Japanese boy group ONE OR EIGHT returned stateside for their first official concert tour, GATHER, with their first show in Los Angeles. Ahead of the LA show, Asia Blooming sat down with the eight members of the group to discuss GATHER, both the title of their debut full-length album and current tour.
While ONE OR EIGHT has been dropping music since their debut in 2024, GATHER is their first album, released this past January. “GATHER is actually like a collection of our releases so far, but with the addition of ‘POWER’ and ‘TOKYO DRIFT,'” Neo began. “It’s a collection of what we’ve been through, what we’ve done, our accomplishments, and even our failures. I think it’s a good introduction of us to new listeners and new viewers. For us, it’s a good throwback to our discography and our past challenges.” One of the new tracks on the album is ‘TOKYO DRIFT,’ which is a remix of the beloved 2006 track from the Fast & Furious franchise. “We wanted to bring a really well-liked song back,” the group shared. “We have four rappers in the group as well [since it’s a rap-centric song originally], so we really wanted to bring something that was familiar to a lot of the world. We wanted to bring something different to that, and also bring ourselves to that song.” Looking to tap into nostalgia, the group was quite satisfied with the way it turned out. “We really believe we were able to bring out ONE OR EIGHT within the song, so we’re really happy with it.”
With the album serving as a collection of their journey thus far, each member has a different song that appeals to them the most. For Ryota and Takeru, they favor their other new track, “POWER.” Takeru shared, “I get a lot of power from this song, and the chorus is so catchy.” Ryota added, “The song has a really incredible energy, and it also featured in the anime Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers too. To see the song along with those kind of visuals really gave me a whole different outlook.”
Neo really loves their song “BET YOUR LIFE.” “Besides the message of the lyrics, I feel like the word play and the flow of the song are just so good,” he shared. “It’s a track that’s near and dear to me.” For Tsubasa, he chose the track “Young & Reckless” for its vibe and sound. Mizuki and Yuga both chose fan anthem “365” as their favorite track. “The tone of the song is really nice,” they revealed. “It’s also just a love song that feels very emotional.”
Reia and Souma both chose “DSTM” as their favorite track. “I really just love the concept and sound of that track,” Souma shared first. Reia chimed in as well, sharing that it’s a song that feels like you should get crazy in a club. “That’s not really what I do, but during the performance, we can get out there, put our everything into it, and dance crazy.” Summing up all their different personal choices, the eight members believe the album is truly a mixture of genres and styles that represents themselves. “It’s like the color black,” Neo began. “It’s a mix of all colors clobbered together, like how we all came together as one despite being individuals.”
This tour follows their first stateside appearance last year on their SHUKAI fanmeeting tour. While they all truly enjoyed the previous tour, they were excited to share how much more involved they were for the GATHER tour. “Last time when we were here, we weren’t really able to do everything on our own,” they admitted. “This time around, everything is complete. We were all very involved in the process, being part of choosing the setlist and creating the atmosphere for the stage and for the show. From the first song to the finale, we were part of everything. Some stages may just feature a few members or one member, and of course, we will have many group stages together. But, we were so happy to be very, very actively involved in this.”
For what fans, known as 1DERZ, can expect on the tour, the group highlighted a few members to keep an eye on. “Takeru is great at acrobatics, so we hope everyone looks forward to seeing his successful acrobatics,” they began. “We’re also really looking forward to the rapping from Souma,” the members said of their youngest member. “It’s also to be determined whether our 1DERZ will get to see Ryota take his shirt off,” Neo finished with a laugh.
To commemorate ONE OR EIGHT’s first official U.S. concert tour, Asia Blooming is hosting a giveaway on Twitter and Instagram for two lucky winners to receive a signed polaroid from the group! Entrants can enter the giveaway on either Twitter of Instagram. Enter on both Twitter and Instagram to increase your chances of winning!
To enter the Twitter giveaway:
- Follow Asia Blooming on Twitter: @AsiaBlooming
- Retweet the giveaway post
- Bonus entry: Tag a friend in a comment for extra entries—1 extra entry per tagged friend, up to 5 total.
To enter the Instagram giveaway:
- Follow Asia Blooming on Instagram: @AsiaBlooming
- Like the pinned post
- Bonus entry: Tag a friend in a comment for extra entries—1 extra entry per tagged friend, up to 5 total.
Only U.S. participants are eligible for this giveaway. Also, only good faith entries are eligible. The giveaway closes at 5:00pm PT on May 5, 2026, and the winners will be contacted shortly after. Good luck!
