''The Star'' (stylized in all caps) is the first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

of Japanese boy group

JO1 is a Japanese boy band formed through the reality competition show ''Produce 101 Japan (season 1), Produce 101 Japan''. The group is composed of eleven members: Issei Mamehara, Ren Kawashiri, Takumi Kawanishi, Shosei Ohira, Shion Tsurubo, Ruki S ...

, formed through the reality competition show ''

Produce 101 Japan ''Produce 101 Japan'' is a 2019 Japanese reality competition show and a spin-off of the South Korean television series ''Produce 101''. The show followed 101 trainees with the intention of producing an 11-member boy band. The members, group nam ...

''. Consisting of songs from their previous EP singles ''

Protostar A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. The protostellar phase is the earliest one in the process of stellar evolution. For a low-mass star (i.e. that of the Sun or lower), it lasts about 5 ...

'' and ''

Stargazer Stargazer may refer to: * an observational astronomer, particularly an amateur Aerospace * Stargazer (aircraft), a Lockheed L-1011 airliner used to launch the Pegasus rocket * Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2, nicknamed Stargazer, the first s ...

'', the album was released by

Lapone Entertainment is a Japanese management and entertainment company, established in May 2019 as a joint venture between South Korean CJ ENM and Japanese Yoshimoto Kogyo. The company operates as a talent agency, entertainment company, and record label under Yoshi ...

into four different editions on November 25, 2020, with "Shine a Light" as the

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

. It features participation of South Korean producers and producing teams, such as KCKT, , 13,

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

, Yoske, and others. To promote the album, the group performed in several awards and year-end music shows along with two solo performances by member Junki Kono on music

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel

The First Take ''The First Take'' (stylized as ''THE F1RST TAKE'') is a Japanese YouTube channel that invites singers to perform a song recorded in one take. Concept Videos on ''The First Take'' are filmed in a studio, alternating between medium shot, mediu ...

. The group also held their first live streaming concerts titled Starlight and Starlight Deluxe, held on December 19, 2020, and February 20, 2021, respectively. The concerts amassed a total of more than 240,000 viewers from 40 countries and regions. The album debuted at number two on

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

and ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'' Hot Albums only behind

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

's '' Be''. It also received a Gold certification from the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

(RIAJ) for over 100,000 units in shipments.

Background and release

On October 5, 2020, seven months after their debut, JO1 held a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

at the

Esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

Ginza Studio in Tokyo to announce the release of their first studio album ''The Star'' and first online concert titled Starlight. The concept photos for the album were released on the same day and showed the members in light-colored stars-studded costumes, expressing their "shining self" to continue the concept of their previous release. The album was released on November 25 into four different editions, consisting of seven new songs and all songs from their previous EP singles, ''

'' and ''

''. The three limited editions (Red, Blue, Green) feature 15 tracks, including "Starlight", "Shine a Light", and another new song that is different for each edition. The limited edition Red comes with a bonus DVD featuring a talk segment with the members titled ''JO1 Party''. The limited edition Green and Blue come with a photo book and an accordion card, respectively. The normal edition comes with a solo poster and features 19 tracks, including all new songs in the limited editions and JO1 version of ''

'' "Yancha Boy Yancha Girl" and "Happy Merry Christmas". It is also available in digital format for streaming and digital download.

Promotion

To commemorate the album's release, JO1 held a live streaming event on their official

channel on the release day. They were also featured in a special program on

Music On! TV , also known as , is a Japanese music cable television network operated by , a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Inc. (SMEJ). Its motto is We Believe in Music.

and released their second official

Line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

stickers set. JO1 subsequently released performance videos for tracks "Safety Zone" and "Monstar", both directed by . JO1 promoted the album by performing "Shine a Light" in several television shows, including the ''2020

FNS Music Festival FNS may refer to: Television * ''Food Network Star'', an American reality television series * ''Fox News Sunday'', an American television news show * Fuji Network System, a Japanese television network * ''WWE Friday Night SmackDown'', an American ...

'' held on December 2, 2020. They also performed the song along with "Infinity" at the

2020 MTV Video Music Awards Japan The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards Japan were held on October 29, 2020. Main awards Best video of the year Aimyon - "Naked Heart" Best Male video ;Japan Kenshi Yonezu - "Kanden" ;International The Weeknd - "Blinding Lights" Best female video ;Ja ...

and the

2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place live on December 6 at the CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea with the theme, "New-Topia". The ceremony was held with no on-site audie ...

(MAMA) where they received the Rising Star Award and the Best New Asian Artist, respectively. On December 4, member Junki Kono performed an acoustic solo version of "Infinity" on the music

channel

. Due to the exposure from his appearance on the channel as well as the group's performances on the ''FNS Music Festival'' and MAMA, four songs from the album, "Infinity", "Shine a Light", "Monstar" and "Oh-Eh-Oh", reappeared in the top 100 rank of Oricon's YouTube Chart of the week. Kono's solo performances of "Infinity" and "Voice" were subsequently released as digital songs on January 13, 2021. On February 25, JO1 did their first performance in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

by appearing on ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

''. They also performed songs from the album as the headliner for

Tokyo Girls Collection The , sometimes abbreviated as TGC, is a semiannual fashion festival launched in 2005. It is mainly held near Tokyo area and some local cities such as Kitakyushu, Nagoya and Okinawa. The fashion event showcases the seasons fashionable streetwear by ...

for the second time in a row on February 28. To further celebrate the album's release, JO1 held a special exhibition titled JO1 Museum: The Star sequentially at six HMV Museums nationwide, starting from November 3 to December 6, 2020.

Singles

The album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

''Protostar'' was released on March 4, 2020, which is also the group's debut release. The single was released as an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

and features "Infinity" as the lead track. The single reached number one on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

and ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100, and received a Platinum certification by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

. Earning an estimate of 640 million yen, the single helped JO1 becoming the second best-selling new artist on the Oricon chart for the first half of 2020. ''Stargazer'' was released as the album's second single on August 26, 2020. The single continued the group's number one position on the Oricon and ''Billboard Japan'' charts. Released with a concept about teenagers in distress, the music video of its lead track "Oh-Eh-Oh" features members of JO1 fighting against a mysterious group as high school students.

from the South Korean boy group

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

co-produced the song. The music video of the promotional single "Shine a Light" was released on November 10. Directed by Yasuhiro Arafune, the concept of the music video was dubbed as "intersecting space-time". It depicts the members roaming around the same intersection in a fictional city, separated by time and era, with shining light as the only connection between the different timelines. The song peaked at number fifty-eight on the Japan Hot 100.

Concerts

JO1 1st Live Streaming Concert "Starlight"

JO1 1st Live Streaming Concert "Starlight" is a virtual

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

concert held on December 19, 2020, via . Lasting for two hours and twenty minutes, the concert also consisted of talk and game segments. The concert amassed an estimate of 120,000 viewers from 30 countries and regions besides Japan, such as the United States, Australia, China, South Korea, and Indonesia. The concert was broadcast on TBS' cable television channel on January 31, 2021, with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interview with the members. The set list for the show was the following: # "Shine a Light" # "Monstar" # "Kungchikita" (JO1 ver.) # "GrandMaster" (JO1 ver.) # "Happy Merry Christmas" (JO1 ver.) # "Yancha Boy Yancha Girl" (JO1 ver.) # "Go" # "Oh-Eh-Oh" # "Tsukame (It's Coming)" ;Encore #

"Be With You" # "Infinity"

JO1 Live Streaming Concert "Starlight Deluxe"

JO1 Live Streaming Concert "Starlight Deluxe" is the second virtual concert by JO1 and was held on February 20, 2021. Unlike the first concert, it was live-streamed from

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

, South Korea. With a concept of traveling in space with the group, the concert featured a longer set list, a series of

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

-themed VCRs, and a live band. According to news reports, the concert was viewed by more than 120,000 people from 40 countries and regions, including Japan, the United States, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, India, and France. Band version of "Oh-Eh-Oh" and "Grandmaster" were later released as digital singles on August 8, 2021. The set list for the show was the following: # "Shine a Light" # "Monstar" # "Running" # "Go" # "Yancha Boy Yancha Girl" (JO1 ver.) # "My Friends" # "Young" (JO1 ver.) # "Voice" # "Be With You" # "Tsutaerareru Nara" # "Safety Zone" # "So What" # "Grandmaster" (Band ver.) # "Oh-Eh-Oh" (Band ver.) ;Encore #

"Tsukame (It's Coming)" # "Infinity"

Critical reception

Azusa Takahashi of praised the group's rapid growth that is evident throughout ''The Star'', especially in singing. She also mentioned that one of the album's charms is the amount of possibility shown from the wide range of tastes in the songs. Although some tracks have been performed in ''Produce 101 Japan'', she described those songs as "cohesive while retaining the freshness of the time." To close her review, Takahashi stated the album is good in showing "factors that makeup JO1 as an artist", which are the bond between members, the "spices" found in the songs thanks to the uniqueness of the members, and gratitude to their fans.

Commercial performance

After its release, ''The Star'' debuted at number one on the Oricon Daily Albums Chart with an estimate of 114,560 copies sold. It eventually ranked at number two on the weekly chart after

' album '' Be'' with 158,333 copies sold and received a Gold certification from the RIAJ. The album also ranked at number two on ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums and number one on the sales component chart on the week of its release. The commercial success of the album also put JO1 in third place for ''Billboard Japan'' Artist 100 of the week, which was also the chart's inaugural week. By the end of 2020, the album ranked at number twenty-one on the 2020 Oricon Annual Ranking with 173,753 physical copies sold. Due to its release date didn't fall in the aggregation period in 2020, ''The Star'' was included on ''Billboard Japan'' album sales chart for the first half of 2021 at number ten with 195,255 physical copies sold, and eventually ranked twenty-second on their 2021 Year-End Hot Albums.

Track listing

"Starlight", "Shine a Light" and "My Friends" are common track 1, 2 and 15, respectively, for all limited editions. , lyrics4 = , music4 = , extra4 = , length4 = 3:03 , title5 = La Pa Pa Pam , lyrics5 = , music5 = , extra5 = , length5 = 3:08 , title6 = Running , lyrics6 = , music6 = , extra6 = , length6 = 3:50 , title7 = Oh-Eh-Oh , lyrics7 = , music7 = , extra7 = , length7 = 3:04 , title8 = So What , lyrics8 = , music8 = , extra8 = Young Jay , length8 = 3:07 , title9 = Go , lyrics9 = , music9 = , extra9 = , length9 = 3:19 , title10 = Voice , note10 = ja, 君の声, translit=Kimi no Koe, lit=Your Voice, label=none , lyrics10 = , music10 = , extra10 = Eastwest , length10 = 3:35 , title11 = Tsukame (It's Coming) , note11 = ; JO1 ver. , lyrics11 = , music11 = , extra11 = , length11 = 3:57 , title12 = Young , note12 = JO1 ver. , lyrics12 = , music12 = , extra12 = Versachoi , length12 = 3:24 , title13 = GrandMaster , note13 = JO1 ver. , lyrics13 = , music13 = , extra13 = Coach & Sendo , length13 = 3:28 , title14 = Kungchikita , note14 = JO1 ver. , lyrics14 = , music14 = , extra14 = , length14 = 3:31 , title15 = My Friends , lyrics15 = , music15 = , extra15 = Nthonious , length15 = 3:19 , length3 = 3:03 , title4 = La Pa Pa Pam , length4 = 3:08 , title5 = Running , length5 = 3:50 , title6 = Oh-Eh-Oh , length6 = 3:04 , title7 = So What , length7 = 3:07 , title8 = Go , length8 = 3:19 , title9 = Voice , note9 = ja, 君の声, translit=Kimi no Koe, lit=Your Voice, label=none , length9 = 3:35 , title10 = Tsukame (It's Coming) , note10 = ; JO1 ver. , length10 = 3:57 , title11 = Young , note11 = JO1 ver. , length11 = 3:24 , title12 = GrandMaster , note12 = JO1 ver. , length12 = 3:28 , title13 = Kungchikita , note13 = JO1 ver. , length13 = 3:31 , title14 = Be with You , note14 = ja, 足跡, translit=Ashiato, lit=Footprints, label=none , lyrics14 = , music14 = Ouow , extra14 = Ouow , length14 = 3:39 , length3 = 3:03 , title4 = La Pa Pa Pam , length4 = 3:08 , title5 = Running , length5 = 3:50 , title6 = Oh-Eh-Oh , length6 = 3:04 , title7 = So What , length7 = 3:07 , title8 = Go , length8 = 3:19 , title9 = Voice , note9 = ja, 君の声, translit=Kimi no Koe, lit=Your Voice, label=none , length9 = 3:35 , title10 = Tsukame (It's Coming) , note10 = ; JO1 ver. , length10 = 3:57 , title11 = Young , note11 = JO1 ver. , length11 = 3:24 , title12 = GrandMaster , note12 = JO1 ver. , length12 = 3:28 , title13 = Kungchikita , note13 = JO1 ver. , length13 = 3:31 , title14 = Monstar , lyrics14 = , music14 = , extra14 = Teito , length14 = 3:24 , length4 = 3:03 , title5 = La Pa Pa Pam , length5 = 3:08 , title6 = Running , length6 = 3:50 , title7 = Oh-Eh-Oh , length7 = 3:04 , title8 = So What , length8 = 3:07 , title9 = Go , length9 = 3:19 , title10 = Voice , note10 = ja, 君の声, translit=Kimi no Koe, lit=Your Voice, label=none , length10 = 3:35 , title11 = Tsukame (It's Coming) , note11 = ; JO1 ver. , length11 = 3:57 , title12 = Young , note12 = JO1 ver. , length12 = 3:24 , title13 = Grandmaster , note13 = JO1 ver. , length13 = 3:28 , title14 = Kungchikita , length14 = 3:31 , title15 = Yancha Boy Yancha Girl , note15 = ja, やんちゃ BOY やんちゃ GIRL, lit=Naughty Boy Naughty Girl, label=none; JO1 ver. , lyrics15 = , music15 = , extra15 = Nthonius , length15 = 3:24 , title16 = Happy Merry Christmas , note 16 = JO1 ver. , lyrics16 = Yu-ki Kokubo , music16 = , extra16 = Bae Jae-seok , length16 = 3:44 , title17 = Monstar , length17 = 3:24 , title18 = Be with You , note18 = ja, 足跡, translit=Ashiato, lit=Footprints, label=none , length18 = 3:39 , title19 = My Friends , length19 = 3:19

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Track listing is based on ''The Star'' normal edition.

Musicians

– vocals * Yoske –

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

* Lee Min-young (Eastwest) – bass , drum ,

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...

, guitar , piano * Yeul (1by1) – piano , computer programming * Mook – chorus * Score (13) – piano , drum * Esbee – chorus , piano , drum * Megatone (13) – guitar , bass * Yhanael – Japanese translation * KZ –

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

programming ,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, drum , bass , chorus , electric piano , guitar * B.O – chorus * Nthonious – MIDI programming , synthesizer , drum , bass , guitar *

Kim Seung-soo Kim Seung-Soo (born July 25, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series * '' Hur Jun'' (1999) * ''Bad Boys'' (2000) * ''Rookie'' (2000) * ''Cool'' (2001) * '' Mina'' (2001) * ''Fox and Cotton Candy'' (2001) * ''Remember' ...

– MIDI programming , synthesizer , drum , bass * Kim Hye-kwang – chorus , vocal editing * Who's H – vocal editing * Young Jay (KCKT) – bass , chorus , drum * Buggy (KCKT) – drum , chorus , keyboard , bass , synthesizer * Ven (KCKT) – synthesizer , chorus , guitar , bass * Teito (KCKT) – chorus , vocal tuning , synthesizer , keyboard , bass , drum * Kohway (KCKT) – chorus * Minit – acoustic piano , synthesizer , electric guitar , bass , drum , string , sound effect * Airair – acoustic piano , synthesizer , electric guitar , bass , drum , string , sound effect * Lazier – chorus * Onestar (Monotree) – chorus *

Ryan S. Jhun Ryan S. Jhun ( ko, 라이언 전) is a South Korean songwriter and producer. Jhun is known for his work with various K-pop soloists and idol groups, getting his start through acts from SM Entertainment such as Shinee, Super Junior, f(x), Taeyeon ...

– producing , vocal directing *

Andrew Choi Andrew Choi (Hangul: 앤드류 최; Korean name: Choi Sung-hyun; Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North ...

– vocal directing , background vocals * Eunsol (1008) – producing , keyboard , bass , drum * Seo Yi-sung – producing , drum * Sun – tune * Dono – chorus * Coach – guitar , chorus * Sendo – bass * Yuki – chorus * Ji Seung-gyu – chorus * Bae Jae-seok (Solcire) – chorus , digital editing & tuning * Jkun – guitar * Ouow – producing * Nile Lee – string arranging * Yundak – piano , drum * Last P – piano , drum * Lee Tae-wook – guitar * Yinail – string arrangement * On The String – string

Technicals

* Osamu Shiota – recording * Kim Min–hee – recording * Jang Woo-young – recording * Min Sung-su – recording * Eugene Kwon – recording * Kwon Yoo-jin – recording * Gu Jong-pil – mixing * Master Key – mixing * Teito (KCKT) – mixing , asst. mixing * Hong Sung-joon – mixing * Jennifer Hong – asst. mixing * Jeung Eun-kyung – mixing * Park Seong-min – mixing * Coach & Sendo – mixing * Ko Hyun-jeong – mixing * Lee Gun-ho – mixing * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering * Jang Seung-ho – asst. mastering

Locations

Recording * Sound Valley * Doobdooob Studio * 821 Sound * Studio A-tone * Studio Fine Mixing * Klang Studio * Ingrid Studio * Mesunshine * Studio C * Koko Sound Studio * Team N Genius * Gaenari Sound * 821 Sound Mastering * 821 Sound Vocal editing * Kwang Sound

Visual

* Cho Dae-yong (Rainbowbus) – album design * Shin Hyo jin (Rainbowbus) – album design * Shim Jee-hee (Rainbowbus) – album design * Min In-hong – style director * Takashi Kamei – photographer * VITA – retouch * LiNK-UP – retouch * Shohei Fujinaga – stylist * Cheeks – hair & make–up * Tamzin (Choi Young-joon) – choreography * Sorr (AP) – choreography * You Seung-hyun – choreography

Background and release

Promotion

Singles

Concerts

JO1 1st Live Streaming Concert "Starlight"

JO1 Live Streaming Concert "Starlight Deluxe"

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Musicians

Technicals

Locations

Visual

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References