If anyone is curious about who is BE:FIRST, tell them to ask their BESTY.
BE:FIRST made their debut in Singapore on 5 July at the Capitol Theatre, as part of the “Who is BE:FIRST?” World Tour 2025. The two-hour sold-out show was the final stop of the world tour, and also the final show for member RYOKI as he temporarily suspends his activities with the group.
The members proved that they were all-rounders with unique qualities for singing, dancing, and rapping.
The mostly Japanese crowd was greeted with two surprises – sneak previews of Singapore’s National Day Parade, as well as an opening act by fellow BMSG artist REIKO.
Opening Act: REIKO
REIKO, who was also part of the audition show THE FIRST that produced BE:FIRST, did an opening cheer with ‘Take It Back’, an upbeat song that incorporates the US sound of the early 90s. This was followed by ‘LOVE DEEPER’ as he gave a passionate performance decked in a light brown suit with a striped polo tee.
He may have cracked his voice a little, but that did not deter the crowd from feeling ‘So Good’ with his final vocal heavy performance. The crowd clapped along with Reiko’s smile.
It was then time for BE:FIRST to show off their high energy and vocals.
The seven-member dance and vocal group opened with an obvious choice from their discography, ‘Mainstream’. Dressed in various casual fits, they started strong with the hard-hitting choreography thought of by member SOTA and dancer ReiNa, who often choreograph their songs including their latest 2025 single.
The impressive dance number continued with back-to-back performances to ‘Spacecraft’ and ‘Brave Generation’. They got the crowd to clap and put their hands up as they moved across the stage and uplifted the atmosphere.
It was satisfying to watch them perform stably as the LED screen on stage switched between different visuals that fit the songs and showcased the translated English lyrics for a few songs.
SOTA gave a quick shoutout to Singapore before bringing the crowd back to ‘Boom Boom Back’. While JUNON was goofing off with LEO and the older members were teasing each other on stage, the moment it came to their parts, they immediately clocked in to hit the cool high notes. There were no fancy effects or backing track, so the stable, clean vocals resounded on stage. This was coupled by their tight choreography created by KAITA and KAZ the FIRE from RHT.
SOTA came prepared as the centre for the dance break to ‘Milli-Billi’.
BE:FIRST then moved from rap heavy tracks to play a softer danceable UK Garage beat with ‘Grow Up’. RYUHEI did a beautiful pirouette during the chorus, which would definitely do the choreographer, Noppo from s**t kingz, proud.
They sang beautiful falsetto and high notes for the song that showcases an attitude of achieving growth by continuing to change to stay the same in the ever-changing times.1
Chats with BESTY
BE:FIRST took the time to introduce themselves, with MANATO and RYOKI taking the lead in English. SOTA also asked about REIKO’s performance and thanked BESTYs for coming.
Besides sharing their music, BE:FIRST stuck to their word to talk about the local culture and shared their experience in Singapore during the stage talk2.
It was cute how the youngest member, RYUHEI, quipped that “Singapore too hot,” to which SOTA responded by wiping his perspiration using a towel. The towel caught the red dye from his permed red hair, dyed specially for the lion city.
RYUHEI also shared that they ate MOS Burger, McDonald’s, and gyudon which tasted different from the Japanese version. Other members shared that they liked chili crab and paper-wrapped chicken and visited the Merlion Park.
LEO treated the crowd like a friend as he recounted his day in Singapore where he got a body and foot massage and told the masseuse to be softer, but then feeling bad when he wanted it to be stronger. He did not say anything to the masseuse in the end but got RYOKI to translate the story for him for his BESTYs.
Showing Who’s First
Along with the sound of rain drops, it signaled MANATO, JUNON, LEO and RYUHEI to show a dedicated performance to ‘Softly’. Four microphone stands were brought onto the stage to make it a swooning performance.
The crowd probably needed help to decide which member to focus on during ‘SOS’ afterwards, because each BE:FIRST member had a strong stage presence.
SOTA stood out with tight and powerful moves and insane musicality, but the other members were also skillful enough to keep the audience engaged.
The rappers of the group, SHUNTO, RYOKI and SOTA, took their BESTYs for a ‘Spin!’, speeding off with their swagger to the hip-hop track. The LED screen showed the car they were in with a cool indicator of the member performing that verse.
It was then part of their ‘Masterplan’ to ensure BE:FIRST’s quality did not dim one bit, and performed the quick and intense choreography to the hip-hop tune flawlessly.
During ‘Scream’, RYOKI and SOTA went all out during the duo parts as they faced off and got the crowd riled up to the intense, exhilarating dance track.
“This is BE:FIRST energy”
BE:FIRST thanked their BESTYs with ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’. MANATO asked the crowd to sing along if they knew the lyrics, while the rest of the members got them to wave and clap their hands, and jumped along to the chorus.
The audience was even more excited when ‘GRIT’ played. The song that exemplifies BE:FIRST’s roots and its future direction takes the classic hip-hop sound and gave it a fresh, contemporary twist.
The members also had fun during the cypher for ‘GRIT’, with MANATO feeling the beat with body waves, head isolations and his outerwear removed, followed by RYOKI’s footwork and smooth knee movement.
After the consecutive performance, BE:FIRST took the time to converse with the crowd, this time asking for sightseeing recommendations for their next day off. Fan suggestions included Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore and Night Safari. RYUHEI said he wanted to go somewhere dangerous, and LEO quipped that visiting the Night Safari sounded scary but interesting.
BE:FIRST also mooted the idea of an after party together either at the beach or concert venue. SHUNTO teased MANATO as the “tequila strong boy” as they were talking about drinks for the after party, while MANATO complained about RYOKI leaving a puddle of sweat on stage.
LEO continued the bickering on stage as he called their emcee sloppy even till the last show. JUNON confirmed that the treatment was the same in Japan – and that is BE:FIRST energy.
They eventually got back on track as the members asked the crowd about the concert and thanked them for coming.
SHUNTO also looked up at the second level to ask in English: “Are you okay?”. SOTA joined in, making fanning gestures: “Are you okay? Not hot?”. LEO chirped in: “I can see, we can see”.
Shining All-Rounders
An hour and a half had already passed, but their energy remained infectious, professional and passionate.
BE:FIRST performed ‘Shining One’ next, which was the final screening song during THE FIRST. The dance break here shined with RYUHEI, MANATO, and SOTA front and center.
It was then full steam ahead with ‘Sailing’, a funky and danceable track with a melodic yet powerful top line 3. The performance was smooth sailing as the English lyrics appeared on screen as a visualiser and BESTYs danced the sailing move together.
All good things come in waves, as the crowd spotted SOTA carrying RYOKI, SOTA and SHUNTO playing thumb wrestling, while the other members did handshakes and made eye contact with their fellow sailors.
The song was used as the ending theme for Special Edited Version – One Piece: Fish-Man Island Saga. This was probably a highlight for One Piece fans SOTA, SHUNTO, and RYUHEI who participated in writing the lyrics.
Up next was ‘Bye-Good-Bye’, with fans singing and jumping along as BE:FIRST lined up at the front of the stage to serenade BESTYs. Just as the fans were enjoying themselves, SOTA and RYOKI also expressed themselves with dance solos during the song. This was the fastest song in the group’s history to amass total streams of 100 million 4.
To end it on a heartwarming note and to celebrate their journey, they sang the final song, ‘Blissful’. BE:FIRST asked the crowd to sing and dance along, and the fans delivered.
The song arrangement and high notes proved to be golden as everyone was singing the “Oh-o-o-oh-oh” line repeatedly as BE:FIRST looked on lovingly at their BESTYs.
The joyful vibes lingered on as fans called out the members names, and had group photos taken with RYOKI in the centre, and REIKO joining in. LEO was the last to leave the stage as he bid goodbye with his cap off.
Overall, the two-hour stage was always clocked and busy, and it was impressive how they reeled the audience in with stable vocals and raps despite the heavy choreography of their songs.
Keep your eyes peeled to find out if BE:FIRST will do another world tour again next year (they cannot promise anything because they said they will get scolded by their management)!
Glad to have “finally found you”, BE:FIRST!
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