Collab Between 2 Boy Groups Goes Viral With K-Pop Fans, But Neither Are Korea-Based
A new boy group has caught the attention of K-Pop fans, but they’re not actually Korean…
Recently, a video clip from PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE‘s “To the Top” (featuring DVI) MV was posted to TikTok. It went viral with 2M views and 373.7K likes at the time of writing.
@highcloudent #ToTheTop_MV Out Now !
Netizens had great reactions to the clip. Many were impressed by the visuals and talents, so they were all rushing to pick their bias.
Yet, most netizens joked that the group reminded them of 4*TOWN and/or NCT Hollywood.
4*TOWN is the fictional boy band in Disney-Pixar‘s Turning Red. When the movie was released, some members and music were compared to K-Pop.
NCT Hollywood is a future sub-unit of NCT that SM Entertainment had previously announced but has yet to debut. K-Pop fans have had mainly negative reactions to the news.
nct hollywood pic.twitter.com/cvWrnarmrp
— 𝐣𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞.◡̈ (@mklarchivee) May 30, 2022
The video was posted by High Cloud Entertainment, an entertainment company established in November 2020 by Thai rapper F.HERO, who has previously collaborated with K-Pop idols, including Stray Kids‘ Changbin and GOT7‘s BamBam.
On the other hand, PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE is actually a Japanese boy group. Like many of our favorite K-Pop groups, they include dancers, rappers, and vocalists. They were formed and still managed by LDH JAPAN and are signed to label LDH Records.
While the members previously met as elite students at EXPG STUDIO (an LDH-run dance academy) and formed the J-Pop group in 2019, they made their official debut on July 13, 2022, with the studio album P.C.F. as part of EXILE TRIBE, which is the name of a collective of male artists from the company.
P.C.F. is an abbreviation of our band’s name. As the name of the album, P.C.F suggests, we hope that fans can learn about our existence and what kind of group we are from the this album. From there, if listeners find something they’re interested in, whether it’s the members’ voices, performances, or style, we’d love it if you dived in. We’re giving this everything we have in order to refine our skills and evolve as artists, so please look forward to it and root for us.
— PSYCHIC FEVER via NYLON
Currently, PSYCHIC FEVER includes seven members: Tsurugi, Nakanishi Ryoga, Watanabe Ren, JIMMY, Kohatsu Kokoro, Handa Ryushin, and WEESA. Previous members include HANATAROU (2019-2020) and SAM (2019-2022).
Tsurugi is a rapper from Osaka, born on April 9, 1997.
Nakanishi Ryoga is a rapper from Hyogo, born on June 8, 1998.
Watanabe Ren is a rapper from Kanagawa, born on February 8, 2000.
JIMMY is a Nigerian Japanese rapper from Aichi, born on February 26, 2000.
Kohatsu Kokoro is a vocalist from Okinawa, born November 9, 2000.
Handa Ryushin is a rapper from Kanagawa, born December 1, 2001.
WEESA is a Moroccan Korean vocalist from Aichi, born February 26, 2004.
In May, LDH JAPAN partnered with High Cloud Entertainment. PSYCHIC FEVER actually went to Thailand for the reality show BALLISTIK BOYZ & PSYCHIC FEVER New School Breakin’ THAILAND, and they performed at “Bangkok Japan Expo 2022” on September 2 and 3.
Most recently, on February 5, they released their collaboration with Thai group DVI (meaning “Dreamvolution”), “To The Top,” which went viral. DVI is a six-member boy group under 4NOLOGUE that debuted on January 29, 2023, with their single “Sugar.”
Auau is a singer from Pathum Thani, Thailand, born March 8, 2002.
Cheetah is a singer from Bangkok, Thailand, born November 13, 1997. He is also a former member of the groups Insight Rookies, Hugeboy, and DUST.
Frank is a singer, born October 30, 1995. He was also a member of the group Insight Rookies.
Por is a guitarist and singer from Bangkok, born October 17, 2002. He had been in Septave.
Samui, born December 13, 2000, is also a singer who had been in Insight Rookies.
Tang is a singer. He was born on March 12, 1999.
While neither group is the next NCT sub-unit, as some thought, in some ways, PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE is quite similar since they are part of a male artists collective. Additionally, they performed at The 2022 Genie Music Awards in Incheon, South Korea. PSYCHIC FEVER won the “Next Generation Global Award” that night.
We can’t wait to see what else is in store for PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE!
Check out the groups’ latest comeback below.
