SKY-HI on BE:FIRST 2 Years In (Translation by shizuna)

[shizuna]

Translated from SKY-HI's interview series with Nikkei, "Be myself, for ourselves"

Original interview, 99th installment (SOTA, SHUNTO, MANATO) and 100th installment (RYUHEI, JUNON, RYOKI, LEO) from October 26 and 27 2023.


SOTA

"He's become a musician" I think that's the biggest transformation. During the auditions, it was more a "I'm a rapper as the world's best dancer" but it's been 2 years since then and I think he's fully become a musician now.

He was a big part of producing their 4th single, "Mainstream". The switch from "someone who likes music" to "someone creating music" was seamless in his case. The things he has from when he was "someone who likes music" helped a lot in this change.

SHUNTO

SHUNTO is the person who thinks about his performances the most doesn't he. I think that's great. Whether it's how he presents himself or his skills, I think he offers the correct answers. SHUNTO thinks the most about who is "SHUNTO of BE:FIRST", I think. What you want to do as an artist connects directly to their growth and I think SHUNTO thinks about, and does it, the most.

When THE FIRST ended, the world knows about SHUNTO, of course. But he himself thought about [the meaning] of this longer than anyone. During their debut when everyone was having a serious conversation, he would often be silent. When you ask him, "SHUNTO what do you think?" he would go, "Mm, I'm thinking about it right now". He may have a longer thinking time, but I know he has a lot of answers. So when he says, "I've been thinking about this for a while" you know he's been resting on it pretty seriously.

MANATO

An amazing person. As a musician, he's very highly-skilled. I don't think there are a lot of cases where people like a musician simply because "the music's good", there are a lot of important things besides "it's good", let me just say that first. But when you see MANATO of BE:FIRST perform and what he does on stage, there are many times where you go "he's good". When he performs as ShowMinorSavage you get happy surprises too, like, "Oh you do this kind of music too!"

MANATO has gotten to make music recently. He's highly-skilled so it was a fun process. It's not necessarily fun to go in to a recording booth with everyone, but MANATO has stellar music-athleticism so it's a great compatibility, I think. Not just in how swift he can adapt to your directions after you say, "Can you do it this / that way?", he would exceed that and do a little more. I want him to be with me whenever I'm making something. Though the result might be different if he's with me every time, lol.

MANATO's "good" isn't just skills and technique, but a result of what was meant to be. I think MANATO's music sensitivity is very high, so I think "because [he's] like that, of course he would be a good singer".

RYUHEI

He's gotten taller and is looking more grown-up, lol. Even in moments of his child-likeness, I think he's the member who hasn't changed. RYUHEI's the type of person who takes time to vocalize his thoughts, and that hasn't changed. But, I do think the time between "thinking" and "saying" it has shortened at a very quick pace.

As an artist and human being, I think it's important to think things through before saying them aloud. And in the opposite sense, I think it's foolish to say things out loud without having given them some thought. The way RYUHEI thinks and his way of doing things is a very beautiful way of being. I think it's the speed in which he is doing it all. I think it's all due to RYUHEI's own growth and the fact that he feels - mentally - safe to say what he thinks to the members and staff. I think he's become more self-assured that he has become a member who can actively express his opinions.

JUNON

I think JUNON's biggest transformation is from here onwards, isn't it? Each of them has made a conscious effort to improve. But in JUNON's case I think just being himself helps him and the team is enough, and that has been the case, actually. His self-confidence has definitely changed. Everyone has told him his singing is good, but among the many singers who are told they're good, JUNON has naturally come to realize that he is one of the people who is admired for their vocals.

In dance too (that he had no experience in), he's changed from thinking "I need to keep up with experienced dancers" to "I've become a good dancer" in the middle of their tour. I think JUNON has gained some concrete confidence in that regard.

RYOKI

RYOKI is also undergoing a metamorphosis right now. Not only in looks, but essentially as an artist. So I feel that it is really time to work hard. I am looking forward to seeing how he will metamorphose. I also know that he has the ability to seize opportunities for pure growth and the ability to make them his own. So, whether it is rapping or anything else, there is no doubt that he is still growing at a fast and clear pace. Although there are more and more things he can do "on the spur of the moment," he is a person who practices hard to begin with, and the type of person who has very good instincts, especially when it comes to rapping. I think he is in the process of practicing, acquiring ability, and using that ability in various ways while repeatedly trying things out.

However, I feel that this is not limited to any specific part [of RYOKI], but that we are in the process of building up "RYOKI of BE:FIRST" as a human being. This is only possible to achieve through trial and error, but RYOKI himself is very motivated and positive about trying something. So, what I can do is to provide opportunities for him to grow and realize what he wants to do, while at the same time supporting him from the side so that he does not make a big mistake. But it's also nice because an error at the end of a try is like a prelude to the next success, not a failure.

LEO

I think LEO's change is the easiest to understand for those who have been watching him.

Specifically, his singing has improved immensely. There is a line beyond which makes singing become very enjoyable, and I think it is hard for anyone until that line is crossed. And of course this was hard for LEO, and it was hard for me, too. In LEO's case, he clearly crossed that line during the tour. Now that he has crossed it, I can tell you about it.

Whatever it is I think it's really hard when you don't have confidence in yourself. For LEO, no matter how many compliments he received from people around him, he may not have had the evidence [in himself that] he deserved them. But now he has [confidence] firmly within himself. It feels like smooth sailing.

LEO as a human being continues to get rave reviews from every site he has been at. This is great, but at the same time, it has been happening before, so there may not be a big change there. But I think because he has overcome the parts of his life where he did not have confidence before, he's now able to bring out the good parts he originally had, more than ever before. We're all growing, this is true for all of us. Everyone may be in the process of growing throughout their lives, but in the case of LEO, I really feel that we have passed the point where we can make a big change from here on.

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Hope you enjoyed finding out what boss thinks of BE:FIRST two years since their debut!

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