the same as the Japanese culture in terms of music? What is something that you’ve learned through this experience and collaboration?

Hayato: K-Pop choruses are popular in the world, and we feel like our producers make songs that have that K-Pop influence. Our music is not too Japanese in a way. The language doesn't become a hurdle to listen to. We create this type of music that crosses over or breaks borders. We want to kind of include all sorts of influences and almost be like “genreless.” We want to be flexible with the kind of music we're making.

Rei: One of the things when I think about K-Pop and J-Pop and the music that ONE N’ ONLY makes is that there's not too much Latin influence in K-Pop that much in general I guess. Maybe not yet. And so, with the music that we're making right now, we have put in that Brazilian funk influence. And that could be really fun for someone who likes J-Pop or K-Pop. Maybe it could introduce more people around the world to that type of sound because it'll come out through the K-Pop lens and be then introduced to new sounds. I hope that we can be one of those groups that could introduce people through K-Pop or J-Pop sounds to Brazilian music as well.

allkpop: Your music incorporates elements from both K-Pop and J-Pop. Do you believe that is already your signature style or genre, and how so? And would you like to try your hand at any musical genres in particular?

Hayato: K-Pop is from an Asian country and it reached global status. ONE N’ ONLY is also from Asia, and we're also achieving some global fans. And so, we do kind of feel like part of it, breaking borders or boundaries. Maybe being a pioneer. Our music producer whom we mentioned earlier is Korean. We combine his songwriting process with Japanese lyrics as well as with ONE N’ ONLY’s originality. We really just had this strong feeling when we went to Brazil for our shows that music can surpass everything and connect everybody. Even though the lyrics are in Japanese, our Brazilian fans are still singing along. We just want to overcome borders and make music for everyone in the world, as well as reaching new heights and taking on new challenges. That's what we want the readers to know about us. That's what we are as a group. And we want to share that through our music again and again.

allkpop: You’ve successfully gone on tours. I was wondering what are your rituals or routines before going up on stage? What do you do between the performances to relax and unwind?

Tetta: The most important thing is working out and doing muscle training. I just got to pump it up. I also do vocal warm-ups. (shows arm muscles)

Hayat: He works out every time. Many times.

allkpop: Since this interview is for allkpop, are there any K-pop artists you’d like to collaborate with or share a stage with?

Tetta: I want to collaborate with Jungkook from BTS. He also has great muscles (laughs) and we would love to perform together!

Kenshin: NCT Taeyong!

Hayato: ATEEZ and P1Harmony!

Naoya: TWICE!

Hayato: He likes TWICE!

allkpop: Lastly, is there anything else you’d like to add? Please share a message for allkpop readers and your fans!

Hayato: For all the allkpop readers, we, ONE N’ ONLY, listen to K-Pop a lot. We are fans! And we have absorbed a bit of influence from K-Pop, so we hope that the readers of allkpop can give our music a chance. For our fans overseas who are also probably reading this article, we don't have much chance to meet as much as we'd like because we are based in Japan, but we can't wait to perform more overseas and see our fans in person.

Follow ONE N' ONLY / ワンエンオンリー on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram and listen to "DOMINO" here.