XG (Japanese: エックスジー; Korean: 엑스지; currently interpreted as "Xtraordinary Genes") is a Japanese vocal group formed by Xgalx, a subsidiary of Avex, consisting of seven members: Jurin, Chisa, Hinata, Harvey, Juria, Maya, and Cocona. Describing themselves as a global group, XG promotes music under the self-coined concept of "X-Pop", with an official discography performed entirely in English, while supplementary content series including XG Tape and XG Vox feature the group performing across all three languages — English, Japanese, and Korean. After spending approximately five years training between Japan and South Korea, the group debuted on March 18, 2022, with the digital single "Tippy Toes".
Career 2022–2023: Formation, introduction, and debut
XG's members were scouted from thousands across Japan in 2016, with twenty-one trainees ultimately selected for the project. Over the following five years, the group trained between Japan and South Korea, living together in dormitories while undergoing daily lessons in singing, dancing, and multiple languages. Founding executive producer Simon (JAKOPS) oversaw their development, drawing on his own experience debuting and working as a producer within the Korean idol system before becoming an independent producer. The trainees were gradually narrowed down to the final seven members: Jurin, Chisa, Hinata, Harvey, Juria, Maya, and Cocona.
XG's social media accounts were launched on January 25, 2022, with a short video entitled Xgalx – The Beginning. The video showed several girls in training for the Xgalx Project. This was followed by a dance performance video directed by Choi Hyo-jin, of the Korean street dance TV show Street Woman Fighter. Over the next few weeks, the group released a series of teaser content, including a rap video featuring Jurin and Harvey performing a cover of Rob Stone's "Chill Bill", and a vocal cover video of Justin Bieber's "Peaches", performed by Juria and Chisa. On February 2, XG posted solo dance performance videos, with each member dancing in different styles.
On March 18, 2022, XG made their debut with the release of their all English-language digital single "Tippy Toes". On June 29, they released their second all English-language single titled "Mascara", followed by their first television appearance on South Korean Mnet's M Countdown performing the single. On November 17, XG released a rap cypher video entitled Galz Xypher. The video became viral on a TikTok through an XG fan account, gaining over 15 million views on the platform.
On January 25, 2023, XG released their third all English-language single, Shooting Star, featuring a single of the same name, its music video, and an additional track titled "Left Right". On March 6, XG entered the Mediabase US Radio Top 40, becoming the first female Japanese artist and the first Japanese group to do so. On June 30, XG released "Grl Gvng" accompanied by its music video, as a pre-release single preceding their debut EP New DNA. On August 4, XG released "TGIF" accompanied by its music video, as the second pre-release single to their debut EP New DNA. On August 23, XG released "New Dance" accompanied by its music video, as the third and final pre-release single to their debut EP New DNA. On September 27, XG's debut EP New DNA was released alongside its lead single "Puppet Show", accompanied by its music video. The EP was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of over copies.
2024–present: Valorant, world tour, Awe, and The Core - 核 In March 2024, XG announced their first world tour, with shows across Asia, North America, and Europe in October and November. On April 12, XG collaborated with Riot Games to release the single "Undefeated" for the online video game Valorant. One month later, on May 21, they released another single titled "Woke Up". Toward the end of the year, XG released several more singles, including "Something Ain't Right" on July 26 and "IYKYK" on October 11, in anticipation of their second EP, Awe. On November 8, XG released Awe alongside a music video for the lead single, "Howling". On November 20, it was announced that XG would be performing at the 2025 Coachella Music Festival.
On September 19, 2025, XG released the music video "Gala". On December 6, Cocona revealed on their 20th birthday that they are transmasculine and non-binary, having undergone top surgery earlier in the year, and thanked the rest of XG for supporting their identity. On December 16, the group performed on The Voice's season 28 finale. It marked XG's first appearance on American television. On January 23, 2026, XG released their first full-length album, The Core - 核, and the music video for its lead single "Hypnotize".
XG's second world tour, "XG World Tour: The Core", began on February 6, 2026. The tour began in Yokohama, Japan and is scheduled to continue across Japan, Asia, North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and Latin America. That same month, XG was announced as part of the lineup for Fuji Rock Festival '26.
On February 23, 2026, XG's producer Junho Sakai (known professionally as Simon Jakops), was arrested along with three other men on suspicion of possession of cocaine in violation of the Narcotic Control Law.
Artistry Identity The group's name, XG, originally stood for "Xtraordinary Girls", reflecting the group's ambition to empower young people worldwide through music and performance. In January 2026, Xgalx reinterpreted the initialism as "Xtraordinary Genes", a change Xgalx described as symbolizing creativity, a commitment to creating new culture beyond conventional norms, and an aspiration to empower people from diverse backgrounds. Member Maya explained that while "'Girls' represents where we started, but 'Genes' reflects a deeper core and what makes us who we are." Members Chisa and Jurin have similarly described the change as reflecting a message that "it's okay to be yourself as you are" and a broader commitment to "breaking fixed ideas and preconceptions." The timing of the announcement followed member Cocona publicly coming out as transmasculine and nonbinary in December 2025, with Cocona noting that the experience was among the personal motivations behind the renewed meaning.
Concept XG promotes its music under the concept of "X-Pop" — a term the group coined to describe a musical philosophy that deliberately resists genre boundaries. Drawing from Black American R&B, hip-hop, pop-punk, and dance, X-Pop is designed to be universal, not rooted in any single culture, country, or convention. As member Jurin explains, the "X" represents infinite possibilities. XG's recordings draw on an international pool of songwriters and producers spanning Japan, South Korea, and the United States, reflecting the group's borderless creative approach.
Beyond their music, XG has built a career-long fictional universe in which the members portray themselves as alien-wolves. Member Juria describes "aliens" as representing limitlessness and freedom from convention, while the wolf pack metaphor captures the group's collective strength and unity.
Genres XG's music covers genres such as hip-hop and R&B with elements of EDM and psychedelic music. On services such as Spotify, they are placed under the K-pop and Japanese dance-pop genres. XG calls themselves a "global group" and their sound "X-pop", which is neither K-pop or J-pop. XG sings in Korean, Japanese and English in order to help their music reach a wider audience.
Endorsements In February 2025, XG became the face of cosmetics brand Anessa and the group's song "Is This Love" was used as the theme song for its global campaign. On April 4, 2025, XG appeared at Shanghai Fashion Week as models for Nike's "Victory Lap" collection. XG has also been featured in promotions for McDonald's Japan on February 10 and September 29, 2025 for "Real-Time MacPa with XG" and "Blue Mac Day" respectively.
On February 5, 2026, Cocona was announced as a global brand ambassador of Gucci, and on February 27, appeared at Milan Fashion Week for the fashion house's Fall/Winter 2026-27 collection.
Members
Chisa (; ) Hinata (; ) Jurin (; ) – leader Harvey (; ) Juria (; ) Maya (; ) Cocona (; )
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, showing selected details, selected chart positions, sales, and certifications Title Details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications JPN JPNCmb. JPNHot AUS KOR US The Core Released: January 23, 2026 Label: Xgalx Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 5 5 1 85 13 93 JPN: 87,413 total KOR: 16,833Cumulative sales of The Core: RIAJ: Gold
Extended plays + List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, sales, and certifications Title Details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications JPN JPNCmb. JPNHotPeaks on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart:
KORPeaks on the Circle Album Chart:
US New DNA Released: September 27, 2023 Label: Xgalx Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 2 2 1 8 — JPN: 40,000
KOR: 34,272 RIAJ: Gold Awe Released: November 8, 2024 Label: Xgalx Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 3 3 3 15 175 JPN: 60,137 KOR: 33,284Cumulative Sales of Awe:
RIAJ: Gold "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Remix albums + List of remix albums, showing selected details Title Details XDM Unidentified Waves Released: January 31, 2025 Label: Xgalx Formats: Digital download, streaming
Singles + List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales, certifications, and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Certifications Album JPN JPNCmb. JPNHotPeak chart positions on the Billboard Japan Hot 100:
KORAlbumPeaks on the Circle Album Chart: Woke Up: Million Places: HUN NZHotPeaks on the New Zealand Hot Singles Chart: "Grl Gvng": "TGIF": "Something Ain't Right": "IYKYK": "Howling": "Hypnotize": SGP USD/E WWExcl.USPeaks on the Billboard Global Excl. US: "Shooting Star": "Woke Up": "Something Ain't Right": "Tippy Toes" 2022 — — — — — — — — — rowspan="3" "Mascara" — 27 14 — — — — — — RIAJ: Gold "Shooting Star" 2023 — 27 26 — 32 — 23 — 144 JPN: 4,151 Japan digital sales figures for "Shooting Star":
RIAJ: Gold "Grl Gvng" — — 94 — — 16 — — — JPN: 1,635 New DNA "TGIF" — — 93 — — 33 — — — JPN: 1,220 "New Dance" — — 18 — — — — — — JPN: 1,498 RIAJ: Gold "Puppet Show" — — 63 — — — — — — "Winter Without You" — — 58 — — — — — — rowspan="3" "Undefeated" 2024 — — — — — — — — — "Woke Up" 5 7 5 12 — — — — 183 JPN: 32,606 KOR: 27,694Cumulative sales of Woke Up:
RIAJ: Gold "Something Ain't Right" — 24 20 — — 18 — 36 161 RIAJ: Gold Awe "IYKYK" — 33 13 — — 25 — — — RIAJ: Gold "Howling" — — 44 — — 30 — — — "Is This Love" 2025 — 33 24 — — — — — — RIAJ: Gold "In the Rain" — — — — — — — — — "Million Places" 2 3 6 23 — — — — — JPN: 30,071 KOR: 8,972 "Gala" — 34 11 — — — — — — The Core "4 Seasons" — — — — — — — — — "Hypnotize" 2026 — — 18 — — 7 — — — "Depends" colspan="9" "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Other charted songs + List of other charted songs, showing year released, selected chart positions, certifications, and album name Title Year Peaks Certifications Album JPNHot SGPReg. USPop "Left Right" 2023 — 22 27 RIAJ: Gold "Rock the Boat" 2026 80 — — The Core
Videography Music videos