BE:FIRST Is Ready for the World: Inside the J-Pop Superstars’ Long-Planned U.S. Breakthrough
Categoria: Musica
The chart-topping Japanese boy band is taking on the U.S. market with new partners including The Orchard, THE·TEAM and Nebula17.
Por Billboard | 31/07/2026
BE:FIRST boasts a dozen No. 1s on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 , played its first stadium concerts this past spring and has a world tour set for the fall. Now, the group is officially unveiling the first step in its effort to rise to greater prominence in the U.S. market. With the release of its new single, “Bruce Wayne,” the J-pop band is revealing its new U.S. distribution partnership with The Orchard, along with hello82 for physical distribution, Tom Windish at THE·TEAM for touring outside Asia, and ex-AVEX USA CEO Naoki Osada ‘s label Nebula17 for A&R. Related BE:FIRST’s ‘Missing’ Tops Japan Hot 100 as Summer-Themed Hits Return Glenn A. Baker, Australian Music Historian and Former Billboard Correspondent, Dies at 74 Chris Brown Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge of 'Affray' in 2023 London Club Assault Case “Bruce Wayne,” BE:FIRST’s first release under its Orchard deal, is a swaggering, Atlanta hip-hop–indebted single produced by ATL Jacob and featuring Flo Milli , with lyrics by Starrah (Rihanna, Drake, Camila Cabello), Taylor Ross (Normani, Pitbull, Bebe Rexha) and the group’s executive producer SKY-HI, who is also CEO of the group’s Japanese music label BMSG. The track feels in line with some of the group’s harder hits, including 2023’s sleek and synth-y “Mainstream” and the anthemic “BE:FIRST ALL DAY” and its B-side “Rondo,” released in the spring. “Bruce Wayne” is the lead single from WATCH ME , which the group describes as its first “global” EP, slated to arrive on Sept. 18. The set will also include a track featuring BIA as well as production from Tommy “TBHits” Brown . While three of BE:FIRST’s members did recently carve out a trip to the World Cup final (“I love Messi,” youngest member Ryuhei says), the group is largely in discipline mode to meet arguably its biggest global moment yet. Over a video call from Los Angeles on Friday (July 31), group members Manato, Ryuhei, Sota, Junon, Shunto and Leo are quick to clarify that they have not been sightseeing but have instead spent their days taking English-language lessons, rehearsing choreography and undergoing media training with their new U.S. partners. This weekend, BE:FIRST heads to Phoenix to perform at the 2026 World Hip-Hop Dance Championship (the same competition BE:FIRST member Sota won four different times), before playing Head in the Clouds in Los Angeles on Aug. 8. The group’s upcoming world tour, its second, launches in September, with two shows slated in New York. “No time to play, basically,” Manato says with a laugh. Related her0ism Talks J-Pop’s Global Moment, From MAJ’s Co-Writing Camp to the Grammys’ New Asian Category Formed on Japan’s 2021 singing competition THE FIRST , BE:FIRST has been mapping out its current global push years in advance as