King & Prince: The Life Story Behind Japan's Young Kings
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King & Prince arrived in Japan like a fairy tale. Six young men, dressed in white and gold, singing about Cinderella, about princes and dreams, and about a love that could change an ordinary life into something magical. It was a beautiful image, and it was a clever one, because it gave the group a story that everyone understood at once. They were not just a boy band. They were princes, and their fans were the people who believed in the fairy tale. For a few years, the fairy tale was real. Their songs topped the charts, their concerts sold out, and their faces were everywhere. Then, in 2023, the fairy tale broke, when three of the six members left, and the group that had been six became two. Their story is the story of a dream that came true very fast, and of a dream that changed, and of two young men who decided to carry the crown on their own.
The group was formed in 2015, when six trainees at Johnny & Associates were brought together. They were Sho Hirano, Ren Nagase, Kaito Takahashi, Yuta Kishi, Yuta Jinguji, and Genki Iwahashi. They were teenagers, they were talented, and they were very different from each other. Hirano was the bright, natural star. Nagase was the cool, handsome one with a quiet strength. Takahashi was the cheerful, artistic one. Kishi was the warm, funny leader. Jinguji was the gentle, thoughtful one. Iwahashi was the youngest, with a sweet, clear voice. Together, they were first known as Mr. King vs Mr. Prince, and then, in 2018, they debuted as King & Prince, with the single “Cinderella Girl”.
Their story is a short one, compared to the stories of Arashi and SMAP, but it is a story that is full of feeling, because it is about young people who became famous very quickly, who lived a fairy tale, and who then had to face the real world, where fairy tales do not always last. It is a story about friendship, about fame, about leaving, and about staying. And it is a story that is still being written, by the two members who remain, Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi, who are still singing, still performing, and still carrying the name of King & Prince into the future.
Six Princes, One Dream, and a Debut in 2018
King & Prince began in 2015, when the agency Johnny & Associates brought together six young trainees and gave them a name: Mr. King vs Mr. Prince. The idea was simple and clever. The six boys were split into two smaller groups, Mr. King and Mr. Prince, and they performed together, competed with each other, and learned how to be a team. It was a way of building a group, and it was a way of giving the fans a story to follow. Who was the king? Who was the prince? The answer, in the end, was that they were all both, and that the group was stronger when they were together than when they were apart.
The six members were all teenagers, and they had all spent years as trainees, learning to sing, to dance, and to perform. Sho Hirano was known for his bright, natural charm, and for a smile that could light up a room. Ren Nagase was known for his cool, handsome looks and for a quiet, serious manner. Kaito Takahashi was known for his cheerfulness and for his love of art and design. Yuta Kishi was the leader, known for his warmth, his humour, and his ability to bring people together. Yuta Jinguji was known for his gentle, thoughtful nature and for his beautiful voice. Genki Iwahashi was the youngest, known for his sweet voice and his bright energy. Together, they were a group with a balance of personalities that fans loved.
Their debut came on 23 May 2018, with the single “Cinderella Girl”. The song was a bright, romantic pop song about a girl who becomes a princess, and it was a perfect debut for a group called King & Prince. It topped the charts, it sold in huge numbers, and it made the group famous overnight. The song’s success was not a surprise to the people who had watched the group grow. They had been waiting for this moment for three years, and when it came, the fans were ready. The debut was followed by more hits, by concerts, and by television appearances, and the group became one of the most popular new acts in Japan.
The early years of King & Prince were a time of joy and excitement. They were young, they were famous, and they were living the dream that every trainee dreams of. They performed in large venues, they appeared on television, and they built a fan base that loved them for their youth, their energy, and their fairy-tale image. It was a happy time, and it seemed as if the group would go on forever, growing together, year after year. But fame, especially fame that comes very fast, can be a difficult thing, and the group would soon face challenges that no one had expected.
Cinderella Girl, Memorial, and the Rise to the Top
The years after their debut were the golden years for King & Prince. Their singles topped the charts, one after another, and their concerts sold out in minutes. “Cinderella Girl” was followed by “Memorial”, a gentle ballad that showed a softer side of the group, and by “Kimi wo Matteru”, “koi-wazurai”, and “Mazy Night”, each one a hit in its own right. Their first album, King & Prince, released in 2019, was a success, and their second album, L&, released in 2020, was another success. They were not only a singles group. They were a group with albums, with concerts, and with a fan base that was growing every year.
Their music was bright, romantic, and full of hope, and it was sung by fans of all ages. The group’s image, white and gold, princes and fairy tales, was a part of their appeal, and it made them stand out from other boy bands. They were not trying to be cool or tough. They were trying to be charming, and they were charming. Their concerts were full of light, colour, and energy, and their fans, who called themselves Tiara, after the crown, loved them for it. The name Tiara is a beautiful one, because it says that the fans are not only watching the princes. They are a part of the story, wearing their own crowns, and sharing in the fairy tale.
Their television work was also important. They appeared on variety shows, on music programmes, and on dramas, and each member began to build a career outside the group. Sho Hirano became a popular actor, starring in films and dramas. Ren Nagase became an actor as well, known for his cool, serious roles. Kaito Takahashi became known for his art and for his cheerful television presence. Yuta Kishi became a popular host and actor. Yuta Jinguji and Genki Iwahashi also worked in television and in music. The group was growing, and each member was growing with it, and the future seemed bright.
By 2021, King & Prince were one of the biggest groups in Japan, and their success seemed certain. They had the songs, they had the fans, and they had the image. But in 2021, the first crack appeared, when Genki Iwahashi left the group. His departure was a sad moment, and it was a sign that the fairy tale was not as simple as it had seemed. The group went on as five, and they continued to succeed, but the fans could feel that something had changed. The story was no longer only about princes and fairy tales. It was also about real people, with real problems, and real choices to make.
Iwahashi Leaves, and the First Goodbye
In March 2021, Genki Iwahashi left King & Prince. The announcement was made with sadness, and it was explained that he had been struggling with panic disorder, a condition that can make performing in front of large crowds very frightening. He had taken a break from the group in 2020 to focus on his health, and after a year of rest, he decided that he could not return. His departure was a brave decision, and it was a decision that his fans respected, even though they were sad to see him go. He had been the youngest member, with a sweet voice and a bright energy, and his absence was felt by the group and by the fans.
Iwahashi’s departure is an important part of the King & Prince story, because it shows that fame is not easy, and that even young, talented people can struggle with their health. Panic disorder is a real condition, and it can make a life in the spotlight very difficult. Iwahashi chose his health over his career, and that is a choice that takes great courage. He went on to pursue a solo career, and he has continued to make music on his own terms, but his time in King & Prince will always be a part of his story, and a part of the group’s story.
After Iwahashi left, the group continued as five, and they released more music, including the album Re:Sense in 2021 and Made in in 2022. Their songs continued to top the charts, and their concerts continued to sell out. The five members worked hard to keep the group going, and they did it well. But the fans could sense that the group was changing, and that the fairy tale was becoming more complicated. The five who remained were still princes, but they were princes who had lost a brother, and the loss was felt in every song and in every concert.
The years as five were a time of both success and sadness. The group was still popular, still talented, and still loved, but the first goodbye had shown that the group was not invincible. It had shown that members could leave, that health could force a change, and that the story of King & Prince was a human story, not only a fairy tale. That human story would become even more important in 2023, when the group would face a much bigger change, and when three more members would leave, leaving only two to carry the name forward.
2023: Three Members Leave, and Two Remain
In May 2023, King & Prince changed forever. Three members, Sho Hirano, Yuta Kishi, and Yuta Jinguji, left the group and the agency, and the group that had been five became two. The announcement was a shock to the fans, and it was met with sadness and disbelief across Japan. The three who left were among the most popular members, and their departure felt like the end of the group that fans had loved since 2018. The reasons for their departure were private, and they have been reported in many different ways, but the result was clear: King & Prince would go on, but it would go on as a duo, with Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi as its only members.
The three who left went on to form a new group, Number_i, with the agency TOBE, and they began a new chapter in their lives as independent artists. Their new group became popular in its own right, and their fans followed them, but the fans of King & Prince were left with a difficult feeling. They had loved six princes, then five, and now there were only two, and the fairy tale that had begun in 2018 felt as if it had been broken. It was a sad time, and it was a time when many fans wondered whether King & Prince could survive as a duo, and whether the name still meant anything with only two members left.
Nagase and Takahashi decided that it did mean something, and they decided to keep going. They released new music as a duo, including the album P in 2023 and Re:ERA in 2024, and they continued to perform live. Their songs as a duo were different from the songs of the six, because they were the work of two voices, not six, but they were still King & Prince, and they were still sung with the same warmth and the same hope. The duo’s concerts were smaller and more intimate than the big arena shows of the six, but they were also more personal, and their fans loved them for it.
The decision to continue as a duo was a brave one, and it is one that deserves respect. It would have been easier to end the group, to let the name fade, and to start again as solo artists. Nagase and Takahashi chose to keep the name, to keep the songs, and to keep the promise that King & Prince had made to their fans. That promise was that the music would go on, and that the princes would keep singing, even when the fairy tale had changed. Their courage is the reason King & Prince still exists today, and it is the reason their story is still being written.
The Duo, the Crown, and the Future
Today, King & Prince are a duo, Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi, and they are still making music, still performing, and still carrying the name that six young men created in 2018. Their work as a duo has shown a different side of the group: a side that is more mature, more thoughtful, and more personal. Their songs are still bright and hopeful, but they also carry the weight of everything the group has been through. They are songs about love, about loss, and about keeping going, even when the road is hard. That is a message that their fans understand, because they have walked that road with the group, from six to five to two, and they are still walking it.
Nagase has continued his work as an actor, starring in dramas and films, and Takahashi has continued his work in television and in art, bringing his cheerful, creative energy to everything he does. Together, they are a duo that works because they are different: Nagase is cool and quiet, Takahashi is warm and bright, and their differences make their music richer. They are not trying to be six people. They are trying to be two people, honestly, and that honesty is what makes their new music work. Fans who have stayed with them say that the duo’s concerts feel closer, more personal, and more real than the big shows of the past, and that is a gift that only a duo can give.
The future of King & Prince is still uncertain, as the future of any group is uncertain, but the duo have shown that they are not going to give up. They have the songs, they have the fans, and they have each other, and that is enough to keep going. Their story is no longer a fairy tale about six princes. It is a story about two young men who kept a promise, who carried a crown that had become heavy, and who decided that the music mattered more than the number of people singing it. That is a story worth telling, and it is a story that is still being written, one song at a time.
Their fans, the Tiara, are still with them, and they are still wearing their crowns, and they are still believing in the group, even though the group has changed. That loyalty is a beautiful thing, and it is a sign that King & Prince were never only about the number of members. They were about the music, the hope, and the feeling that a dream, even a changed dream, is still worth believing in. As long as Nagase and Takahashi keep singing, that dream will go on, and the princes, even as two, will still be kings in the hearts of their fans.
What the Princes Teach Us About Change
King & Prince’s place in Japanese music is not only about their hits. It is about the way their story shows that a group can change, and that change does not have to be the end. They began as six, they became five, they became two, and they are still King & Prince. That is a powerful lesson, not only for musicians but for anyone whose life has changed in a way they did not expect. A dream can change, and it can still be a dream. A group can lose members, and it can still be a group. A fairy tale can break, and it can still be a story worth telling.
Their legacy is also a lesson about youth and fame. They became famous very young, and they lived a fairy tale that many young people dream of. But their story shows that fame is not simple, and that even a fairy tale has hard parts. Members can become ill, members can leave, and the group can change in ways that no one expected. That is not a failure. It is life, and it is a part of every group’s story. King & Prince’s story is honest about that, and that honesty is what makes it worth telling.
They also leave a lesson about loyalty. The fans who stayed with the group, from six to two, are among the most loyal in Japanese music, and their loyalty is a beautiful thing. It says that a fan does not love a number. A fan loves the music, the people, and the feeling, and those things can survive even when the group changes. Nagase and Takahashi have honoured that loyalty by keeping the music going, and by singing for the fans who stayed. That is a relationship built on trust, and it is a relationship that will last as long as the music lasts.
When people look back on the music of Japan in the late 2010s and early 2020s, they will remember King & Prince as the group of young princes who sang “Cinderella Girl”, who became famous very fast, and who faced change with courage. They will remember the six, the five, and the two, and they will remember that the music went on, even when the fairy tale changed. That is their mark, and it will not fade.
The Music of Two: Songs That Carry the Weight
The music that King & Prince have made as a duo deserves to be heard on its own terms, because it is different from the music of the six, and it is beautiful in a different way. Their album P, released in 2023, was the first album as a duo, and it showed two singers learning how to fill a space that had once been filled by six voices. The songs were still bright, still romantic, and still full of hope, but they were also quieter, closer, and more personal. A listener could hear the two voices clearly, could hear the space between them, and could feel the honesty of two people singing together, without hiding behind a crowd.
Their next album, Re:ERA, released in 2024, continued that growth, and it showed a duo that was becoming more confident in its new shape. The songs were more mature, the arrangements were richer, and the two members sounded more like themselves than ever before. They were not trying to sound like six people. They were trying to sound like two people, and they were succeeding. Their concerts as a duo were also different: smaller, more intimate, and more focused on the connection between the two members and their fans. A duo’s concert is a conversation, not a spectacle, and King & Prince’s duo concerts became conversations that their fans loved.
The duo’s music is a reminder that a song does not need many voices to be powerful. It needs two voices that trust each other, that listen to each other, and that sing with honesty. Nagase and Takahashi have those voices, and they have that trust, and their music shows it. When people look back on the King & Prince story, they will remember the big, bright songs of the six, but they will also remember the quiet, honest songs of the two, because those songs carry the weight of everything the group has been through, and they carry it with grace.
My Take:
When I think about King & Prince, I think about a fairy tale, and I think about what happens when a fairy tale meets the real world. The fairy tale was beautiful: six young princes, dressed in white and gold, singing about Cinderella, about dreams coming true, and about a love that could change everything. It was a story that made people smile, and it was a story that sold millions of records. But the real world is not a fairy tale, and the real world came for King & Prince very quickly. Members became ill, members left, and the group that had been six became two. I think that is a sad story, but I also think it is a true story, and true stories are worth telling, even when they are sad, because they teach us something that fairy tales cannot teach.
What I admire most about the two who remain, Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi, is that they stayed. It would have been easy to leave, to end the group, and to start again as solo artists. Many people would have done that, and no one would have blamed them. But they stayed, and they kept the name, and they kept the music going, even though the group was now only two people. I think that takes a kind of courage that is very rare. It is the courage to carry something heavy, not because it is easy, but because it matters. The name King & Prince mattered to them, and it mattered to their fans, and they were not willing to let it go. I respect that deeply, and I think their fans do, too.
I also think about the three who left, Hirano, Kishi, and Jinguji, and I want to be fair to them, because their story is also a part of this one. They were young men with dreams of their own, and they made a choice to leave and to start again with a new group, Number_i. I do not know the full reasons for their choice, and I would not pretend to know. What I know is that leaving a group you have been a part of since you were a teenager is a hard thing to do, and it takes courage, too. They left to follow their own path, and they have built a new career, and their fans have followed them. I think both choices, staying and leaving, take courage, and I think both choices deserve respect. A group is made of people, and people have the right to choose their own lives, even when those choices are painful for the fans.
The departure of Genki Iwahashi is the part of their story that I think about with the most sadness, and with the most respect. He left because of panic disorder, because his health made it impossible for him to perform in front of large crowds. I think that is a brave and honest decision, and I think it is a decision that many people in his position would not have had the courage to make. He chose his health over his fame, and that is a choice that should be celebrated, not mourned. He is still making music, on his own terms, and he is still a part of the King & Prince story, even though he is no longer in the group. I hope he is well, and I hope his story helps other young people who are struggling with their health to know that it is all right to stop, and that stopping is not failing.
I also think about the fans, the Tiara, and about what they went through. They loved six princes, and then they lost one, and then they lost three more, and they were left with two. That is a painful journey, and I think it is a journey that many fans of pop groups have taken, because groups change, and members leave, and the music changes with them. The fans who stayed with King & Prince are among the most loyal I have ever heard of, and their loyalty is a beautiful thing. It says that they did not love a number. They loved the music, the people, and the feeling, and those things survived, even when the group changed. I think that loyalty deserves to be honoured, and I think Nagase and Takahashi honour it every time they step on stage as a duo and sing for the fans who stayed.
There is a lesson in this story about dreams, and it is a lesson I think about often. We are told, when we are young, to dream big, and to believe that our dreams will come true exactly as we imagined them. But dreams do not always come true exactly as we imagined them. Sometimes they come true, and then they change. Sometimes they break, and we have to build them again in a new shape. King & Prince dreamed of being six princes, and that dream came true, and then it changed. The two who remain are living a different dream now, a dream of two princes carrying a crown that was made for six, and that dream is still a dream worth living. I think that is a powerful message for anyone whose dream has changed. A changed dream is still a dream, and it is still worth believing in.
I also think about the music itself, and about how it has changed since the group became a duo. The songs of the six were bright, big, and full of voices, like a chorus of princes singing together. The songs of the duo are smaller, closer, and more personal, like a conversation between two friends. I think both kinds of songs are beautiful, and I think the duo’s songs have a depth that the early songs did not have, because they carry the weight of everything the group has been through. When Nagase and Takahashi sing about love now, they sing about a love that has survived loss, and when they sing about hope now, they sing about a hope that has been tested. That is a different kind of hope, and it is a stronger kind, because it has been through hard times and it is still there.
There is another thing I want to say, and it is about the name itself, King & Prince. A king and a prince are two different things. A king rules, and a prince waits to rule. But in this group, the name means something else. It means that every member is both a king and a prince, both a leader and a dreamer, and that the group is a place where young men can be both strong and gentle, both royal and human. I think that is a beautiful idea, and I think it is one of the reasons the group’s image was so loved. It said that a young man could be a prince, not by being born into royalty, but by being kind, by working hard, and by believing in a dream. That is a message that many young people needed to hear, and it is a message that the duo are still singing, even now, as two.
I also think about the future, and about what will happen next for Nagase and Takahashi. I do not know, and I would not guess, because the future of any group is uncertain. What I know is that they have already done something remarkable: they kept a group alive when most people thought it would end, they kept singing when it would have been easier to stop, and they kept a promise to their fans when that promise had become very heavy to carry. Whatever happens next, they have already proved something important, which is that a group is not a number. A group is a promise, and a promise can be kept by two people just as well as it can be kept by six, if those two people believe in it enough.
If I could speak to a young person who is part of a group, whether it is a band, a team, or a circle of friends, I would tell them about King & Prince. I would say: love your group, work hard for it, and enjoy the fairy tale while it lasts. But know that groups change, that people leave, and that the dream may change shape. When it does, do not give up on it. Find the new shape, and live in it, honestly, the way Nagase and Takahashi have done. A changed dream is still a dream, and a group of two can still be a group, if the two people in it believe in the music, and in each other, and in the fans who stayed. That is what I take from their story, and it is a lesson I will not forget. The princes may be two now, but the crown is still there, and the music is still playing, and that is enough. I also think about the concerts, and about what it feels like to be in a room full of people who all love the same group. A King & Prince concert, whether it was six princes in a stadium or two princes in a hall, was a place where fans could be together, could sing together, and could feel as if they belonged to something bigger than themselves. That feeling of belonging is one of the greatest gifts that music can give, and it is a gift that King & Prince gave to their fans, year after year. The fans who were there will carry that feeling with them for the rest of their lives, and they will pass it on to others, by playing the songs, by telling the stories, and by keeping the crown shining, even when the group has changed.
There is one more thing I want to say, and it is about hope. King & Prince’s story is, in the end, a story about hope. It is about young men who hoped to become princes, and who did. It is about fans who hoped the fairy tale would last, and who learned that it could change and still be beautiful. And it is about two young men who hoped that the music could go on, and who proved that it could. Hope is not a naive thing. It is a brave thing, and it is the thing that keeps people going when the road is hard. Nagase and Takahashi kept hoping, and their fans kept hoping with them, and that hope is the reason King & Prince still exists today. As long as there is hope, there is music, and as long as there is music, there are princes, even if there are only two of them. I also think about the word “Tiara”, the name of King & Prince’s fans, and about what it means. A tiara is a crown, and it is worn by a princess, not by a prince. The fans chose that name, or rather, the group gave it to them, and it says something beautiful: the fans are not only watching the princes. They are a part of the fairy tale, wearing their own crowns, and sharing in the dream. I think that is a lovely idea, and it is one of the reasons the fans have stayed, even when the group changed. They are not only fans. They are a part of the story, and the story is theirs as much as it is the group’s. As long as the Tiara keep wearing their crowns, the princes will keep singing, and the fairy tale, in its new shape, will go on.
I also think about the lives the two princes have built outside the duo, because those lives make the duo stronger. Ren Nagase has become a well-known actor, taking on roles in dramas and films that show a quieter, more serious side of him than the bright prince on stage. Kaito Takahashi, meanwhile, is widely known for his love of art and painting, and for bringing that eye for colour and shape into everything he does. When two people have full lives of their own, they bring more to the work they do together, and I think that is true of Nagase and Takahashi. They are not only two halves of a group. They are two complete artists who choose, every day, to stand together and to carry a name that was made for six. That choice, made freely by two people who could stand alone, is what makes the duo honest, and it is what makes their fans trust them.
There is one song I keep coming back to, and it is “Cinderella Girl”, the song that started it all. It is a song about a girl who becomes a princess, about a dream that comes true in a single night, and it was the perfect debut for six princes in white and gold. Hearing it now, sung by two voices instead of six, I hear something different in it. I hear a promise that survived, a dream that changed shape and did not break. The girl in the song still becomes a princess, and the princes still sing to her, even though there are only two of them left to sing. I think that is the real magic of King & Prince. The fairy tale did not end when the members left. It changed, it grew smaller, and it became truer, because a promise kept by two people who have lost so much is a promise worth believing in. As long as they sing that song, the crown will shine, and the dream will go on. I also think about the future of King & Prince, and about the fans who will be there for it. The fans who stayed, the Tiara who kept their crowns, are the heart of the group’s future, because a group without fans is only a name, and a group with fans is a living thing. Nagase and Takahashi know that, and they sing for their fans, night after night, with gratitude and with love. I think that gratitude is the most important thing about the duo, and it is the thing that will carry them forward, whatever happens next. A group that is grateful to its fans is a group that will be loved, and King & Prince are grateful, and they are loved, and they will go on being loved for as long as they keep singing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the original members of King & Prince?
The original six members were Sho Hirano, Ren Nagase, Kaito Takahashi, Yuta Kishi, Yuta Jinguji, and Genki Iwahashi. They debuted in 2018 with “Cinderella Girl”.
When did King & Prince debut?
They debuted on 23 May 2018 with the single “Cinderella Girl”, which topped the charts and made them famous overnight.
Why did Genki Iwahashi leave King & Prince?
Iwahashi left in March 2021 after struggling with panic disorder. He had taken a break to focus on his health and decided he could not return to the group.
What happened to King & Prince in 2023?
In May 2023, Sho Hirano, Yuta Kishi, and Yuta Jinguji left the group, and the three later formed a new group called Number_i. King & Prince continued as a duo.
Who are the current members of King & Prince?
The current members are Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi, who continue as a duo. They have released albums including P and Re:ERA as a duo.
What are King & Prince’s most famous songs?
Their most famous songs include “Cinderella Girl”, “Memorial”, “Kimi wo Matteru”, “koi-wazurai”, and “Mazy Night”. Their fans are known as Tiara.
What does the name King & Prince mean?
The name comes from their early days as Mr. King vs Mr. Prince, two smaller groups that performed together. It reflects the group’s royal, fairy-tale image.
