Formation: THE FIRST was a philosophy test

BE:FIRST formed through SKY-HI’s 2021 audition project THE FIRST under BMSG. The program’s useful promise was not simply that talent would win. It argued that Japanese performers could train at a high level without being asked to surrender personality, creative appetite or basic dignity to an inherited idol system.

SOTA, SHUNTO, MANATO, RYUHEI, JUNON, RYOKI and LEO debuted as seven with “Gifted.” The group now continues as six after RYOKI’s November 8, 2025 departure. The audition explains the origin; years of records, tours and credits now provide stronger evidence of what each member became.

SOTA turns dance knowledge into arrangement

SOTA entered with elite dance credentials, but his value is not a trophy list. He understands how movement organizes attention: which member needs space, how a groove should travel across six bodies and when technical difficulty would weaken the music. Choreography becomes arrangement rather than decoration.

That skill matters after a lineup change. Seven-person pictures cannot simply lose one body and remain balanced. SOTA helps the current six rebuild formations around the people present without pretending the original versions never existed.

SHUNTO gives polish a rough edge

SHUNTO’s vocal grain can make a clean pop line feel lived-in. The contrast is especially effective in BE:FIRST production that aims for global smoothness; his tone prevents the surface from becoming anonymous. A small phrase can change the emotional temperature before the arrangement announces a transition.

His writing participation belongs in the same record. Credits matter when taste becomes audible, not because a member name automatically makes a track authentic. The tracker connects each verified contribution to the exact release.

MANATO makes versatility sound coherent

MANATO moves through pop, R&B and rhythmic material without treating versatility as an impression reel. His ear for phrasing lets him adapt while remaining recognizable. That coherence helps BE:FIRST change genre without sounding like seven—or now six—performers auditioning for separate songs.

Composition credits on material such as the 2:BE era show how his musicality can move behind the microphone. The useful next step is not more promotional “self-produced” language. It is more finished work where listeners can identify the choice he changed.

RYUHEI grew inside the record, not outside it

RYUHEI debuted young enough that coverage could easily make age his entire personality. His lower, unusually settled tone already gave the original seven a color that did not match the expected youngest-member box. Growth should be traced through control, writing and performance decisions rather than birthdays.

The current six-member stage gives him more structural responsibility. That does not require a forced “mature transformation.” It requires arrangements that trust the voice and performer already present.

JUNON proves late routes can still lead to the center

JUNON’s audition story carried less conventional training history than some teammates, which made rapid development part of his public introduction. The story remains interesting, but it should not freeze him as the surprising beginner. His upper register and melodic scale are now established group infrastructure.

He also participates creatively, including composition work connected to the group catalog. The biography records current ability in present tense. An origin story is not a ceiling disguised as praise.

LEO makes openness a performance skill

LEO’s warmth and communication help define BE:FIRST’s public chemistry, but friendliness is not his only labor. His voice and physical generosity make formations feel connected; he performs toward other members instead of treating every camera as a solo contest.

That relational work becomes more visible in a six-person group. Continuity depends on members listening to one another, not only executing individual excellence. LEO gives the audience a way to see that listening.

RYOKI remains in the seven-member catalog

RYOKI paused BE:FIRST activity after the July 5, 2025 Singapore world-tour date and officially left on November 8, 2025 after discussions with BMSG and the members. The official notice states that the group would continue as six while he pursued a separate path.

Current cards use SOTA, SHUNTO, MANATO, RYUHEI, JUNON and LEO. Earlier releases keep RYOKI’s real credit. The archive does not turn reports around his departure into unsourced biography, and it does not crop him from work already made.

Gifted., Bye-Good-Bye and Mainstream established the argument

“Gifted.” arrived with the burden of proving the audition’s philosophy could become a record. “Bye-Good-Bye” showed melodic ease without lowering the performance standard. “Mainstream” then made ambition explicit, using production and movement to argue that Japanese pop could enter a global conversation without becoming a copy of Korean or American templates.

The argument works when “global” describes access, collaboration and quality rather than English lyrics used as a badge. BE:FIRST’s strongest records treat Japanese rhythm, individual tones and international production as materials that can disagree productively.

BE:ST closed one chapter without making a museum

The 2025 BE:ST collection captured the seven-member history as the active lineup changed. A best album can freeze a group into approved highlights, but it can also clarify the foundation before new work. The credits must remain historical even when current events feature six.

The 2026 “WATCH ME” global route, “BRUCE WAYNE” collaboration and announced BE:4U album now have to establish six-member BE:FIRST as more than a reduced version of the original. New arrangements should be chosen for six voices and six bodies.

Current status: six active members

The official current profile lists SOTA, SHUNTO, MANATO, RYUHEI, JUNON and LEO. BE:FIRST remains active under BMSG with 2026 releases, festivals, showcases and a fourth album route. RYOKI is a former member whose historical participation remains credited.

The group’s official site is the status authority. Event subsets do not become lineup changes, and a member’s separate work does not become a group release without the exact credit.

Fandom file: BESTY

BESTY is BE:FIRST’s official fandom name, joining “best” with the intimacy of a close companion. The name survived the move from seven to six because fandom identity belongs to the continuing group, not a fixed headcount.

BESTY received an official English departure notice rather than being forced to rely only on translation chains. That should remain the standard: simultaneous dated facts first, emotional interpretation second. International ambition requires international information.

Six-member choreography must stop tracing seven

A departure changes negative space as much as line distribution. BE:FIRST’s original formations used seven bodies to create a center, two balanced sides and quick exchanges without obvious gaps. Six offers different strengths: pairs, mirrored trios and a center that can remain deliberately open. The current group should exploit that geometry instead of hiding an imaginary seventh position.

Historical performances retain RYOKI’s credit. Current arrangements can redistribute his parts, but the goal is not an invisible repair. SOTA and the six members have enough movement intelligence to let the new formation become its own evidence. A clean change respects history more than a permanent imitation of it.

Japanese identity is not an obstacle to global work

BE:FIRST’s global ambition is strongest when the group does not treat Japanese language or performance culture as something to disguise. International collaboration can widen production and audience access, but a record becomes less distinctive if “global” means sanding away the rhythm, phrasing and perspective that made the act worth exporting.

English releases and features therefore belong beside Japanese originals, not above them in an imagined hierarchy. The exact-video tracker labels language, version and collaborators. A listener should be able to follow the branch without being told that one market is the real destination and the other merely preparation.

BMSG’s philosophy needs boring infrastructure

BMSG built its public identity around artist dignity, creative development and a challenge to older industry habits. Those values are tested in ordinary systems: transparent credits, bilingual notices, safe schedules, health support and enough time for member input to affect finished work. A philosophy that appears only in documentaries is branding.

The bilingual RYOKI notice demonstrated the right instinct. International BESTY received the same dated status rather than a delayed summary. That standard should apply to every major lineup, release and tour change, especially as the group asks more of audiences outside Japan.

What BE:4U must prove

The fourth album will be the clearest test of six-member identity because it cannot rely forever on the drama of transition. The music must show what SOTA, SHUNTO, MANATO, RYUHEI, JUNON and LEO choose together: which voices lead, how choreography reorganizes and whether member authorship has become more audible.

BE:FIRST does not need to disown the seven-member origin to move forward. It needs new work specific enough that six no longer reads as seven minus one. The archive holds the earlier chapter securely; the current group earns the next one by making change sound deliberate.

Every seven-member release keeps RYOKI’s real credit; every current six-member release uses the lineup that actually made it.

Official video tracker

The tracker follows exact official uploads from “Gifted.,” “Bye-Good-Bye,” “Boom Boom Back” and “Mainstream” through 2:BE, BE:ST, “WATCH ME,” “BRUCE WAYNE” and the six-member BE:4U chapter. Every row preserves release date and credited lineup.

Dance practices, live performances and collaborations remain separate exact videos. React dates belong on release day or within three days. Seven-member images never masquerade as current six-member promotion, and current cards never erase historical participants.

Sources and official links

• Official current six-member profile
• Official bilingual RYOKI departure notice
• Official discography
• Official 2026 news and release route

RaeRae Reacts

Mainstream: BE:FIRST Turn Negative Space Into a Threat — exact playlist upload mL7g54hXfhI.

RaeRae Reacts

Hush-Hush: BE:FIRST and ATEEZ Build a Fifteen-Person Conversation — exact playlist upload 6KEqMEmyuIs.

RaeRae Reacts

Blissful Dance Performance: BE:FIRST Make Ease Look Engineered — exact playlist upload _wOzSxp6Yeg.

React image cards

Static cards route each exact official upload to its own in-depth React. Every card repeats that React’s featured and hero image so the archive stays visually traceable.