A shared love for dance and music brought together college
friends, R Kartik, Himanshu Gola, Rohit Singh, Vishnu Kumar, and Dennis Anthony
to form boy band MJ5 in 2013. After claiming several titles for their
impeccable dance moves including the world record for having almost 26
different variations of the moonwalk, they have now made their singing debut
with the “vision to be one of the best millennial powerhouse boy band
sensations and India’s answer to BTS & K-Pop music.”

 “We are inspired by everyday life and everyday people.
Our brand ethos is deeply rooted in the common man. When it’s the dance we are
inspired by Michael Jackson, Beyonce Knowles, Joaquín Cortés. Our inspiration
when it comes to music are many – Badshah, Ed Sheeran, BTS, Justin Bieber,” R
Kartik, the founder of MJ5, told Opoyi. 

He also says that they realised about singing debut 3 years
ago “when we started performing a lot and going on tours.”

“ The idea stemmed from the vision that we can be India’s
next big boy band who can dance, sing, perform and put on a grandiose 360-degree
show. We felt we could do a lot more creatively and there was a lot of scope
for experimentation and expansion since India primarily lacks a solid boy band
culture,” he said.

Titled ‘Bawaal’, their debut Hindi track is composed by
Dixant Shaurya and Nitish R Kumar in association with One Digital
Entertainment. Directed by Kishalay Tiwari and Nitish R Kumar who has worked
along with maestro A. R. Rahman for over a decade, the colourful retro-esque
music video was shot in Maldives and compliments the cheerleader vibe,
pre-weekend feels, and rich vocals of the banger summer anthem. 

“Our first track is about spreading positivity, love, and
happiness in turbulent times we live in. It’s a song of hope and cheer. We
created the song with a motive that whoever listens to it feels a sense of
motivation,” said Kumar.

The band has painstakingly carved a legacy for
themselves with their iconic locking and popping animative style, a rather new
dance form that has influenced Gen Z worldwide. They also have millions of fans
worldwide, including stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Remo D’Souza, and Govinda

So is dancing going to take a back seat now? To this, Anthony said, “We are going to be taking our dancing to the next level and will
be experimenting with newer styles. We are exploring newer concepts and genres
of dance that will complement our new avatar. Dancing will never take a back
seat but will only get an upgrade because that’s our first love.”

Talking about their their successful journey in the industry, Gola says that one word to do that would be blessed. 

“In the beginning, it was very hard to convince our family
and friends with regards to the choice of our profession and passion. There were
financial constraints and we had to undertake odd jobs as a means to our daily
livelihood. There was a lot of societal backlashes and peer pressure but we
defeated the naysayers and we built a name for ourselves amidst all the
criticism. It’s a huge blessing to live life as we wanted to and finding a
purpose to our passion,” he told Opoyi.

Sharma added, “After winning the reality show, forming a boy
band was our next big mission, but we knew that it would take time and effort.
We toiled for 5 years relentlessly. It’s about enjoying the journey rather than
being fixated with the destination as life will always be a roller coaster ride
but it’s about going with the flow, staying optimistic, and knowing change is
the only constant.”

Talking about how their failures helped them in their
journey, Singh said, “Failure has empowered us to come back stronger with a
more resilient front.I remember our reality show week when things didn’t go
right, we pushed ourselves to the edge and never stopped believing in our goals
and dreams. In fact, failure has made us forge a stronger brotherly bond
amongst one another.”

So what next after this?

“More singles, features, and collaborations to follow this
year with lots of new styles of dance and music,” Karthik wraps up.