PEOPLE 1

Overview

PEOPLE 1 (pronounced "Pipowan" in its nickname) is a Japanese three-piece pop band formed in December 2019 and based in Tokyo. Its fandom is called "Taishu" (the masses), and its fan club is named "Room 112." The members are Deu (vocals, guitar, bass), Ito (vocals, guitar) and Takeuchi (drums). The band began online, centered on YouTube, and for a time showed no members in its music videos and revealed no personal details, earning a reputation as a "mysterious band."

Formation and Members

The band began when Deu, aiming to "form a band that sells," gathered Takeuchi, a university club peer, and Ito, a year his junior, after graduation. The formation date is set as December 20, 2019, the release date of the first EP Taishu Ongaku. Deu has explained that the name comes from a sense of loneliness: whether the band succeeds or not, one is still alone. The nickname was initially split between "Pipoichi" and "Pipowan" until polls on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube settled on "Pipowan."

• Deu: vocals, guitar, bass. The founder, who writes all lyrics and music and also produces the band's merchandise and music videos. Before PEOPLE 1 he ran a solo project, The Bad Ten Hours.
• Ito: vocals, guitar. Initially worked at a real-estate company; he resigned in December 2022 during the third tour "Usodarake no PEOPLE 1" and announced it at the tour final at KT Zepp Yokohama, then focused on music full time.
• Takeuchi: drums, plus sampler duties live.
• Support members: Hajime Taguchi (guitar, bass) and Bentler Kaoru (keyboards, guitar).

The band has a close relationship with illustrator and animator coalowl, who created the animation for their first YouTube video and their first music video, "I Wanna Be Free," and has been involved in many later music videos and merchandise, as well as singing backing vocals.

Career

2019–2020: Beginnings

• December 20, 2019: Quietly began activity by posting a teaser video on YouTube.
• December 27, 2019: Made their audio debut with the first EP Taishu Ongaku.
• September 30, 2020: Released the CD edition of Taishu Ongaku and both CD and digital editions of the second EP GANG AGE. The two were selected simultaneously for Tower Records' monthly "Tower Recommend" feature, a first.
• December 25, 2020: "Room 113" was released and covered by the indie music web media speranza!.

2021

• January 8: Ranked No. 7 in the "2021 Buzz Best 10" segment on the TV show Buzzrhythm 02.
• April 28: Released the third EP Something Sweet, Something Excellent.
• June 3: Played their first live show at BLT LIVE BOOSTER vol.1 (a joint show with NEE) at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM, followed by their first headlining tour "Bedroom Taishu Ongaku."
• August 18: Ito guested on WurtS's "Little Dancer feat. Ito (PEOPLE 1)."
• November 24: Released their first full album PEOPLE and held their first YouTube live stream the same day.

2022: Major Debut

• April 20: Released the digital single "Juu no Buhin"; its music video, released in May, was the first to feature the members.
• June 1: Released "YOUNG TOWN," the theme song of NHK's late-night drama Kanakana.
• June 29: Released "Ajisai," an insert song for Kanakana.
• August 1: Launched the official fan club "Room 112."
• December 14: Made their major debut with the digital single "DOGLAND," used as the ending theme of episode 10 of the anime Chainsaw Man.

2023

• April 14: Released "GOLD," the opening theme of the anime Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage; it came out as their first CD single on May 17.
• September 18: A Cup Noodle commercial paying homage to the "Flopnik" music video and using a parody of the song began airing.
• November 1: Released "Dokidoki Suru," the opening song of the drama Toki o Kakeru na, Koibito-tachi.

2024

• January 10: Released the second album Hoshimeguri, Kimi ni Kinsei.
• March: "Boku no Kokoro" was chosen as the theme song of the drama Kogaku Tosen Shichaimashita.
• May 3: Released the collaboration with Eve, "Flatwoods no Monster no Yoni."
• June 3–4: Screenings of January concerts were held over two nights at cinemas in six locations nationwide.
• September 11: Released "Caffeine Remix feat. Deu" with Akiyama Kiiro.
• October 9: Released "Meribad," theme song of the drama Ano Kuzu o Nagutte Yaritainda.
• October 21: Made their first TV performance on TBS's CDTV Live! Live!, and appeared on Music Station on November 29.
• November 11: Announced their first pop-up store, "appartement 1827," held at UNIVERSAL MUSIC STORE HARAJUKU from December 19 to 29.

2025

• January 22: Hoshimachi Suisei's third album Shinsei Mokuroku was released, including "Caramel Pain," a song provided by Deu.
• February 14: Announced that Deu would take a break for health reasons and that the band would pause activities until his recovery.
• April 18: The music video for "Distortion to Houyou," a song Deu wrote, was released on Fuwa Minato's YouTube channel.
• July 1: Deu announced his return on social media; on July 17 the band resumed activity at the three-man event UPDATE with WurtS and Chilli Beans.
• December 16: Screenings of the December 2024 show The World of PEOPLE 1 were held at cinemas in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

2026

• May 12: Released the new song "Kinjito." On May 15 it was chosen as the prologue song for the Mobile Suit Gundam 50th anniversary "Road to 50" campaign.
• May 16: Began their ninth main tour, HAVEN, billed as their full-comeback live, which ended with The FINAL in Sendai on June 28.
• May 25: The "Kinjito" music video passed one million views.
• June 20: Released the new song "Seikatsu," with its music video released June 28.

Media Appearances

The band has hosted or appeared on radio including J-WAVE's SONAR MUSIC (October 2021–March 2022), ZIP-FM's ×music (April–September 2022), FM802's MUSIC FREAKS (October 2023–September 2024), PEOPLE 1's All Night Nippon 0 (December 9, 2023) and J-WAVE's THE KINGS PLACE 813 (October–December 2024). They also appeared in the "Spotify on PlayStation" promotional video for Sony Interactive Entertainment from March 2022 to March 2023.

Musical Style

Deu, who writes all of the band's songs, favors UK garage rock, which strongly shaped his earlier solo project The Bad Ten Hours. In interviews the band has cited Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc.," Hozier's "Almost (Sweet Music)," The 1975's "I Like America & America Likes Me," Bloc Party's "Ratchet," Francis and the Lights' "Friends ft. Bon Iver and Kanye West," Beirut's "Elephant Gun," Bob Dylan, andymori, THE BLUE HEARTS and Chopin's Etude Op. 10 No. 3 as influences. This wide range, from Western indie pop and rock to Japanese rock and classical music, informs Deu's stated aim of making "music for the masses."