NiziU is a Japanese girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan through the 2020 survival reality show Nizi Project. The group comprises nine members: Mako Yamaguchi, Riku Ōe, Rima Yokoi, Rio Hanabashi, Maya Katsumura, Miihi Suzuno, Mayuka Ogō, Ayaka Arai, and Nina Hillman. NiziU was formed under JYP Entertainment's vision "K-pop 3.0," "Globalization by Localization," through the survival reality show Nizi Project, which was streamed weekly through Hulu Japan eventually distributed internationally via JYP Entertainment's official YouTube channel.
The show was split up into two seasons. The first season showed the auditions of prospective members around Japan, cutting the prospective lineup to 14 from 26 girls chosen by J. Y. Park, whilst the second season moving the girls to train in South Korea for six months.
On June 26, 2020, the final episode of the Nizi Project and the debut lineup was revealed to the public. As a member of JYP Entertainment, the group is partnering with record company Sony Music for album sales and group management during its activities in Japan.
JYP Entertainment announced on the 2nd that NiziU would release their debut single 'Step and a Step' in Japan on December 2nd through the official social media channels of JYPE and NiziU. The album contains a total of 4 songs, including the title song 'Step & A Step' of the same name as the album. The title song was written and composed by JYP's representative producer Park Jin-young himself.
The pre-debut digital mini-album 'Make you happy' was released on June 30th, 2020, in Korea and Japan and reached the top of the Oricon weekly combined album rankings even though it was an album before their official debut.
For the first time in female artists' history, the digital album recorded a cumulative 100,000 downloads, and the title song 'Make You Happy' exceeded 100 million views on YouTube within two months of release. On the 12th of last month, NiziU appeared on Japan's representative music program Nihon TV (NTV) 'THE MUSIC DAY' and performed 'Make You Happy.'
Prior to their debut, three jacket photos were released on the official website and SNS channel on October 21st, raising the expectations of fans for their debut.
