f5ve’s J-pop crosses cheeky chaos with empowering authenticity

The image of a pop idol has long been synonymous with perfection: slick performances, bright smiles, and the illusion of having it all figured out. But Japanese girl group f5ve (pronounced “fi-vee”) are here to mess with that formula – on their own chaotic terms.

READ MORE: NME’s best songs of 2024 – f5ve, ‘Underground’

Just take their social media channels, which pop idols and groups often keep as manicured as their own music. You won’t find choreography tutorials or mannered vlogs on f5ve’s. Instead, there’s a video of Sayaka, Kaede, Ruri, Miyuu, and Rui crammed around a table at a Shibuya izakaya, trading jokes and tipsy confessions over fried food. They casually tease each other; Sayaka gets roasted for being the group’s party girl just a few drinks in. No filters, no pretense. They feel less like pop stars and more like people you already know.

Kaede of f5ve. Credit: Charlotte Rutherford

That disarming honesty has helped earn them a reputation online as “unserious”, a label they take as a badge of honour. “At first I didn’t get it,” says Kaede, the group’s leader, over a video call from Tokyo. “But then I realised it was a compliment. When we have fun, it gives other people permission to have fun too.”

In an era where pop success often hinges on being a perfectly timed meme, that unseriousness is its own kind of savvy. f5ve lean into it with flair, poking fun at themselves, hijacking viral trends, and singing lyrics with a bizarre bite. Take this one from debut single ‘Lettuce’: “You eat a lot of lettuce, but you’re toxic.” Or in ‘UFO’, where Japanese gacha games meet girl power: “She plays so good she’s an alien.” It’s offbeat, a little absurd and proof that humour hones rather than undercuts their edge.

“I just want people to enjoy it, especially in Japan,” Kaede says. “When you don’t fit into the usual standards, people see it as strange. It takes time to be accepted. But if we keep doing what we truly believe is good, people will relate. And that leads to recognition.”

“There is this unspoken rule where everyone has to like the same thing. We want to break out” – Miyuu

There’s more than just punchlines beneath f5ve’s chaos. Their music blends irony with intensity: ‘Underground’, a breakneck, synth-heavy track about burnout, pulses like a Para Para club hit, a type of Japanese dance music popularised in the ’80s and ’90s – fast, flashy, and slightly frayed. It made NME’s list of the best songs of 2024; the group landed on the NME 100, our list of emerging artists to watch, just months later.

If f5ve’s music feels like it’s from another planet – glitchy textures, dream-pop swells, sharp electronic detours – that’s by design. Their debut album ‘Sequence 01’, which was released on Monday (May 5), was recorded between Tokyo and Los Angeles with their genre-bending executive producer BloodPop [Lady Gaga, Madonna]. Despite its futuristic sheen, the three-year process started with simple conversation.

Miyuu of f5ve. Credit: Charlotte Rutherford

“When we started recording, we talked a lot,” Kaede recalls. “We’d share the music we liked.” They cited artists like Taylor Swift, Tate McRae, YOASOBI, Perfume, Justin Bieber, and Hikaru Utada, the defining voice of contemporary J-pop. “From those conversations, BloodPop made our songs,” she adds. “He always included our ideas.” That openness shaped the project’s sound. “It wasn’t like he gave us a finished track,” Miyuu says. “We built it together.”

That collaborative spirit helped them create something immersive: an emotional isekai, or alternate dimension, where each track feels like a new episode of a TV show – or a door to a new world. “We talked about anime with BloodPop,” says Kaede, “and how it blends genres and tells different stories from one moment to the next.”

And so the album came together as a vivid, genre-blurring experience. There’s ‘Jump’, an effervescent, high-BPM track bursting with hope. “It’s really personal,” Kaede says. “The lyrics are about us, about our dream to become big artists.” Then there’s ‘UFO’, which fizzes with confidence. “That one gives me power,” says Rui. “The sound lifts me to another level.” And ‘Sugar Free Venom’, a jagged anthem featuring Kesha, sharpens their sound into something louder, glossier, and more unfiltered – pop with teeth.

The group describe the album as “dream time travel”, a phrase that gestures at both sonic nostalgia and emotional reinvention. For Miyuu, it’s empowering escapism: “The real world can feel negative. I struggle with confidence, and sometimes I don’t know what’s right. But through this dream world we created, I’m fulfilling my wish to be more confident in my choices.” She calls f5ve “interdimensional dream agents” helping listeners find their own missions. “Our visuals and music videos aren’t just for show,” she adds. “They’re portals – places where you can feel your own dream coming alive.”

“People say f5ve is unique and that we don’t let ourselves be tied down by fixed ideas,” Miyuu adds. “There are so many different kinds of truths, but somehow there is this unspoken rule where everyone has to like the same thing. We want to break out. Instead of copying a style, we take inspiration from it and create something new in our own way.”

Ruri of f5ve. Credit: Charlotte Rutherford

f5ve is a blend of members from two former girl groups under Japanese entertainment company LDH Management: Happiness and iScream. Kaede, Miyuu, Ruri and Sayaka were performers in Happiness; Rui came from the vocal-driven group iScream. As f5ve, they all had to step out of their comfort zones, especially when it came to vocals. That’s partly why Sayaka says “f5ve is a reinvention”.

“Before this, Kaede, Miyuu and I didn’t sing,” she explains. “I didn’t know how to use my voice or what made me special. I was always nervous in the studio.” For the album, they tested vocal styles like they were trying on new outfits, experimenting with cute, strong, whispery and sexy. “I found new parts of myself through singing,” she says.

Sayaka of f5ve. Credit: Charlotte Rutherford

f5ve’s sound, like their identity, resists categorisation. It’s rooted in J-pop, “but with no boundaries”, as Rui puts it. “To people outside Japan, it might sound futuristic,” Kaede says, “but to us, it’s familiar. It’s the sound of home, of growing up.” That tension – between distortion and clarity, fantasy and truth – powers their music.

If pop music is often about “a polished image, like wearing a mask”, adds Miyuu, “with f5ve, we’re doing the opposite. Our music is about who we really are.” So who are f5ve? Kaede, the sharp-witted leader, considers humour her “superpower”. Miyuu is soft-spoken offstage but flips a switch when she performs. Rui is the group’s explorer, always curious and game to try something new. Ruri brings a cool elegance and vocal confidence, having been a lead singer before joining f5ve. And Sayaka, usually reserved, comes alive during performances – or over drinks with friends, when her fun-loving side takes over.

“It takes time to be accepted. But if we keep doing what we truly believe is good, people will relate” – Kaede

They’re not just building a group; they’re helping define where J-pop is headed next. f5ve have been watching the wave build in real time. Recently, they saw ATARASHII GAKKO!, YOASOBI and Ado perform in Los Angeles. “These acts are so authentically Japanese, and to see that kind of support in another country was truly inspiring,” Kaede says. “It makes us so happy to be part of this moment, to see Japanese music being celebrated on that kind of stage.”

In June, f5ve will perform at LadyLand, a queer music festival in New York City – becoming the first Japanese artists to do so. It’s a major milestone, and one f5ve take seriously. ”We have a lot of fans in the LGBTQ community,” says Kaede. “So we’re honoured to perform there… As an artist, I want what we express to have a positive impact. For those still hesitant to show their true selves, I hope that by doing things no one else is doing, we can give them a little courage.”

Rui of f5ve. Credit: Charlotte Rutherford

That courage has been personal, too. “Before f5ve, I wondered what made me unique,” Kaede adds. “There were times I tried to become the version of myself that would make other people happy. But I realised loving things like bold makeup, fashion that shows my legs, games, or horror movies – that’s me. That’s what individuality really means.”

She smiles. “For anyone still figuring out their own style or identity, I don’t want to pressure them. I just hope they can take pride in the things they truly love.”

f5ve’s ‘Sequence 01’ is out now via LDH Records

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