JO1 has given fans their first full listen of the group’s 11th single ‘AAO,’ dropping the official highlight medley on the group’s YouTube channel on October 18. The clip previews every track on the single, headlined by title song ‘Ignite,’ which will serve as the opening theme for the fourth season of the anime Tokyo Revengers.
The November release was first reported by Billboard Japan in July, which confirmed that ‘Ignite’ had been chosen as the opening theme for the anime’s latest season. The anime connection is a major get for the group: Tokyo Revengers is one of the defining anime franchises of the past decade, and the theme slot puts ‘Ignite’ in front of a huge global anime audience ahead of the single’s street date. The highlight medley offers the first extended look at the rest of the single’s tracklist, giving fans a taste of the B-sides before the full release.
Vocal leader Junki offered a glimpse of those B-sides in an exclusive interview with The Honey POP on September 28. He singled out ‘Pekopeko’ as a track to watch, revealing that he helped write its music: ‘It’s about being so hungry from thinking about JAM. We made something cute just for them, so I love it.’ He added that the single also holds ‘other really fun songs’ alongside the title track, promising plenty beyond the anime tie-in.
Formed through the 2019 survival show Produce 101 Japan and managed by Lapone Entertainment, the nine-member group has grown into one of Japan’s leading boy bands, with fans known as JAM. The ‘AAO’ comeback caps a landmark year: in October, JO1 entered the Billboard 200 for the first time with their Dem Jointz-produced U.S. debut EP ‘Animal,’ which was backed by a five-city North American tour. The U.S. push followed a summer dome tour in Japan, which the members said left them ready for the bigger stages abroad.
With the highlight medley now public, JAM have only weeks to wait before ‘AAO’ arrives in full this November. The medley can be watched on JO1’s official YouTube channel.
