World Order (band)

World Order
World Order during a performance in Bangkok in 2016
Background information
Origin	Japan
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Pony Canyon
Website	worldorder.jp
Members	Genki Sudo Yusuke Morisawa Akihiro Takahashi Hayato Uchiyama Ryuta Tomita
Past members	Kiyoyuki Sakiyama Ryo Noguchi Masato Ochiai Takashi Jonishi

World Order (stylized as WORLD ORDER) is a Japanese band formed by Genki Sudo following his retirement from mixed martial arts. The band is best known for their tightly choreographed robotic dance performances in public places.^[1] As of April 2018, World Order's YouTube channel has over 107 million views.^[2]

History

World Order was formed in 2009 by Genki Sudo and a group of male dancers following Sudo's retirement from mixed martial arts. Prior to this, Sudo had been a mixed martial arts fighter, Takushoku University Wrestling section director, and actor. Artists active in the techno genre such as Takashi Watanabe and Ken Ishii have helped to create World Order's musical image. In Japan, after several appearances on popular television programs, World Order's name recognition has expanded to the general public. The group has gained high praise, particularly from abroad, for their play on the visual stereotype of Japanese office workers and robotic dance performances. In a 2014 interview with the Japan Times, Sudo said, "When we started, I liked the idea of adding a bit of humor to the Hollywood stereotype that all Japanese people are serious so I decided we should dance in a robotic way wearing glasses and suits."^[3] On December 16, 2009, World Order released their eponymous debut song "World Order" on iTunes. On July 7, 2010, the band released their debut album, World Order. The band gained recognition for their 2011 song "Machine Civilization," which was produced in response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[4] On June 20, 2012, the band released their second album 2012, which peaked at 6th place on the Oricon Weekly Album chart.^[5] On December 17, 2014, the band released their third album Have a Nice Day. As of 2016, the group has traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, the United States, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, and India to shoot their music videos.

On March 15, 2012, at a promotional event for Dell Streak Pro in Tokyo, World Order set the Guinness World Record for "Largest Robot Dance" at 647 people. The band danced to their song "World Order" along with 640 dancers.^[6] This record was later broken in 2013 by the National Association of College and University Residence Halls at the University of Pittsburgh.^[7]

In February 2015, World Order was featured in the 26th season premiere of the CBS reality television show The Amazing Race. Teams had the opportunity to participate in a detour where they would attempt to mimic World Order's dance moves. The dance was set to the "Welcome to TOKYO" version of the song WORLD ORDER.

In October 2015, Genki Sudo resigned himself from being part of World Order as a dance member and lead vocalist, instead choosing to focus on being director and producer of the group. However, he is still occasionally featured as a member of the group in their new content, despite his departure. Masato Ochiai and Akihiro Takahashi have been put forward as the vocalists of the group.^[8][9]

In August 2017, Masato Ochiai left the group due to poor physical condition, making the group a five-member unit.^[10] This left Akihiro Takahashi as the sole lead vocalist of the group.

In January 2018, Genki Sudo announced his return as a dance member of World Order.^[11]

In June 2018, Takashi Jonishi announced his departure as a dance member of World Order. He has organized a new group specialized in a style called "Pull-Up Dance." Jonishi hopes that his group and World Order can perform together someday. He still cooperates with World Order as technical staff.^[12]

Discography

References

External links

• Official website