King & Prince

Overview

King & Prince (nicknamed "Kinpuri") is a two-member Japanese idol group made up of Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi. Their fans are known as "Tiara." The group is managed by King & Prince Inc., which has an agent contract with STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, and releases music through the label Project K&P. Originally named Mr.King vs Mr.Prince, they were the last group Johnny Kitagawa debuted in his lifetime. They have sold 12.3 million physical copies in Japan since their 2018 debut.

Career

2015–2017: Beginnings

The six members first headlined shows at Theatre Creo in the Johnny's Ginza 2015 run in April 2015. On 5 June 2015 they were formed as Mr.King vs Mr.Prince, special supporters for TV Asahi's Summer Station event. The group consisted of two units: "Mr.King" (Sho Hirano, Ren Nagase, Kaito Takahashi) and "Mr.Prince" (Yuta Kishi, Yuta Jinguji, Genki Iwahashi). Johnny Kitagawa chose the name in hopes that the members would spark off each other and improve through friendly rivalry. Their first original song, "Summer Station," debuted on 17 July 2015 at the Mazda All-Star Game. Initially a limited-time group, they announced on 20 August 2015 that they would continue, and performed on Music Station the next day.

From 2016 they mostly worked as two units, Mr.King and Prince. Mr.King released a photo book and supported Summer Station 2016, while Prince appeared in the Johnny's Ginza musical and hosted the variety show Mayonaka no Prince. After performing together in the 2017 summer concert Summer Sta (Kimi ga) King's Treasure, the six asked Johnny Kitagawa in September to let them debut together.

2018–2021: Debut and Genki Iwahashi's departure

On 17 January 2018, their CD debut was announced alongside the new Universal Music label Johnny's Universe (now Project K&P), with King & Prince as its first artists; the group name was adopted and the oldest member, Yuta Kishi, became leader. Their debut single "Cinderella Girl" (23 May 2018) sold 318,000 copies on its first day and over 577,000 in its first week, topping Oricon and becoming the first debut single in over 12 years to exceed 500,000 in first-week sales. Used as the theme for the drama Boys Over Flowers Season 2 starring Hirano, it was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAJ in September 2018. They also ranked first among new artists for the first half of 2018.

The First Concert Tour 2018 began in August at Yokohama Arena and drew about 260,000 fans. Their second single "Memorial" (10 October 2018) sold over 400,000 copies in its first week and topped the Oricon chart. In November 2018 Genki Iwahashi went on hiatus to treat his panic disorder, so the group appeared on the 69th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen as five. A partial return announced in February 2019 was called off, and the third single "Kimi wo Matteru" was re-recorded by five members and released on 3 April 2019. In 2020 they joined the 75-member temporary unit Twenty★Twenty and released "smile" in August. Iwahashi left the group and agency at the end of March 2021.

2021–2023: Social media, dome tour and three departures

On 23 May 2021, their third debut anniversary, official Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts launched, along with their first terrestrial TV show, King & Prince Ru. Their first Instagram live drew over 400,000 viewers, where they announced a third album and tour. In August they were main personalities of "24 Hour Television 44," and in December they ranked third among new YouTube channels in Japan for 2021 (873,000 subscribers). Their show became a regular series in January 2022, and from 2 April they held their first four-dome tour, King & Prince First DOME TOUR 2022 Mr..

On 4 November 2022, it was announced that Kishi, Hirano and Jinguji would leave on 22 May 2023. Nagase tried to persuade them to stay and considered disbanding, but chose to continue with Takahashi for the fans. The 11th single "Tsukuyomi / Irodori" (9 November 2022) became their first million-seller and the top single of the Oricon 2022 yearly chart (1.075 million). The 12th single "Life goes on / We are young" (February 2023) sold 1.032 million in its first week. Their first best album, "Mr.5" (19 April 2023), the last work with five members, sold 1.204 million in its first week. By 22 May, official YouTube views had passed one billion.

2023–present: As a duo

On 23 May 2023, the fifth debut anniversary, Nagase and Takahashi started as a duo with a livestream. Their 13th single "Nanimono" (21 June) and fifth album "Peace" (16 August) both debuted at No. 1 on Oricon. In the 2023 Oricon yearly rankings they topped numerous single, album and DVD categories and artist sales rankings, with ¥21.86 billion in sales, the fifth act in history to surpass ¥20 billion. A Special Edition of "Aishi Ikiru Koto / MAGIC WORD" followed in November, and their 31 December livestream drew over 140,000 simultaneous viewers.

On 23 May 2024, their sixth debut anniversary, all tracks from "halfmoon / moooove!!" (released 20 May) and "Mr.5" went to streaming, and they announced their new company, King & Prince Inc., and an agent contract with STARTO ENTERTAINMENT. The two are co-presidents and the only shareholders. Later releases include "WOW" (September 2024), the album "Re:ERA" (October 2024), "HEART" (March 2025), "What We Got Kiseki wa Kimi to" (May 2025), "I Know" (July 2025), and "Theater" and the album "STARRING" (December 2025). They hold the Oricon record of 18 consecutive singles, from "Cinderella Girl" to "Waltz for Lily," with first-week sales over 300,000, and held the DOME TOUR 2026 STARRING. On 23 May 2026, their eighth debut anniversary, their entire catalog became available on streaming.

Musical Style

King & Prince make pop-oriented J-POP in the idol tradition, with many songs used as themes for dramas and films. Since becoming a duo, they have continued to expand through singles, albums, live tours and digital releases.