f5ve, pronounced “fi-vee,” is a Japanese girl group under one of Japan’s biggest entertainment labels, LDH. Prior to their official debut as f5ve in April 2024, the group was formerly known as SG5 and was originally formed with inspiration from Sailor Moon. Under their current name and concept, f5ve offers an edgier party aesthetic, eccentric fashion, heavy EDM pop elements in their music, and catchy and easy-to-follow choreography.
In June of this year, the group made their stateside debut, performing a sold out show in Los Angeles’ Catch One nightclub. The show was a clear indication of the group’s potential for success stateside, as the venue was filled to the brim with fans excited to see the group, even despite the 1:00 a.m. start time.
Now, six months later, f5ve made their return to Los Angeles to perform as part of the lineup for ennichi’25, a unique Japanese festival focused on bridging Japanese and Western culture. The first act of the night, f5ve was met with high enthusiasm as the crowd sang and danced along to songs such as “Lettuce,” “Sugar Free Venom ft. Kesha,” and “Bow Chika Wow Wow,” and swayed along to slower, sweeter songs like “I Choose You.”
Ahead of their appearance at ennichi’25, Asia Blooming spoke with the five members—Kaede, Sayaka, Miyuu, Ruri, and Rui—about their journey from Japan to around the world and how they’ve grown along the way.
As ennichi’25 aims to bridge cultural gaps, each artist’s role became more than just being a performer. “I’m so proud to be here as a representative of Japan,” Sayaka began. Ruri continued, agreeing fervently, “Together with our creative team from the US, we’ve been building our world that only we can create. I feel a huge honor to make something where we can express Japanese culture and Western culture together in an original way.” Instead of focusing on one specific genre or culture, f5ve finds that their sound and color have naturally found them. “Staying true to our J-pop roots isn’t something we think about too much, because it just comes naturally as we grew up in Japan,” Rui shared. “We always simply try to do our best in every recording, every shoot, and every live performance. When we see people around the world enjoy that, including increasingly in places like LA where some might see J-pop for the first time, it makes us very, very happy.”
Though it’s only been just under two years since they made their debut as f5ve, the five young women have already proven their ability to perform without bounds. “We are not a group that sticks to one genre,” Miyuu said. “We’re always taking different styles and making them into our own. The 2000s and 2010s feel especially meaningful to us. It’s a mix of finding inspiration and being inspired freely.”
Thinking into the future, f5ve hopes to be together with their fans, hi-5, in five years’ time. “We just picture us doing what we love and keeping that energy going, spending the time with our friends and hi-5. Our fans all around the world are those we cherish the most,” Kaede shared. “We don’t have any really huge goals. Of course we want to go on a world tour to meet hi-5 around the world and become a global girl group, but we really just want us to stay close and to share our music and performances.”
f5ve recently released their deluxe album, SEQUENCE 01.5 (dreaming of the 2nd 1st impact – consequences of the fate redux), on November 14. The album is available now on all streaming platforms.
