Number_i: Members, King & Prince Split and Rise to Fame

The first time I saw Number_i's "GOAT" choreography video, I had to rewatch it twice just to figure out how three people could move that precisely in unison.
It turns out that polish didn't come from nowhere: all three members spent years as Japanese idol trainees before splitting from massively popular group King & Prince in 2023 to start over as an independent act.
Here's who's actually in Number_i, why they really left King & Prince, and how they've gone from a dramatic agency exit to an Atlantic Records deal and a Coachella stage in just a few years.

Who Is In Number_i? Meet Hirano Sho, Kishi Yuta and Jinguji Yuta

Number_i is a three-member Japanese group made up of Sho Hirano, Yuta Jinguji, and Yuta Kishi.

All three were previously part of King & Prince, one of the biggest boy groups to come out of the Johnny & Associates talent agency, before leaving to form Number_i in October 2023.

The group is managed by TOBE, an agency founded by Hideaki Takizawa, himself a former Johnny's idol turned producer, who built TOBE specifically around helping Japanese talent break into overseas markets.

Number_i made their formal debut with the digital single "GOAT" on January 1, 2024, and the accompanying choreography video quickly became the group's calling card, racking up huge view counts and comparisons to K-pop-level production values.

The trio's name was reportedly Kishi's idea, chosen after the three of them talked through what direction they wanted their new group to represent.

Source: ARAMA! JAPAN / KAI-YOU (accessed August 2026)

Why Did Number_i Leave King & Prince? The Story Behind the 2023 Split

One of the most-searched questions about Number_i is simply why three members of an already hugely popular group would walk away and start over.

King & Prince members Hirano, Jinguji, and Kishi announced their intention to leave back in November 2022, with fellow members Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi continuing on as a duo.

In their own statements, the three cited a growing gap between where they wanted to take their careers, specifically toward international activity, and what felt achievable while staying inside King & Prince and Johnny & Associates' existing structure.

Hirano and Jinguji formally left the agency on May 22, 2023, while Kishi's exit was finalized later, on September 30, 2023, after wrapping up prior commitments.

Barely a month after Kishi's departure closed out, the three announced their new group and agency, moving quickly to keep momentum rather than taking an extended break.

Source: Tokyohive / Chunichi Sports (accessed August 2026)

Why Is Number_i's Dancing So Good? Their Years as Idol Trainees

A lot of new fans discovering Number_i through "GOAT" or "BUGS LIFE" want to know why their dancing and vocal blend feels so far above the usual boy-group standard.

The answer traces back to the Japanese idol industry's "Junior" system, the years-long training period Johnny & Associates put its future idols through before any of them were allowed to debut.

Hirano joined the agency's Kansai Junior division in 2012 and trained for about six years before debuting with King & Prince in 2018.

Kishi and Jinguji joined even earlier, both signing on as junior high school students, giving them close to a decade of dance, vocal, and stage training between recruitment and their King & Prince debut.

That extended apprenticeship, built around daily lessons and constant live stage experience long before an official CD debut, is largely why all three came into Number_i already performing at a level most new groups spend years trying to reach.

Source: Oricon / Wikipedia Japan (accessed August 2026)

Number_i in 2026: Atlantic Records, Coachella and Their First World Tour

Since their 2024 debut, Number_i has moved aggressively toward an international career, and 2026 has been the year that strategy started paying off in a major way.

The group first performed in the US at Coachella in 2024, taking the stage as part of the 88rising Futures lineup, their first major festival appearance outside Japan.

In May 2026, Number_i signed with Atlantic Records, one of the most storied major labels in the US music industry, and followed it up with a trip to the label's Los Angeles office to begin work on new material.

The group also signed a global, all-sectors management deal with WME, one of the biggest talent agencies in the world, formalizing their push beyond the Japanese market.

On the release side, 2026 has been packed: the single "3XL" arrived in January, an EP followed in April, and a triple A-side single, "REBON / BUGS LIFE / DIGITAL GIRL," is scheduled for September 23.

Number_i's first world tour kicks off with a Japan leg in October 2026 across five major dome venues, with an Asia and North America leg planned for 2027, a scale that's rare for a group barely three years into its second act.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter Japan / Music Natalie (accessed August 2026)