How PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE is redefining the future of J-pop 

While both J-pop and K-pop are some of the genres that have uniquely influenced and shaped the global music scene, the J-pop genre began much earlier, with a history dating back to the early 20th century – thanks to the emergence of Japanese popular music styles like ryūkōka and enka.

Despite K-pop's growing global influence, now J-pop is seeing a resurgence with a wave of new artists poised to make a significant impact worldwide. One standout example is PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE, an up-and-coming Japanese dance and vocal group.

Part of the collective, Exile Tribe, the seven-member group, formed in 2019, consists of Kokoro, Weesa, Tsurugi, Ryoga, Ren, Jimmy and Ryushin. Well-known for their amazing dance, vocal and rap skills, it’s no surprise that the group has quickly gained a loyal following and achieved notable success over the last two years.

In their first year alone, PSYCHIC FEVER garnered prestigious awards like the 2022 Genie Music Awards' Next Generation Global Award and Asia’s Rising Star at Thailand’s Digital Awards 2022. Building on this momentum, their P.C.F tour in 2023 was a huge success, setting the stage for their breakout hit single 'Just Like Dat' in January 2024, which catapulted them to new heights of fame.

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With an infectious beat tied with catchy lyrics, the hip-hop track easily won fans from around the world. Within these past few months, their music video for ‘Just Like Dat’ has easily garnered over 13 million views on YouTube and 9 million streams on Spotify (and counting). 

More recently, the group also made their debut in Singapore when they performed earlier this May at Music Matters Live, as part of CreatorWeek 2024. And of course, during their stay, we got an exclusive interview with the group where we asked them about their opinions of what the preconceptions of the J-pop genre are, the challenges they faced while filming their music video for ‘Just Like Dat’ and what they love about Singapore since their first visit.

What are some preconceptions people have about J-pop and how is Psychic Fever redefining the genre with songs like 'Just Like Dat'? 

WEESA: Of course, J-POP is the core of our music, but each member is influenced by various genres of music, and I think this also plays a part in influencing our music. PSYCHIC FEVER wants to be a group that is not bound by any boundaries but rather is flexible and ever-changing.

RYOGA: We often collaborate with local artists in various countries, and that is why it is our goal to be genre-agnostic. Our role is to create a genre-less style while staying true to our roots in J-Pop.

REN: We want to express the groove that is unique to J-POP, and our individuality of "each with a different personality". I believe that the new music and entertainment created by the seven of us, who were born and raised in different places, is something completely new, and I hope that we can continue to deliver new music and entertainment to the world.

Did you expect your hit single 'Just Like Dat' to go viral? 

RYOGA: I did not expect the song to spread like this, I was very surprised. However, we usually ensure to release songs with an unconventional sound that can be listened to at any time, and I think that we were able to reach many people this time with that goal.

REN: Actually, I kind of expected this. We were highly motivated from the production stage, and we had a conversation with JP THE WAVY, who produced the song, that it would surely sell. We were quite confident because the atmosphere of the song was completely different from our previous songs.

What were some of the challenges you faced filming the music video for 'Just Like Dat'? 

RYUSHIN: It was the first time I did the choreography for our song and I was so nervous. Because our schedule was so hectic and the group was in Thailand at that time, I had to fly back to Japan on my own to work with KAITA and KAZ the FIRE. I felt a very big responsibility to make sure we had a choreography that would be fitting and memorable for this song.

Given the opportunity, which artist would you like to collaborate with in the future?

ALL: We are always on the lookout for artists to collaborate with. In Thailand, we worked closely with HIGH CLOUD ENTERTAINMENT, and had the opportunity to work with music producer Nino, and come up with tracks ‘TO THE TOP’ with DVI and SPRITE for ‘FIRE’. Working with artists outside of Japan is very different and we get exposed to different cultures and ways of working, as well as inspired to incorporate local sounds. We are up for the challenge! We would love to work with more artists in Southeast Asia.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

KOKORO: This year, we see ourselves expanding the circle of PSYCHIC FEVER to Asia, and in five years, we hope to spread it to the world and become global artists. We want to deliver and perform our songs around the world! Till then, please look forward to and support our music and content that we will be releasing! 

RYUSHIN: We will perform in various countries! It would be a shame for us to see our performances end after just seeing them on social media, so in five years we would be performing in various countries, because we think that if everyone who knows us could see us in person, they would like us even more!

Besides the food, what do you love most about Singapore? 

ALL: There’s always something to see and experience here. Last year, we tried the Bungee Slingshot at Clark Quay, and this year apart from performing for the first time here, we have met so many other artists here. We love that Singapore brings everyone together.

Will you be holding a concert in Singapore anytime soon? 

ALL: We would love to. Performing this time at Music Matters Live/ Creatorwork is our very first time doing so in Singapore and we want to come back for more. We see Singapore as a hub for entertainment in Southeast Asia with artists like Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars doing multiple shows, and there is the Singapore F1 Grand Prix too. Asia is very close to our hearts and it would be so exciting to be a part of all of this.