A crowd of 8,000 fans gathered at the first solo fan meeting of YG Entertainment’s rookie boy group, WINNER in Japan. YG Entertainment stated that on December 2, WINNER (Kang Seung-yun, Song Min-ho, Kim Jin-woo, Lee Seung-hoon, and Nam Tae-hyun) held their first official event in Japan entitled “Hello, WiNNER!” at Osaka Selcy Plaza, which was crowded with Japanese fans who eagerly waited to catch a glimpse of WINNER.

“Fans started coming early in the morning to see WINNER. Even before the event began, the plaza reached its capacity of 8,000 spectators even though it was a weekday. It was full of excitement,” said YG Entertainment. Members of WINNER introduced themselves and their excitement to be in Japan in excellent Japanese and showcased their talent through acts, including an a cappella, singing, and dancing.  

“All members of WINNER have a strong grasp of Japanese language as they already showed on the opening stage of BIGBANG’s Dome Tour where they sang their songs in Japanese. Even at the fan meeting, they could converse naturally with the MC,” said a Japanese staff member. “Fans who exchanged greetings with WINNER burst into tears, and the members of WINNER also looked happy to receive such warm welcome. The first event took place in Osaka, but there are endless requests for more events to be held across Japan.” 

Currently, WINNER is appearing for the opening act of BIGBANG’s tour at six largest domes in Japan. At BIGBANG’s Osaka Kyocera concert held on November 29 for three days, WINNER performed “Go Up,” a song that they composed themselves and a remake of Tamia’s “Officially Missing You” to more than 150,000 fans. They are busy honing both their musical talent and stage performance.