Playing the most popular student in school, Junior Roberts discovers that true freedom means learning to live beyond other people’s expectations.

JAKARTA, August 10, 2026 — When Junior Roberts was cast as Kaizen in Viu Original Garam Muda, hipdut was a musical world he barely knew. What initially felt unfamiliar soon became an unexpected gateway into understanding his character—a popular teenager struggling to find the courage to make choices for himself.

“Honestly, at first I didn’t know much about hipdut,” Junior said during the Garam Muda press conference in Jakarta on Friday, August 7.

That quickly changed once production got underway. Hipdut music was frequently played on set before filming, gradually becoming part of the atmosphere surrounding the cast and crew. The more Junior heard it, the more he began to appreciate its infectious energy.

“Every time a scene was about to start, the music would keep playing. Eventually, I thought, ‘This is actually pretty fun. Hipdut is really good for dancing.’ Little by little, I started dancing along and enjoying it,” he recalled.

But Junior’s exploration of hipdut went far beyond learning the music and choreography. In Garam Muda, the genre becomes part of Kaizen’s journey toward breaking free from the image that has defined him.

Kaizen is introduced as the most popular student at school. He is accustomed to thinking about how others see him and carefully maintaining his public image. Yet beneath that popularity is a teenager who has not entirely figured out what he truly wants for himself.

For Junior, that search for freedom is one of the series’ most important messages.

“One of the key messages emphasized in this series about hipdut is that we are free to have our own dreams, free to express ourselves, and free to decide what we want to pursue in life,” he said.

When Popularity Becomes a Pressure

Kaizen’s perspective begins to shift when he meets Annet, played by Aisyah Aqilah. The two have almost opposite views of popularity.

While Kaizen is deeply conscious of how other people perceive him, Annet has little interest in anything overly flashy—or in being considered popular at school.

Their contrasting personalities create more than just romantic chemistry. Their relationship also pushes Kaizen to question the way he has been living and the importance he has placed on other people’s opinions.

“At the beginning of the story, Kaizen is the most popular kid. The message we want to convey is that we don’t need to care too much about public opinion,” Junior explained. “What matters more is our own feelings, our hearts, and what we want in life. We don’t have to worry too much about what other people say.”

It is a message that gives Garam Muda more depth than a typical high-school romance. Beneath its colorful setting and youthful energy, the series explores the pressure of maintaining an image—and what happens when that image starts to conflict with who you really are.

Going Back to His High School Days

Playing Kaizen also gave Junior the chance to revisit a familiar period of life: his high school years.

Although he has experienced school life himself, portraying a contemporary teenager required him to rethink the way his character moved, spoke, and reacted.

In everyday life, Junior describes himself as more relaxed in his movements and calmer in conversation. Kaizen, on the other hand, speaks faster and behaves with a more spontaneous energy.

“If we think back, young people sometimes talk faster and suddenly have a lot to say. Those are the kinds of things you have to pay attention to,” he said. “So, it’s about remembering what being young felt like.”

That attention to small details helps bring Kaizen to life as more than just the stereotypical popular student. Behind the confidence and social status is a teenager trying to understand what he wants—and whether he is willing to step outside the expectations surrounding him.

Finding Freedom Through Music and Romance

Through Kaizen’s journey, Garam Muda offers a different look at teenage popularity. Instead of focusing solely on the glamorous side of being the school’s most admired student, the series explores the pressure that comes with constantly protecting an image.

The story combines those themes with youthful romance, comedy, and hipdut music, giving the series a distinctive identity.

For Junior, hipdut ultimately became more than an unfamiliar genre he encountered on set. It helped him connect with Kaizen’s world and opened the door to an experience he never expected when he first joined the project.

Viu Original Garam Muda stars Junior Roberts, Aisyah Aqilah, Zoe Levana, Catherine Alicia, and other young talents. The 12-episode romantic comedy series has been streaming exclusively on Viu since August 7, 2026.

At its heart, Garam Muda is a coming-of-age story about learning to stop living for an audience—and finding the confidence to choose your own path