It's been over two months since BMSG celebrated its second-year anniversary. And yet there is still so much to be said about SKY-HI's management label and BMSG FES '22, their outdoor festival. Held at Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest, Yamanashi in September, BMSG FES '22 was a two-day outdoor showcase of all of BMSG's artists and trainees at that time.
What the letters "BMSG" stood for, BMSG FES embodied. It was a brave and massive display from a label who have survived two years of working towards finding its groove and honing its talents. And if the sheer number of (very organized) fans is any indication, the world is indeed excited to see what else the label has to offer.
Here are a few things we picked up about the BMSG talent roster through (and beyond) their performances in BMSG FES '22.
Novel Core
BANDWAGON TV
One word that comes to mind while watching Novel Core perform at BMSG FES '22 is energy. His stage presence and charm are evident throughout his performance. He was the first to perform his solo set, setting a pretty good vibe for the rest of the show. Of course, we expect nothing less from BMSG's first signed artist who apparently has a penchant for one-man live shows.
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Since signing with the label, the Tokyo-based rapper and singer-songwriter has released two albums, A GREAT FOOL and No Pressure. Novel Core has also performed in many shows and collaborated with a number of his fellow BMSG artists. He is starting to make a name in the fashion industry as well, turning the heads of prominent labels, such as Y/Project, Ferragamo, Prada, and Vivienne Westwood.
Listen to Novel Core here:
Aile The Shota
The moment Aile The Shota stepped on that stage, we knew we'd have a refreshingly chill time. Between his mellow songs and cool sense of fashion, the singer-songwriter appears to be someone you'd want to befriend.
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And that is how he considers other artists from the label, as revealed during the show: he considers them comrades. This might be because he also goes way back with them. Aile The Shota auditioned for THE FIRST before getting offered a solo artist contract. Since then, his debut single 'AURORA TOKIO' has charted on iTunes and Billboard. He has also released EPs AINNOCENCE and IMA.
Listen to Aile The Shota here:
edhiii boi
We watch edhiii boi onstage, and we can't get over the fact that he's just 15 years old. While a little rough around the edges compared to his contemporaries, the teenage rapper and songwriter definitely worked the big stage.
His potential to make great music is something SKY-HI saw in him. While edhiii boi didn't make it in THE FIRST, he was given a chance to be featured in '14th Syndrome,' a single from SKY-HI's album Hachimenroppi.
Since then, he has collaborated with SKY-HI, Novel Core and Aile The Shota for Brave Generation. He has also released a few singles, 'NO,' 'Otogibanashi,' and 'Forever Friend,' as well as an EP with BMSG trainees RUI and TAIKI.
Listen to edhiii boi here:
TAIKI, RUI, and REIKO
Their performances were pretty short compared to the rest of the other artists, but the way trainees TAIKI, RUI, and REIKO showed up got us thinking that they're only a few more steps shy of debuting. All three are THE FIRST contenders who ultimately got offered trainee contracts with the BMSG label.
A rapper since he was 10, TAIKI has released three singles: 'KAZOKU' (which he wrote when he was in fourth grade), 'Yakusoku,' and 'TO DO LIST.'
On the other hand, RUI is not just a singer. He is also a model for Nico Puchi, a Japanese fashion magazine. Together with edhiii boi and TAIKI, he has a split EP called 15th Dream.
It's pretty difficult to ignore REIKO's vocals, with his impressive range and timbre. Aside from his collaborative track with SKY-HI, the singer originally from the Philippines is yet to release his own songs.
His covers are promising, though: his rendition of 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' is pretty good, both tone and diction-wise (he can reportedly speak English, Japanese, Filipino, Spanish, and Portuguese).
MAZZEL
As they are yet to debut in spring 2023, MAZZEL was not part of the BMSG FES '22 lineup. One of their members, though, gave a pretty good performance. RAN performed as a trainee during the said festival, showing everybody in attendance that he has definitely earned his spot in the newly formed boy group.
Aside from RAN, we can look forward to seven more talented boys who found worked their way to be part of MAZZEL through the audition show MISSIONx2. The 12-episode show will be available for streaming starting 13 January 2023.
The group is will be debuting under BE-U, BMSG's joint venture with Universal Music Japan.
MAZZEL Official Twitter OPEN!!
— MAZZEL (@mazzel_official) November 22, 2022
Follow → @mazzel_official
BMSGトレーニーRANを含む8人組ボーイズグループ
『MAZZEL（マーゼル）』誕生！
BMSG @BMSG_official とユニバーサルミュージック @umusicjapan がタッグを組んだ
新レーベル”BE-U”より2023年春デビュー予定。#MAZZEL #BMSG記者会見 pic.twitter.com/6fGRcTl1Ow
BE:FIRST
We've broken down their first album BE:1 track by track, but it's different to get to know BE:FIRST as performers.
Killer vocals, lyrical flow, and dance sequences — every minute onstage was a testament to more than a year's worth of hard work. As we looked at the faces of SOTA, SHUNTO, MANATO, RYUHEI, JUNON, RYOKI, and LEO while they sang and danced to 'Scream,' we saw every lesson they've ever learned since their early days in THE FIRST, encapsulated in one performance.
BE:FIRST on their "genre-less" music: "We don’t want to stick with one particular style"
Listen to BE:FIRST here:
SKY-HI
SKY-HI is no longer a new name in music, with over twenty years of experience of solo releases, performances, and being part of the J-pop group AAA and hip-hop trio Mother Ninjas. But during BMSG FES '22, he was performing not just as an artist but as the CEO of a label borne to inspire artists to be themselves. And that felt like it made all the difference.
The performance we saw from the rapper, producer and singer-songwriter was filled with so much pride: as an artist, dazzling the audience and owning the stage, and as a mentor, performing with the rest of his label. Seeing him perform with his house band, THE SUPER FLYERS, was also such a treat and something we have looked forward to since they recorded a "home session" two years ago.
It's amazing to see how BMSG can have a certain look and feel that encompasses all its talents, and yet leave some room for each artist to individually express their creativity. This quality extends to SKY-HI's collaborations with his artists (there really are many) and the show's production and execution. That says a lot about its founder, and we can't help but root for him and his label.
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Listen to SKY-HI here:
Learn more about BMSG and its artists here. Watch BMSG ALLSTARS celebrate a 'New Chapter' below:
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