REPORT | RUNG HYANG Billboard Live Tour 2025

Text by Hiroyuki Suezaki
Photo by Ayaka Horiuchi

A luxurious and luxurious moment that makes you want to call it “Lunfes.” When I saw the final day of the Billboard Live Tour 2025 (2nd stage) by singer-songwriter RUNG HYANG held at Billboard Live TOKYO on Thursday, April 24th, those impressions suddenly came to my mind.

This is RUNG HYANG, who has published a wide range of works based on black music as a singer-songwriter, is also a special professor at Osaka University of Music, and has produced talents such as Eito, eill, and YAMORI as a mentor, making this his first Billboard Live tour (under his sole name). After two stages of the Billboard Live OSAKA performance on Sunday, April 20th, it was finally held in Tokyo on the evening of the 24th.

The second stage began on time, and the opening act was first performed. In her own solo performance, she has almost always featured someone from the private school Runhyanzemi, also known as “Lunzemi,” but this time Morita Miyuto, who just made her solo debut in August last year, will appear.Message before the showHe described RUNG HYANG as “a god-like being for me who created the foundation for starting my musical career,” and took to the stage with SPENSR, who serves as a musical brain, to perform his debut song “Time” and the title song “SIKI” of his first EP, and also brought the venue into his world, with his special dance.

Morita’s performance ended, and after a while, the singing voice of legendary opera singer Maria Karas echoed through the venue. RUNG HYANG appears elegantly from the fourth floor, carrying the famous “O mio babbino caro” in Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi. Shaking a memorable black dress, she moved to the stage on the third floor, and played with the band members with “Bounce Up All the Time” from her latest album, “MOMENT.” The curtains at the back of the stage opened to match the danceable rhythm, which incorporates an ama piano, making it truly the opening.

With the night views of Roppongi in the background, the venue was further excited with the classic live performance, “AWAKE.” The band members this time were Ohi Yudai (Key.), Ochi Shunsuke (Ba.), and Kanno Tomoaki (Dr.), and although Junichi Sunayama, the bassist of “Ittsumen,” unfortunately had to leave due to physical maintenance, Ochi, who took over as a substitute, supported the groove with his fat, rich sound.

From there, I went to the title song of my latest work, the disco boogie “MOMENT.” Here, beatbox duo Jairo appears as a guest. Initially, he was a guest only at the Osaka performance, but two days ago he was announced that he would also be appearing at the Tokyo performance (by the way, one half of the show, YAMORI, also from “Lunsemi”). The “MOMENT” was a thrilling “remix” version of their overwhelming skills, which won the world championships, and created a truly “resolved moment” and the venue reached its first peak.

From here, Jairo took the stage and performed one after another “Blue Girl”, “Cosmic Boy”, and “Dance Alive” from the first EP that was just announced in February. The vibrations of “the world’s best” literally shook the venue.

As Jairo left the stage, a wave-sounding SE played as if to cool down the venue, and RUNG HYANG, who was changing into a white dress, reappeared. He plays the piano in the center of the venue and gently listens to the ballad “Part of me,” in which he sings his feelings for his beloved being.

From his latest work, Uriariran is a song about his roots as a third generation resident of Japan and his own experiences. In the last MC, he recalls that he felt that his teenage self had no “home” anywhere, and shares his realization that “home” is not in place but in memory, and says, “Tonight is my home.” The audience must have thought of their “home” as they were surrounded by the song, which also includes the Korean folk song “Ariran,” in which their mother and grandmother listened to them like lullabies.

From the newest work, “MOMENT,” the show features a “week by week,” reminiscent of neo-soul from the early 2000s, and is now on stage where guests are welcomed again. First, they featured TAIL (Mukui Taichi), who also served as the art direction for “MOMENT,” and performed their co-starring song “Puzzle” from the 2022 EP “ROMANTIA.” The two, who are close friends in their private lives, continued in the MC after that.

Next, they invited Kan Sano to perform together in “Trapped,” which was also a hot topic for his cover and remix. One of RUNG HYANG’s signature songs is a new sparkle with Kan Sano’s lyrical piano and gentle singing voice, falling into the valley of Roppongi’s nighttime valley.

Time passed in a flash, and the live show was already over. On this tour, we spoke about the intention of setting a dress code called “My vintage” and the message she put into the “Vintage sticker (dress code wearer’s bonus)” that imitates the handlebar tag, and then went to the warm soul number “Life is vintage.” Finally, the main story was concluded by pleasantly shaking the floor with “adult time,” which could be considered the theme song of RUNG HYANG, who has long said that he wants to create a playground for adults.

In response to the sound of applause, RUNG HYANG changed into a tour merchandise T-shirt, appeared on stage again. I can’t say I’m not alone, everyone is alone, and there are people next to me fighting “alone” in the same way, and people gather together and walk together. He said he would be happy if he could live with that kind of thought in mind, and “Our story” was woven through RUNG HYANG’s solo piano playing and singing. There was a scene where the lyrics were skipped along the way, but the relaxed appearance of the song in a T-shirt appears to have been seen as he was invited to RUNG HYANG’s house and suddenly started singing, and RUNG HYANG sings as if to speak to each and every one of the audience members. It appears that on this tour, different songs were performed on all stages.

It was finally time for the last time, and not only the band members, but also Morita Miyuto, Jairo, TAIL, Kan Sano, and other guests, all joined the stage, and all the people they disliked were sessions. It’s also a luxury to be able to hear the mouse trumpet live by YAMORI, which was also performed on the original recording, but there was a truly rare conversation that also featured in Jairo’s beatbox, Kan Sano’s piano, and TAIL and Morita Mihato’s singing voices, and the end resulted in a truly rare finale.

To celebrate the release of their latest album, “MOMENT,” the final of the “RUNG HYANG Billboard Live Tour” is filled with a variety of gorgeous lineups that could make it a small festival. However, the fact that it was not only luxurious, but also had a special performance as an “adult playground,” which was also evident from the fact that the stage was decorated with a chic colored rose by flower collaborator Shimura Daisuke, a variety called “vintage” and created an atmosphere that was different from the usual Billboard Live venue. The time spent this night will surely become a “my vintage” memory for each person, and the more time passes, the more it will taste better.

[Event Information]

“RUNG HYANG Billboard Live Tour 2025”
Date: Thursday, April 24th, 2025
Venue: Billboard Live TOKYO

(OPENING ACT)
Morita Miyuto

(SPECIAL GUEST)
TAIL
Kan Sano
Jairo

(BAND MEMBER)
Ohi Yudai (Key.)
Ochi Shunsuke (Ba.)
Sugano Tomoaki (Dr.)

(DRESS CODE)
My vintage

*Two performances per day

[Release Information]

RUNG HYANG “MOMENT”
Release Date: 2025.04.02 (Wed.)
Label: RUNG HYANG
Tracklist:
1. MOMENT
2. week by week
3. Urialiran
4. Bounce up all the time
5. Reliro
6. Life is vintage
7. Part of me
8. People I hate (☆Taku Takahashi Remix)
9. Trapped (Kan Sano Remix)

■Distribution link / CD purchase link

■RUNG HYANG Official Website