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Be:First
Logo of Be:First
Logo of Be:First
Background information
OriginJapan
GenresJ-pop
Years active2021–present
LabelsBMSG, B-ME
Members
  • Sota
  • Shunto
  • Manato
  • Ryuhei
  • Junon
  • Ryoki
  • Leo
Websitebefirst.tokyo

Be:First (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese dance and vocal boy band formed and managed by BMSG and signed to B-ME, a joint record label with Avex.[1] The group was formed on August 13, 2021 and debuted on November 3, 2021, through the reality competition show The First, which is hosted by Sky-Hi.[2][3] They are BMSG's first act, after Sky-Hi created the company feeling there were many problems in the Japanese music industry including talent having only a few places to show themselves in Japan, and instead would opt to go to Korean companies, hereby creating an outflow of Japanese talent to Korea.[4]

The group has 7 members: Sota, (Born 18th January 2001) Shunto, (Born 1st September 2003) Manato, (Born 29th April 2001) Ryuhei, (Born 7th November 2006) Junon, (Born 23rd May 1998) Ryoki (Born 26th April 1999) and Leo (Born 8th September 1998)

Name

The group's name, Be:First, was chosen with the intention of "always aiming for the top", and Sky-Hi hopes that the group will "continue to respect and love the fact that others are number one at the same time as they continue to be number one themselves".[5] Their official fandom name is Besty (stylized in all caps), which was coined by combining the first and last two letters of the group's name to mean bestie (best friend).[6]

History

2021: Formation and debut

On April 2, the audition of The First (stylized in all caps) started airing on Nippon Television Network's information program Sukkiri and online streaming service Hulu.[7] On August 13, the group name and members were announced on the last episode of the audition program.[8] On August 16, the group's digital pre-debut track, "Shining One", was released[9]

On the Billboard Japan chart released on August 25, their digital pre-debut track, "Shining One", made its first appearance at number one on the Download Songs, number two on the Streaming Songs, and number two on the overall Japan Hot 100.[10] The song was also ranked number one on the Oricon Weekly Digital Single ranking on the same day, and ranked first on the Oricon Weekly Streaming ranking. Be:First became the second artists in history to achieve this double crown that the same work has reached number one in both the weekly digital single and streaming rankings simultaneously.[11]

Despite their pre-debut, Be:First performed on several TV programs, including NTV's Sukkiri (August 25) and Buzzrhythm 02 (September 10), NHK's Shibuya no Oto (September 11), and TV Tokyo's Premiere Melodix! (September 11).[12][13][14][15] The group was also featured in the industry magazine Nikkei Entertainment.[16] Be:First appeared on September 18 as the opening act at SuperSonic2021, a music festival held as an alternative event to Summer Sonic Festival, and gave their first performance in front of an audience.[17]

On 3rd November, they made their major debut with the release of their first single " Gifted " which topped at No. 1 on Billboard Japan Hot 100. Within a week of the release, it had more than 14 million streams, the 3rd highest number of weekly streams in Oricon history behind BTS and LiSA.

2022–present: Be:1

Be:First collaborated with Jonas Blue to release the Japanese version of "Don't Wake Me Up" on July 13, 2022.[18] The group released their debut studio album Be:1 (stylized in all caps) on August 31, preceded by their first two singles, "Gifted.", and "Bye-Good-Bye".[19] The album topped at No.1 on Billboard Japan Hot Albums [1] BE:1 was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for having sold over 100,000 copies [2] with them later embarking on their first national tour, BE:FIRST 1st One Man Tour "BE:1" 2022-2023

They released a number of charting songs in 2022 and 2023 including the No.1 songs "Bye-Good-Bye", "Scream", "Boom Boom Back" [3] and "Mainstream" [4] Following the digital release of Bye-Good-Bye, BE:FIRST became the first artist in Oricon history to achieve #1 rankings in both downloads and streams in same week for a single work three times - the previous two being Shining One and Gifted [5] In another history making achievement, with the release of Scream BE:FIRST became the first artist to have five songs win two #1 Oricon digital ranking titles for a single work within the same week [6] With Boom Boom Back, BE:FIRST achieved their 7th #1 on Oricon's Weekly Digital Song chart. The song also was #1 on the Streaming chart giving them a digital "double crown," thus breaking their own record and making them artist with the most digital double crowns for a single work in history.[20] They continued break records when Mainstream topped both the Oricon Digital Song Ranking and Streaming Ranking bringing their total number of digital "double crowns" to 7, the most for any artist in Oricon history.[21]

They embarked on their BE:FIRST ARENA TOUR 2023-2024 "Mainstream" which is their first national arena tour. It will be held from November 1, 2023 through February 24, 2024 in 9 cities, over a total of 22 shows [7] . They further added 4 more shows for March and April, BE:FIRST Live in Dome 2024 “ Mainstream “ - Masterplan. With 2 shows each at the Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome. All 4 dome shows sold out within 3 minutes of tickets going on sale. [8]

Members

Credits adapted from the official website.[22]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions, sales and certifications
Title Details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
JPN
[23] 		JPN
Cmb.
[24] 		JPN
Hot
[25]
Be:1 1 1 1

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, certifications and album name
Title Year Peaks Sales Certifications Album
JPN
[28] 		JPN
Cmb.
[29] 		JPN
Hot
[30]
"Gifted." 2021 2 2 1
  • RIAJ:
Be:1
"Bye-Good-Bye" 2022 3 2 1
  • RIAJ:
"Don't Wake Me Up"
(with Jonas Blue) 		— 26 16 Non-album singles
"Smile Again" 2023 2 2 2
  • RIAJ: Gold (phy.)[36]
"Salvia" — 8 41
"Mainstream" 2 2 1
"Glorious" — 10 7
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Promotional singles

List of promotional singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, certifications and album name
Title Year Peaks Certifications Album
JPN
Cmb.
[29] 		JPN
Hot
[30]
"Shining One" 2021 3 2
  • RIAJ: Gold (st.)[38]
 Be:1
"Kick Start" 5 7 Gifted.
"Brave Generation" 2022 7 6 Be:1
"Betrayal Game" 3 3
"Scream" 3 1
"Boom Boom Back" 2023 2 1
  • RIAJ: Gold (st.)[39]
 Smile Again
"Bye-Good-Bye (From the First Take)" — 35 Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Other charted songs

List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peaks Album
JPN
Hot
[30]
"BF Is..." 2022 70 Be:1
"Great Mistakes" 2023 80 Smile Again

References

  1. ^ Inc, Natasha. "SKY-HI「才能を殺さない為に。」新会社BMSG設立、Novel Coreが移籍してメジャーデビュー（コメントあり）". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-21. ((cite web)): |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ "BE:FIRST デビューシングル「Gifted.」リリース". befirst.tokyo (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  3. ^ "SKY-HIプロデュース7人組「BE：FIRST」誕生 メンバーに覚悟を問う一幕も【全員コメント】". 中日新聞 (in Japanese). ORICON NEWS. 2021-08-13. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  4. ^ "SKY-HI、"奇跡の同世代"三代目JSB・OMI（登坂広臣）に"突発的な"提案 会場の歓声止まず＜イノフェス2023＞ - モデルプレス". モデルプレス - ライフスタイル・ファッションエンタメニュース (in Japanese). 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  5. ^ "「THE FIRST」デビューメンバー7人が決定！グループ名は『BE:FIRST』". モデルプレス (in Japanese). WEBザテレビジョン. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  6. ^ BE:FIRST [@BEFIRSTofficial] (August 13, 2021). "BE:FIRSTのファンネームが決定!" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-25 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "SKY-HIによるボーイズグループ発掘オーディション 『THE FIRST』、『スッキリ』放送同日にHuluにて完全版配信". Real Sound (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  8. ^ "ボーイズグループオーディション「THE FIRST」いよいよ最終回！デビューメンバーとSKY-HIが『スッキリ』に生出演！" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  9. ^ "SKY-HI主催オーディションから生まれたBE:FIRST、プレデビュー曲MVのプレミア公開決定" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  10. ^ "【ビルボード】BE:FIRST「Shining One」堂々のDLソング1位、MISIA／ヨルシカがトップ10デビュー". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  11. ^ "SKY-HI主催オーディションで誕生のBE:FIRST、「Shining One」がデジタルランキング2冠【オリコンランキング】". ORICON MUSIC (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  12. ^ "BE:FIRST、プレデビュー曲「Shining One」を日テレ系『スッキリ』で初の生パフォーマンス". Yahoo! JAPAN News (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  13. ^ "バズリズム０２" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  14. ^ "シブヤノオト「マンウィズ・ＢＥ：ＦＩＲＳＴ・フランシュシュ・さとうもか」". NHK+ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  15. ^ プレミアMelodiX! [@tx_melodix] (September 12, 2021). "本日のラインナップ⇒ 【ゲスト】BE:FIRST、Panorama Panama Town、acane、甘党男子" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-20 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "BE:FIRST 日本の音楽界に"革命"を巻き起こす7人". 日経エンタテインメント！2021年10月号 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Nikkei Business Publications. 2021-09-03. pp. 112–127. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  17. ^ "SUPERSONIC2021". Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  18. ^ "ジョナス・ブルー×BE:FIRSTコラボ曲リリース「新しい『Don't Wake Me Up』を届けられたら」". Oricon (in Japanese). July 13, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  19. ^ "BE:FIRST、新録「Be Free」8・1先行配信 初アルバム『BE:1』全曲クレジット公開". Oricon (in Japanese). July 31, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "BE:FIRST「Boom Boom Back」が「デジタル2冠」達成【オリコンランキング】". ORICON NEWS. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  21. ^ "BE:FIRST「Mainstream」、通算7作目のデジタル2冠達成【オリコンランキング】". ORICON NEWS. 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  22. ^ "BE:FIRSTメンバープロフィール！人気順/性格/カラーは？公式サイトやSNS情報も". PRIME (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  23. ^ "BE:FIRSTのアルバム売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  24. ^ "BE:FIRSTの合算アルバム売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  25. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/09/07 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  26. ^ "【オリコン年間ランキング2022】King & Prince、今年度唯一のミリオン達成で自身初の「シングル」首位 Snow Man初の「アルバム」1位 / アルバムランキング 1位~25位". Oricon (in Japanese). December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "Japanese album certifications – BE:FIRST – BE:1" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 26, 2022. Select 2022年8月 on the drop-down menu
  28. ^ "BE:FIRSTのシングル売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "BE:FIRSTの合算シングル売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
    Chart positions not listed in the main source:
  30. ^ a b c Peaks on the Billboard Japan Hot 100:
  31. ^ "Japanese single certifications – BE:FIRST – Gifted" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 15, 2022. Select 2021年11月 on the drop-down menu
  32. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – BE:FIRST – Gifted" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 15, 2022. Select 2022年1月 on the drop-down menu
  33. ^ "Japanese single certifications – BE:FIRST – Bye-Good-Bye" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 10, 2022. Select 2022年5月 on the drop-down menu
  34. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – BE:FIRST – Bye-Good-Bye" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved November 29, 2022. Select 2022年10月 on the drop-down menu
  35. ^ 週間 シングルランキング 2023年05月08日付 [Weekly Single Ranking for May 8, 2023] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  36. ^ "Japanese single certifications – BE:FIRST – Smile Again" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 12, 2023. Select 2023年4月 on the drop-down menu
  37. ^ 週間 シングルランキング 2023年09月25日付 [Weekly Single Ranking for September 25, 2023] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  38. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – BE:FIRST – Shining One" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 27, 2022. Select 2022年5月 on the drop-down menu
  39. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – BE:FIRST – Boom Boom Back" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved October 26, 2023. Select 2023年9月 on the drop-down menu

External links

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