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K-Pop

5 rookie Japanese K-pop idols grabbing the spotlight, from Lesserafim’s Kazuha and Kep1er’s Hikaru and Mashiro, to Billlie’s Tsuki and Ive’s Rei

STORYTan Jou Teng
Japanese K-pop idols have been making a mark on K-pop fans globally, including Billlie’s Tsuki, Kep1er’s Mashiro, Ive’s Rei, Lesserafim’s Kazuha and Kep1er’s Hikaru. Photos: @billlie.official, @official.kep1er, @ivestarship, @le_sserafim, @official.kep1er/Instagram
Japanese K-pop idols have been making a mark on K-pop fans globally, including Billlie’s Tsuki, Kep1er’s Mashiro, Ive’s Rei, Lesserafim’s Kazuha and Kep1er’s Hikaru. Photos: @billlie.official, @official.kep1er, @ivestarship, @le_sserafim, @official.kep1er/Instagram
K-pop idols

  • A fancam of Tsuki – showing her funny facial expressions from Billlie’s comeback song – went viral, while Ive’s Rei already has a solo endorsement from beauty brand Bonajour
  • Kep1er’s Hikaru and Mashiro both starred on reality TV show Girls Planet 999 – the former got famous from her cover of Blackpink’s Boombayah, while the latter trained with Itzy

As K-pop continues to diversify as a music genre, it’s also opened doors for many new international idols. In addition to talents from Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and the Philippines, many Japanese stars quickly attract cult fan bases too. Five rookies have been trailblazing their way through the K-pop world recently, grabbing plenty of attention from fans. Let’s take a look at the who and why …

1. Billlie’s Tsuki

Tsuki is a Japanese K-pop artist from girl group Billlie. Photo: @billlie.official/Instagram
Tsuki is a Japanese K-pop artist from girl group Billlie. Photo: @billlie.official/Instagram
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Debuting in November 2021, Tsuki went viral earlier this year for her many facial expressions on the group’s comeback song GingaMingaYo (The Strange World). Thanks to a fancam made of her comical gestures in the music video, Tsuki caught the attention of over eight million netizens from the post alone and rapidly grew in fame.

Since her explosion in popularity, the ex-SM Entertainment trainee has been invited on popular variety shows such as MMTG and Workman on YouTube.

2. Ive’s Rei

Ive member Rei is an 18-year-old Japanese K-pop rapper and singer from Anan, Tokushima. Photo: @ivestarship/Instagram
Ive member Rei is an 18-year-old Japanese K-pop rapper and singer from Anan, Tokushima. Photo: @ivestarship/Instagram
Within three months of her debut, Rei from Ive managed to bag a solo endorsement for a beauty brand, Bonajour, in March. Her sweet and innocent image appeals not only to the Korean audience, but also to fans from overseas.

Besides her independent success, her group also received 13 music show wins for their debut track Eleven.

3. Kep1er’s Hikaru