Johnny's Entertainment has a pretty firm hold on the male idol industry, with only a handful of outside male idol artists such as EXILE, w-inds., Lead, and the Hallyu crossovers providing somewhat of a competition. As much as I love Johnny's, it's always nice to see non-Johnny male groups doing well, and the latest rookies I'm keeping my eyes out for the most are the boys of Da-iCE, particularly following their two recent single releases. The J-Pop sound is very distinctive and unique, which can be both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side, it makes the experience of listening to J-Pop fresh, but as a side-effect, it makes the genre a bit harder to market globally. Even fans of Asian music side of things aren't guaranteed to like the higher tone and less Westernized spin of J-Pop.
Da-iCE has the best of both worlds to borrow an expression I will forever associate with Hannah Montana. "Toki" still has that distinctive J-Pop flavor while borrowing from the more driving beats of Western music and the Hallyu Wave. Yudai and Sota are strong vocalists, and Hayate, Toru, Taiki make for an excellent dance line, a particular asset to the group considering how much the fandom is getting into the routines of Asian pop stars. The group has yet to release a full-length album, but I'm waiting eagerly for when they do thanks to how well they've been doing with their early singles.
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