Travis Japan is a Japanese boy band managed by Starto Entertainment. Their name is a tribute to the American choreographer Travis Payne, who assisted in their 2012 group formation during the production of stage show Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n. Partii. The group resided in Los Angeles, California in March to October 2022, to study English and train with local choreographers and vocal coaches.
History 2012–2017: Formation and member changes In February 2012, while watching a play, Yoshizawa, Nakamura, Abe, Miyachika, Kajiyama and other Johnny's Jr were called to the rehearsal room, where they met with Travis Payne. Nakada, Kawashima, Morita, and Shimekake, active at that time as Jr. A, and who were later called "Older Brothers", were also there. By then, Travis Japan was formed with the five members mentioned first, whom were later called the "Younger Brothers", but in July it was informed that the nine would act as Travis Japan in Playzone'12 Song & Danc'n。Partii.
By 2015, they would continue performing in Playzone, but they would also be chosen as back dancers for Masahiko Kondō, Arashi and Tackey & Tsubasa.
By 2016, the subgroups' relationship as one group had not deepened, and they had even thought of appearing as "Older Brothers" and "Younger Brothers" in "Johnny's Ginza 2016" in May 2016, but reconsidered after the possibility of losing their job after the end of Playzone. Shortly after that, Abe expressed his intention of leaving. By October 2016's performances, the group was made up of 8 members. It continued like that until January 2017's "JOHNNYS' ALL STARS IsLAND", where this time, Nakada was the one mentioning his desire to pursue his dream.
Without Abe and Nakada, Travis Japan had 7 members working during their performances in 2017. In September's "Johnny's You&Me IsLAND", Morita was absent, leaving the group with 6 members. Information about the start of the Fuji Television variety show "Johnny's Jr.dex", as well as "Johnny's Happy New Year IsLAND" event in October lacked Kajiyama's name, leaving the group with 5 members. After that, at the performance of "Odaiba Odoriba Saturday and Sunday Playground" on November 18, 2017, 7 people appeared, including Genta Matsuda and Kaito Matsukura, who were active as back dancers for Sexy Zone and the stage performance "Endless Shock". The performance was actually an audition for Matsuda and Matsukura to see if they would join the group. They later revealed that they were told that for them to join, they would have to appear with the other five. The seven-men group appeared in the December broadcast of "Johnny's Jr. dex".
2018–2022: Pre-debut activities In March 2018, on the "Johnny's web" official site, regular posts started on their blog. Official member colors were revealed in the "About" page. On August 8, 2019, they opened an official Instagram page. By October 10, 2022, they accumulated 980,000 followers.
They became the first Johnny's act to perform with an overseas artist, when they participated as special guests at the "Austin Mahone Japan Tour 2019" on October 14 and 15, 2019. In 2019 they performed at the sold-out "Tora-ja ~ NINJAPAN" planned and composed originally by Johnny Kitagawa and directed by Hideaki Takizawa. The performance lasted for 3 years.
The group held their first Johnny's Jr solo concert at "Summer Paradise 2020", on August 1–10, 2020. They also performed at Arashi's last concert before hiatus, "This is Arashi Live", on December 31, 2020.
"+81 Dance Studio" is the name of the YouTube channel opened on August 25, 2021, the first one for a Johnny's Jr. solo (group) act. Their performances there are of new dance versions of classic J&A artists songs. The first song dance-covered there was Arashi's "Love So Sweet". They were the only Jr. group to perform at "Johnny's Festival – Thank you 2021 Hello 2022" on December 30, 2021, after receiving an offer from Arashi's Jun Matsumoto, who produced the event, as back dancers for KinKi Kids. On March 3, 2022, on an Instagram Live, members informed of their travel to Los Angeles, California to study. On March 28, 2022, they competed in the World of Dance Championship Series – Orange County 2022, earning third place in the team category and winning the Best Costume and Crowd Favorite categories. On July 13, 2022, they auditioned for America's Got Talent, qualifying for the live shows' semifinals on August 13. On July 19, 2022, Yoshizawa announced a temporary hiatus due to tendonitis, returning to activities after August 13.
2022–present: Debut and later activity On September 29, 2022, it was revealed that they would be signed to Capitol Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music, and would make their worldwide major debut with their first single on October 28, 2022, first debut at the firm in nearly 11 months since Naniwa Danshi. The group opened a new official website, Twitter and TikTok. A solo YouTube channel was also launched On October 10, 2022, the name of their debut song was released. A teaser of "Just Dance!" was released on their YouTube channel.
Travis Japan got called back to perform on America's Got Talent in 2024, for their special Fantasy League show that aired 22 January 2024, singing their debut song "Just Dance", after having a disappointing performance and mixed reactions from the judges in their appearance at the semifinals in August 2022, which cost them a red buzzer vote from Howie Mandel barely at the start of their performance. This time, they received praises from all the judges, especially from former Spice Girls member Mel B, who was their coach. Unfortunately, the group did not make it past the qualifying round.
Members
Current members - Chaka - Umi [pronunciation: woo-me] - Shime [pronunciation: she-may] - Noel - Shizu [pronunciation: see-zoo] - Genta - Machu
Former members
(formerly known as )
Filmography Television programs Year Title Details Notes 2025 Travis Japan no JUST! Shin Nihon Isan Two members of Travis Japan embark on a journey each week to uncover Japan's lesser-known treasures, while facing unexpected challenges.
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions, sales and certifications Title Details Peak positions Sales Certifications JPN JPNCmb. JPNHotPeaks on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums:
Road to A Released: December 20, 2023 Label: Capitol, UJ Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 1 1 1 JPN: 153,457 RIAJ: Gold Viisual Released: December 4, 2024 Label: Capitol, UJ Formats: CD, CD+BD, CD+DVD, digital download, streaming 1 1 1 JPN: 141,371 RIAJ: Gold S Travelers Released: December 1, 2025 Label: Capitol, UJ Formats: CD, CD+BD, digital download, streaming 1 1 1 JPN: 148,145 RIAJ: Gold
Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions and sales Title Details Peaks Sales JPNCmb. Moving Pieces – EP Released: June 5, 2023 Label: Capitol, UJ Formats: Digital download, streaming 5JPN: 19,167
Singles +List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, and album name Title Year Peak positions Sales Certifications Album JPN JPNCmb. JPNHotPeaks on the Billboard Japan Hot 100: "Just Dance!": "Moving Pieces": "Still on a Journey": "Candy Kiss": "Level Up": "T.G.I. Friday Night": "Sweetest Tune": "Crazy Crazy" and "Fly Higher": "Bo$$y": "Say I Do" and "Tokyo Crazy Night": "Burning Love": "Disco Baby": "Welcome to Our Show Tonight": "Kagenimo-Hinatanimo": "On My Road": WW "Just Dance!" 2022 — 7 4 28 Road to A "Moving Pieces" 2023 — 4 3 — "Candy Kiss" — 4 2 — "T.G.I. Friday Night" 2024 — 7 2 — Viisual "Sweetest Tune" — 5 2 — "Say I Do" 2025 1 1 1 — JPN: 143,360 RIAJ: Gold S Travelers "Tokyo Crazy Night" 24 — "Would You Like One?" — 12 9 — "Kagenimo-Hinatanimo" 2026 1 1 1 — JPN: 272,142 RIAJ: Platinum rowspan="2" "On My Road" — 29 18 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Promotional singles +List of promotional singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, and album name Title Year PeaksSales Album JPNCmb. JPNHot "Level Up" 2023 — 68 Road to A "Crazy Crazy" 2024 6 10 JPN: 20,748 Viisual "Fly Higher" 65 JPN: 14,666 "Bo$$y" — 71 "Disco Baby" 2025 13 7 S Travelers "Welcome to Our Show Tonight" — 40 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Other charted songs +List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released, and album name Title Year Peaks AlbumJPNHot "Still on a Journey" 2023 65 Road to A "Burning Love" 2025 80 Lilo & Stitch (Japanese Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) "As We Are" 2026 54
Original songs TitleLyrics byMusic byJASRACYume no Hollywood（夢のHollywood）1L0-3418-9Dance With Me 〜Lesson 1〜Figge BoströmJosef Melin1L4-1272-8Happy GroovyDidrik Thott1L7-0920-8Lock LockMineO-BankzChristofer Erixon1L9-7780-6VOLCANOGeek Boy / Al Swettenham1M9-3827-8Talk it! Make it!Komei KobayashiJosef Melin1N1-9560-1Namida no Kessho（Namidaの結晶）Susumu Kawaguchi249-4116-6Unique TigersTravis JapanA. K. Janeway249-4117-4FREE YOUR MINDKomei KobayashiJosef Melin1N8-4094-8BLUE MASQUERADEKomei KobayashiJosé Manuel MolesPaula GuaspRoger Argemí Tutusaus1N8-6975-0Together NowKomei KobayashiFigge Boström1N8-3838-2GET ALIVEFunk UchinoSusumu KawaguchiSteven LeeDrew Ryan ScottJimmy Andrew Richard1O4-8163-1The ShowHikariHikariSamdell1P3-4645-2BIG BANG BOYYui MuginoPeter Ants Nord1P9-6630-2To the TopKomei KobayashiRonnie IconWillie Weeks1Q1-5898-6Bring BackErik LidbomGustav MaredMichael Lee Cheung / MLC1Q1-5900-1Party Up Like CrazySteven LeeSteven LeeTakuya Harada1Q6-3994-1
Music videos + List of music videos Title Year Namida no KESSHO 2019 Big Bang Boy 2021 Just Dance 2022 Moving Pieces2023 Candy Kiss Level Up Okie Dokie! T.G.I. Friday Night2024 Sweetest Tune Crazy Crazy
Career highlights
Special events YouTube FanFest 2021 (December 11, 2021) Online RISING JAPAN MUSICFEST (June 11–12, 2022) Silverlakes Sports Complex Anime Expo (July 2–4, 2022) Los Angeles Convention Center Nisei Week(August 14, 2022) Los Angeles UNIK Asia Festival (December 10, 2022) Central Harbourfront, Hong Kong
International TV programs The Shonen Club (2012 - ) NHK BS Premium America's Got Talent (season 17) (July 12, 2022) NBC AGT: Fantasy League (January 1, 2024) Their performance aired 22 January 2024.
Dance contests World of Dance Championship Series Orange County 2022 (March 27, 2022) House of Blues Anaheim Prelude Las Vegas 2022 (May 28, 2022) Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall World of Dance Championship Week (July 29–31, 2022) The Source OC
Concerts and solo shows Odaiba Odoriba Sat/Sun Asobiba (November 18–19, 2017) Odaiba Wangan Studio Johnnys' Jr. Festival 2018 (February 26, 2018) Yokohama Arena Summer Paradise 2018 (August 18–24, 2018) TOKYO DOME CITY HALL Travis Japan Concert 2019 〜Present〜 (March 26, 2019) Yokohama Arena Johnnys IsLAND Festival (May 25–26, 2019) Saitama Super Arena Summer Paradise 2019 (August 10–22, 2019) TOKYO DOME CITY HALL Austin Mahone Japan Tour 2019: Special Guest Opener (October 14–15, 2019) Yokohama Arena Summer Paradise 2020 (August 1–10, 2020) Travis Japan LIVE 2020 ENTER 1234567 (September 26–27, 2020) Yokohama Arena Travis Japan Live tour 2021 IMAGE NATION (March 22 - July 16, 2021) 12 City / 33 Venue National Tour
Stage PLAYZONE'12 SONG & DANC'N。PARTII。(July 9 - August 10, 2012) Aoyama Theatre Live House Johnny's Ginza 2013 (May 20–21, 2013) Theatre Creation PLAYZONE'13 SONG & DANC'N。PARTIII。 (July 3 - August 10, 2013) Aoyama Theatre ANOTHER (September 4–28, 2013) Nissay Theatre。 PLAYZONE→IN NISSAY (January 7–28, 2014) Nissay Theatre PLAYZONE 1986...2014★Thank You! 〜Aoyama Theatre★ (July 6 - August 9, 2014) Aoyama Theatre ★Farewell!〜Aoyama Theatre★PLAYZONE 30YEARS★1232 (January 6–22, 2015), Aoyama Theatre Johnny's Ginza 2016 (May 2–6, 2016), Theatre Creation