Timelesz Project

is a talent competition reality show, created by entertainment company Starto Entertainment, to add new members to the boy group timelesz (formerly known as Sexy Zone). The project involves the three current members of the group, Fuma Kikuchi, So Matsushima, and Shori Sato as they audition and select contestants from Japan and the United States.

Background

After the departure of Marius Yo in 2022 and Kento Nakajima in 2024 from Sexy Zone, the remaining members (renamed timelesz) decided to hold open auditions based on Kikuchi's suggestion. The selection of new group members through an audition process was later confirmed to be in a reality competition show format internationally distributed by Netflix.

Overview

A total of 18,922 applications were submitted to join timelesz and of those, 350 were selected for the second round of auditions held in Tokyo and Osaka, where the successful applicants were required to sing and dance songs selected from a list of approved songs originally performed by Starto Entertainment artists. Thirty-six contestants moved on to the third round where they were placed into groups, having to learn a song and choreography within three days. The fourth round narrows the number of remaining contestants to fifteen, plus the inclusion of Starto Entertainment actors Takuto Teranishi, Yoshitaka Hara and Daichi Imae. Round five had 12 candidates. Round six cut the number to eight. The final number of new members, and who they are, were determined by the three original members of the group in consultation with the program's dancing and vocal trainers, NOSUKE and Miki Miyamoto in the last episode.

The last episode aired on February 15, with a surprise appearance by Arashi's Sho Sakurai as moderator. Sakurai mentioned the passion of the members and the participating candidates. He talked about timelesz, about the memories he has with them, and how much they have grown. And about the project: "Today, the three of them will make a big decision. It's nerve-wracking. I'm nervous too. I think it will be a really big day. I hope you will watch over them with kind eyes until the end". Noting the end of the "candidacy era", Sakurai touched on the fact that there might be frustration, not only within this moment, but also in the future. He told them that they have to start thinking as a group, that even the smallest frustrations, affect it. That the opponent they will be fighting in the end, is not inside, but outside. He advised them to avoid actions that put others down to make themselves look good. "If anything happens, there are many seniors, including me, so I hope you will come to us for advice, even if it's something small. I think that's our strongest point, because we're a family". Finally, Sakurai shared his own experience. "I was a junior for four years. When I debuted, some of my friends ended up drifting apart. So it might be difficult to get back together right away after this, but you can stay friends forever. I want you to cherish each other".

After singing the last pair of songs ("Run" and timelesz' new single, "Rock this Party"), the winners of the project to be the new members were revealed: Shuto Inomata, Taiki Shinozuka, Masaki Hashimoto, Takuto Teranishi and Yoshitaka Hara. The new members were introduced to the press 5 minutes after the end of the program. In the press conference, Kikuchi proposed a toast, giving each of the new members a colored drink, which ended being the color each one was to adopt: Shinozuka, white, for him to "look for your own color"; Teranishi, light blue, "support the people around while being calm, trustworthy, and mature"; Hashimoto, pink, "cute, yet strong and passionate"; Inomata, yellow, "kind, loving and positive mind" (Hara added that Inomata is like the sun "I hope that the sense of closeness will permeate the fans", while Kikuchi joked on the choice of color, not knowing if he should have chosen " Yamabuki color"). As Sato started the toast, Hara blurted out that his drink was bitter, and Matsushima smiled saying "lets go on with this". Hara asked Kikuchi if he had prepared a normal, "refreshing drink", and he answered "Sorry, it was a mistake". Hara's color is yellow-green.

The new group formation released "Rock this party" as a digital single, on February 28, 2025.

List of contestants

Episodes

Legal action over slander against the candidates

On February 4, 2025, on the project's SNS, a post calling attention to slander: "We will take strict measures, including legal action". This was after confirmed content and information that can be taken as slander was found on SNS, in particular, following the results of the fifth round of screening. "This situation cannot be overlooked". Starto Entertainment, which operates the timelesz project, will take strict action.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* https://timelesz-project.com/

Netflix original programming