Coboy Junior was established on 23 July 2011, when manager Patrick Effendy called Aldi, Bastian, Iqbaal, and Rizky together for private auditions. The boys had previously performed together in Laskar Pelangi: The Musical and the film Lima Elang; they had also all performed well in singing competitions. Effendy, meanwhile, had previously established a group of child singers which performed under the name Superkids. The band emerged during a period in which new bands of young singers (both boys and girls) were becoming increasingly common; other groups established around this time include Lollipop, Superseven and Swittin. Coboy Junior's initial target audience was preteens, aged 10 to 13. However, Effendy changed their focus, aiming at a wider audience – including adults. The band, aside from their vocals, emphasises costumes andchoreography. Their songs often deal with themes of love. The band is sometimes criticised by adults for this, as the adults feel that they are too young to understand or sing of romantic love. In response, Rizky says that it is normal for 12- to 13-year-old boys to like girls, and that there is no issue so long as the band does not go too deep into the dynamics of love. Effendy, likewise, says that parents have to realise that preteens are already beginning to have romantic feelings towards one another. He also notes business considerations behind the focus on love: as Indonesian children tend to listen to songs meant for adults, they are more accustomed to lyrics about love and thus more interested. By January 2013 Coboy Junior's single "Eeaa", about puppy love, had made the band nationally popular. They had released three other singles by that time: "Kamu" ("You"), "Kenapa Mengapa" ("Why oh Why"), and "Terhebat" ("The Best"). Bastian, in an interview, suggested that at least 70 percent of Indonesians had heard of them by this time. The band's management utilised this popularity to gather new chances at promotion. For instance, in January 2013 the band made an appearance in the soap opera Hanya Kamu #2(Only You #2). The band was scheduled to begin a national tour, styled the CJR Generation Tour 2013, from April to December 2013. They were to play in 30 Indonesian cities, ranging fromSabang in western Indonesia to Merauke in the east. Owing to the members still studying in regular junior high schools, the band was only allowed to tour on weekends; weekdays were dedicated to schooling, although practice sessions could still be held. On 5 June 2013 the band released a movie, titled Coboy Junior: The Movie. In two days the film, directed by Anggy Umbara and costarring Astri Nurdin, Fay Nabila, Abimana Aryasatya, Nirina Zubir, and Dewi Sandra, was seen by over 150,000 people. The film followed the bandmembers as they underwent personal development and attempted to win a mixed singing and dancing competition.[10] Bastian left Coboy Junior in February 2014. Afterwards, the group was renamed CJR - an abbreviation which was already in popular usage to refer to the band.
