Nine years a trainee. Her solo debut is in a language she taught herself. - MELONii

From Asia to the World — A New Era of Sound アジアのシーンを牽引するアーティストたちとの対話を通して、"アジアミュージック"という未定義のカルチャーに輪郭を与えていく。 ■ MELONii Nine years a K-pop trainee, one girl group, four languages — and her solo debut is in the one she taught herself. MELONii is a Korean singer-songwriter based in Tokyo, known until last year as Minji, main vocalist of the K-pop girl group SECRET NUMBER. Her first audition came in elementary school, for a K-pop academy her mother had found; what followed was nine years as a trainee, including "Produce 101" and "Produce 48." She remembers wanting to quit after one practice, crying in the car when her mother came to pick her up — and her mother telling her that if she could not do it, nobody could. She debuted with SECRET NUMBER in 2021 and cried again, this time from relief. In the practice room a Japanese bandmate, Léa, played her "Pretender" by Official HIGE DANdism, and J-pop took over from there: she taught herself Japanese in three years, and at karaoke she always opens with Chisato Moritaka's "Watarasebashi." After leaving the group in April 2025 she spent a year writing — around 60 songs in stock, of which, she says, one in ten gets released — and once walked past the Universal Music Japan building wishing she could work there someday. On March 31, 2026, her birthday, that label released her solo debut, "Risky Risky," a Y2K-flavored song about not changing yourself for someone you love, and the first song she ever wrote in Japanese. In June came the second single, "GASSO," a Korean version of Tiara Andini's "Janji Setia" with lyrics she wrote herself, and an Indonesian version of her fan song "Unconditional." The name is Melody plus Harmony — and, she says, it took a month. K-POPの練習生として9年。ガールズグループを経て、4か国語を操る。ソロデビュー曲に選んだのは、独学で覚えた日本語だった。 韓国出身、東京を拠点に活動するシンガー／ソングライター。K-POPガールズグループSECRET NUMBERのメインボーカルMINJIとして知られた。最初のオーディションは小学生のとき、母が見つけてきたK-POPアカデミーの入所試験だった。そこから「Produce 101」「Produce 48」を経て、練習生生活は9年に及ぶ。ある日の練習後、迎えに来た母の車で「もう辞めたい」と泣いた。あなたにできないなら誰にできるの、という母の答えで、やめられなくなった。2021年、SECRET NUMBERでデビューした日も泣いた。今度は安堵の涙だった。練習室で日本人メンバーのLéaがかけたOfficial髭男dismの「Pretender」がJ-POPへの入口になり、日本語は3年で独学で身につけた。カラオケの1曲目はいつも森高千里の「渡良瀬橋」だ。2025年4月にグループを離れてからの1年は、ピアノを弾き、曲を書く日々。ストックは約60曲、世に出るのは10曲に1曲だという。ユニバーサル ミュージック ジャパンのビルの前を通りかかり「いつかここで」と願ったのも、この頃だった。2026年3月31日、自身の誕生日に、そのレーベルからソロデビュー曲「Risky Risky」をリリース。好きな人に合わせて自分を変えないで、というメッセージをY2Kのサウンドに乗せた、初めて日本語で書いた曲である。6月には2ndシングル「GASSO」、自ら韓国語詞を書いたTiara Andini「Janji Setia」の韓国語版、ファンに向けた「Unconditional」のインドネシア語版が続いた。MELONiiはMelodyとHarmonyの造語。決めるのに1か月かかったという。 ■ FOLLOW MELONii Official Website / Fan Community: https://melonii.jp/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melonii.official/ X: https://x.com/vitaminnnz_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@melonii.official1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MELONii\_official Streaming（2nd Single「GASSO」）: https://vm.group/GASSO Streaming（Debut Single「Risky Risky」）: https://vm.group/RiskyRisky Streaming（Tiara Andini feat. MELONii「Janji Setia」）: https://lnk.to/TiaraMELONiiJanjiSetiaID ■ YUGEN OFFICIAL Web Site: http://ygen.net/ ■ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:34 Welcome to the YUGEN Podcast 01:45 The name MELONii, Showa and Heisei J-pop at karaoke, and BoA as her role model 06:26 Youngest finalist at 11, and the nine years it took to debut 10:17 PRODUCE 48, AKB48, and debuting as SECRET NUMBER's main vocalist 17:11 First trip to Japan in 2018, and Ichiran ramen in Fukuoka 20:14 Writing "DOOMCHITA", and 60 songs in stock 24:42 Leaving the group, and a year of finding herself 30:52 Why Jakarta: the love from Indonesian fans 37:56 From singer to producer, and does "Asian music" exist? "No limit" 42:59 The next 5 to 10 years, Coachella, and why Asian lyrics run deeper 48:09 "GASSO", "Janji Setia" and "Unconditional" (Indonesia Ver.) — a message for fans CREDITS YUGEN Production Committee ― MC: Isaac Y. Takeu Guest: MELONii Creative Producer: Yamato Miyake Art Department: ONSA Inc. Edit: 4thclue Inc. Production: OASIZ Inc.