Wandering (EP)
Wandering is an extended play marketed as the fifth single of Japanese boy band JO1. It served as the third single for their second studio album, Kizuna, and is the group's first single with double lead tracks, "Bokura no Kisetsu" and "Prologue". The latter was used as the ending theme song for the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The EP single features seven songs and was released digitally by Lapone Entertainment on December 13, 2021, with four physical editions following on December 15, 2021. It features contributions from Japanese and South Korean producers, including Alive Knob,, Full8loom, among others.
Prior to the release, two B-side tracks were made available as a digital single. "Run&Go" was released on September 15 as the theme song of Kit Kat Japan commercial, while "We Alright" was released on December 6. Wandering became JO1's fifth single that topped the Oricon Singles Chart and their first single to sell over a half million copies in its first week, according to Billboard Japan. It is also JO1's first release to be certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
Background and release
On September 1, 2021, two weeks after releasing their fourth EP single, JO1 announced that they would release a new song titled "Prologue" the next day for the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Two weeks later, "Run&Go" was released as part of Kit Kat Japan's marketing. On October 9, Lapone Entertainment announced that member Sukai Kinjo, who had missed the group's first live performance at the KCON World Premiere: The Triangle, a joint concert with other Produce 101 Japan subsequent groups, would suspend his activities due to an adjustment disorder and that the group would continue as ten members. The next day, JO1 announced the release of their fifth EP single, Wandering, on December 15. It featured double lead tracks, "Bokura no Kisetsu" and "Prologue". They also mentioned that, Kinjo was able to participate in the recording of the single before his break, with the exception of the song "Oasis".Wandering carries the message of "It's okay to rest, it's okay to stand still; let's move forward slowly". The EP single includes a total of seven songs and was released in five editions: a digital special edition and four physical editions. The anime edition features characters from Boruto on its cover. Each physical edition contains four tracks, with "Bokura no Kisetsu" and "Prologue" being the common tracks. The limited edition A comes with a DVD bundle featuring a variety segment titled JO1: Find the Memory. The limited edition B and the normal edition come with a photo booklet and a CD only, respectively. The special edition includes all songs in the EP single.
Lead tracks
The first lead track, "Bokura no Kisetsu", is described as a "lyrical and gentle winter song". It was written in the key of G-sharp major, with 113 beats per minute and a running time of 3 minutes and 31 seconds. The song was pre-released on November 22, 2021, and the music video was released two days later. It was directed by Hidejin Kato, who had collaborated with the group on performance videos for "Icarus" and "Freedom" from their previous single. The song debuted at number 22 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and 21 on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart, before eventually peaked atop both charts following the single release. On December 1, "Bokura no Kisetsu" made its television debut during the annual FNS Music Festival. JO1 then performed the song at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan and the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, where they won the Best Dance Video for their previous lead track, "Real", and the Best Asian Artist award, respectively. The song was also performed in several music shows, including Shibuya Note, Utacon, and Music Fair.The second lead track "Prologue" is described as a medium-tempo ballad that expresses the idea that "it's okay to be slow, it's okay to stop, it's okay to hold hands and start walking together, and that determination marks the beginning of our journey". The song was produced by Japanese producer, who has worked with artists such as BTS, TVXQ, Exile, Koda Kumi, and others. The song was composed in the key of F major, with 94 beats per minute and a running time of 3 minutes and 37 seconds. "Prologue" debuted at number 49 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and spent for six weeks on the Hot Animation chart. A studio version video for the song was released on December 10 as part of a week-long celebration of the group's second anniversary.
Promotion
JO1 started the promotion for Wandering by debuting "Run&Go" at the Best Hits Kayousai on November 11, 2021, around two months after the song's digital release. Aside "Run&Go", three other songs from the single, "Bokura no Kisetsu", "Prologue", and "Never Ending Story", were performed for the first time at the group's first live concert, Open the Door, held at the Makuhari Messe on November 19–21. JO1 later released performance videos for "We Alright" and "Run & Go", directed by.On December 24, JO1 held a special Christmas live for the single at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. A total of 400 fans were invited to the event via lottery among Wandering purchasers. The group performed "Prologue", "We Alright", "Bokura no Kisetsu" as well as "Happy Merry Christmas" from their first studio album The Star. The next day, JO1 opened an exhibition at the Gallery AaMo in Tokyo Dome City Hall, that would run until January 25, 2022, to mark the single release and the group's second anniversary. Starting from December 15,"Bokura no Kisetsu" was served as the background music for the Tokyo Dome City Hall's main tree winter illumination.
#Find_the_JO1 campaign
According to Advertimes, the campaign was created with the idea of "JO1 visiting fans in 47 prefectures who were unable see them due to the COVID-19 pandemic". Advertising companies Dentsu and Ad Brain were in charge of the planning and production. In interview with Natalie, a representative of Lapone Entertainment explained that the campaign was made to expressed the group's and their gratitude to fans for their support and warm messages following the announcement of Kinjo's absence. They also revealed that the "we" in the message had meant JO1, fans, and Kinjo, who was temporarily not together with them.