NAOYA

Kida Naoya (紀田直哉 born April 28, 2003 in Hyogo, Japan), known professionally as NAOYA (ナオヤ), is a Japanese singer and dancer under Japanese management company BMSG as a member of boy group MAZZEL, formed through documentary program MISSIONx2. He made his debut with the group with "Vivid" in May 2023.

Prior to joining BMSG, NAOYA was an EBiDAN trainee and a member of trainee unit BATTLE BOYS.

Biography

Main article: NAOYA/Biography

Early Life

NAOYA realized he liked singing and dancing at 3 years old^[1], after an older friend invited him to his dance recital^[2]. He would often get on the table and sing an dance like Hamasaki Ayumi while holding a fan. He started taking lessons at 9 years old, when a neighbor introduced him to a group that sang Showa era songs and he joined it for a while^[2].

In early 2015, NAOYA auditioned for EBiDAN with Checkers' "Giza Giza Heart no Komoriuta"^[2] and passed the audition, which gave him the chance to sign with Stardust Promotion in March.
Starting in 2017, NAOYA was a part of the selection project BATTLE BOYS, through which fans could vote for EBiDAN trainees that they wanted to see participate in the group's singles and various activities.

2018

In February, while NAOYA wasn't chosen to be a part of the BATTLE BOYS 1st Stage line-up, he was selected to be a part of the BATTLE BOYS OSAKA 1st Stage members, who released a b-side song for BATTLE BOYS 1st Stage single "ebidence" titled "Are you?" ^[3].

On August 4, he was selected to be a part of the BATTLE BOYS 2nd Stage line-up (as well as BATTLE BOYS OSAKA 2nd Stage members). BATTLE BOYS 2nd Stage released a single titled "Sha na na" on October 24, and BATTLE BOYS OSAKA 2nd Stage provided a b-side song named "Gera・Gera"^[4].

Through these first musical experiences, NAOYA realized that he didn't want to be an idol (in the traditional Japanese sense), but an artist who could aim for the world with his music, someone who could be admired for his skills instead of just his looks^[2].

2019

On February 3, NAOYA was selected to be a part of BATTLE BOYS 3rd Stage line-up (as well as BATTLE BOYS OSAKA 3rd Stage members). BATTLE BOYS 3rd Stage released a single titled "With you With me" on March 20 and BATTLE BOYS OSAKA 3rd Stage provided a b-side song titled "Kimi no Tame ni".^[5]
In August, he started modelling for magazine "nicola".
On August 28, NAOYA was selected to be a part of BATTLE BOYS 4th Stage line-up along with fellow MISSIONx2 contestant Ohara Kohei. The group released a single titled "NEXT ZONE" on September 25, and NAOYA also participated in b-side "Alterity".^[6]

2020

On February 12, BATTLE BOYS OSAKA released the single "Zubatto! Onomatope!".
On October 26, NAOYA was selected to be a part of BATTLE BOYS 5th Stage line-up along with fellow MISSIONx2 participant Ohara Kohei. The group released a single titled "Bokutachi to Kagayaku Mirai e". NAOYA also participated in the b-side "Moonlight Lovers".^[7]

2021

On March 28, during BATTLE BOYS LIVE 2021 -Bokutachi to Kagayaku Mirai e-, it was announced that NAOYA would no longer participate in future BATTLE BOYS activities.^[8]
On August 1, NAOYA left Stardust Promotion, inspired by Kimura Masaya's success on PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON2, which motivated NAOYA to seek new challenges outside the company and follow his dream of "going to the world". Masaya had been his dance teacher as an EBiDAN trainee.

While NAOYA cherishes his time in EBiDAN and considers it a fun experience overall (especially because of the friends he made, with whom he's still in touch), he was also repeatedly hurt by the staff's words, which caused him to lose confidence in his skills and charm, so while he's glad he had the experience, he wishes he didn't have to go through that pain^[2].
EBiDAN taught NAOYA the "fear of jealousy" and the "truth about the entertainment industry". He was not being recognized for his talent or charm nor getting rewarded for it despite putting in a lot of effort, so he decided to look for adults who would appreciate his strengths and talents elsewhere^[2].

Immediately after quitting EBiDAN, NAOYA started learning singing and dancing from scratch, even taking dance lessons alongside elementary schoolers. For singing, he took lessons online, watched YouTube videos, and went to karaoke every day to practice. He remodeled his house to make it better suited to his practice needs, building a dance room and changing the closet so it would be appropriate for vocal lessons. He paid for all expenses with his own money^[2].

Around this time, NAOYA found out about BMSG. He was really attracted to the "to not kill talent" mission and the nurturing of individuality, and he loved the music released by the artists, but he was really set on debuting in Korea (thinking it was the only way to go to the world), so he tried to forget about it^[2].

2022

In March, he graduated from magazine "nicola".
In April, he auditioned for Nizi Project Season 2 with "God's Menu" by Stray Kids, and he was put on hold before getting the chance to advance to the Tokyo training camp.^[9]
Around June, NAOYA applied for the BMSG AUDITION 2022, feeling that if he didn't do it, he would truly regret it^[2]. In July, he took part in the 2nd round, where he sang Be Free and danced to Bye-Good-Bye. After meeting SKY-HI in person, he knew BMSG was the only place where he wanted to debut, so in order to participate in the 3rd round of the audition (despite being scared that he wouldn't pass) he rejected a debut offer from a Korean company^[10][2].

2023

On February 10, NAOYA was revealed to be a member of MAZZEL.
On March 31, MAZZEL released their pre-debut single MISSION.
On May 17, MAZZEL released their debut single Vivid.

2024

On September 18, he released Swan's War as a member of BMSG SKY.
On November 26, he participated in BMSG presents THE GAME CENTER, BMSG's first ever Sports Day event, as part of team Blue Shooters.

2025

On March 1, he appeared as a guest runway model at TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION 2025 SPRING/SUMMER.
On March 23, he was a guest runway model at TBS AKASAKA COLLECTION produced by TGC.
On April 5, he will walk the runway at TGC in Osaka, Kansai Expo 2025.
On June 20, his first film Kimi ga Tokubetsu will release in theaters.

Artistry

Since young, NAOYA admired artists such as Otsuka Ai and Hamasaki Ayumi. When he became a teenager, he started listening exclusively to K-pop and wanted to be a K-pop idol. Once he joined MAZZEL, he started listening to J-pop again. He's a big fan of Ikuta Lilas, who has made him realize what it means that a voice is an instrument^[2].

NAOYA likes the BMSG environment that allows him to have freedom while making music and, most importantly, to enjoy the process. His old feelings of jealousy and rivalry towards everyone have dissipated, and he now has fun everyday with his group mates. He's now able to express his true self, down to his hairstyle, since he doesn't have to please anyone else. He doesn't have to try to come off a certain way anymore, and now he is just his natural self all the time^[2].

When dancing, NAOYA pays a lot of attention to hand positioning and delicate movements, thanks to his jazz dance experience^[2]. As for his role within MAZZEL, he thinks his distinctive, husky voice always changes the mood of the song. He also wants to be the one who embodies the worldview of each of their songs^[2].

He considers the group to be "indispensable" to him, and he's confident that they will never fall apart. They help and improve each other, as well as cheer each other on^[2].

His goal as an artist is to perform on bigger stages and be known by more people, and he would also like to be a producer for someone else someday^[2]. His biggest dream for MAZZEL is to play many summer festivals ^[11] and to appear on NHK's Kouhaku Uta Gassen^[2]. As a person, he wants to make more friends and learn about different values and ways of living life. He's also interested in becoming a YouTuber and showing various sides of himself and things he likes^[2].

Personal Life

Name Meaning
NAOYA's given name, "直哉" means "honesty" (直), while "哉" is used for emphasis.

Nicknames

• Nao (なお): most common nickname used by MAZZEL members
• Nao-chan (なおちゃん): used by KAIRYU and SEITO
• Nao-kun (なおくん): used by himself
• Nao-tan (なおたん): used by himself and his fans during his EBiDAN days
• Animal Nao (アニマルなお): used by himself and his fans during his EBiDAN days

Friendships

• SHUNTO: NAOYA is close with BE:FIRST member SHUNTO because they're the same age.
• RAN: NAOYA is close with fellow MAZZEL member RAN
• HAYATO: NAOYA is close with fellow MAZZEL member HAYATO
• EIKI: NAOYA is close with fellow MAZZEL member EIKI.

Family
He has an older brother and an older sister. His sister has a son^[12][13][2].

His parents opposed him pursuing the performing arts, and they also opposed him leaving EBiDAN. Now that he's in MAZZEL, they are his biggest fans and go to their shows very often^[2].

NAOYA has kept many pets at his parents' home in Kobe: 5 male and 4 female chabo chickens (one of them named Kinako), rabbit(s), parakeet(s), goldfish, medaka, shrimp, pond loach ^[14], and a male cream dachshund named Kurin ^[15]. He also had 9 hamsters over the years^[16] and a canary called Pitch, which passed away on July 5, 2017 ^[17].

Education
In March 2022, NAOYA graduated from high school.
In April 2022, NAOYA started attending a top university in Kansai, where he studied business administration (and got certified as a bookkeeper) with the goal of starting his own company to produce other artists and do whatever he wanted. As of 2023, he's on a leave of absence to focus on MAZZEL^[2].

During school, his favorite subjects were Social Studies and Music^[18]. He was good at PE and sports (he was in the swimming and soccer clubs)^[19], and bad at English and Social Studies (despite loving it), so he spent a lot of time studying and working on them and got good test scores^[20]. Since his parents opposed him pursuing the performing arts, he decided that what he needed to do to reassure them was to get a career and get into a good university as a safety net, so he worked really hard on studying for the entrance exams. Since he's aware of the ebbs and flows of a career in entertainment, he wants to continue studying later in life^[2].

Profile

Discography

Main article: NAOYA/Discography

Live Events

Main article: NAOYA/Live Events

Other Works

Publications

Main article: NAOYA/Publications

See also: MAZZEL/Publications

Trivia

He took piano classes when he was young[19]. There was a period of time when he really wanted to stop dancing, because the teacher was giving him outfits for the girls to wear in performances, which made him uncomfortable. It was fine after he switched to a dance school that was only for boys[19]. Since he has kept so many pet chickens, he doesn't eat chicken anymore. [34] NAOYA slept with his pet dog Kurin every night until he had to move to Tokyo for MAZZEL's activities. He now sleeps with a dog plushie that looks a lot like Kurin [15] He's scared of riding ferris wheels, but he's fine with roller coasters [35]. He had the mumps when he was 12 years old [36]. While he was an EBiDAN trainee, he looked up to Yamazaki Haruki and Ikeda Hyoma[37][29]. Among MAZZEL, him and KAIRYU are considered the funniest members. [38] If MAZZEL go to a haunted house, he wants to take RAN and KAIRYU with him. RAN because they're close, and KAIRYU because if someone is beside him saying "It's not that scary!" or "What are you being so scared for?" he will feel better and it won't be as scary as he thinks it is. [39] He used to run a lot, especially during the evening when the sun sets. His house in his hometown is close to the sea, so he’d do a seaside run and also swim a bit. [40] Among MAZZEL, him and TAKUTO like nail polish the most. [41] He loves cooking and he'd like to get cooking-related jobs[42] He loves sweets and desserts [42] That is why SEITO considers him the sweetest member of MAZZEL. When NAOYA went to SEITO's parents' house, he ate a whole fruit plate by himself[27]. TAKUTO also considers him the sweetest member due to his expressions on stage[27].

References