[Live Report]BALLISTIK BOYZ's Tokyo performance on their national tour was a huge success! They also made the surprise announcement that they will be performing at the Nippon Budokan!

■ “Being able to perform at the Budokan is the moment when we achieve one of the goals of the story that began last year.” (Ryuta Hidaka of BALLISTIK BOYZ)

BALLISTIK BOYZ held the Tokyo performance of “BALLISTIK BOYZ LIVE TOUR 2024 “HIGHER EX”” at Tokyo Garden Theater on June 2nd.

On this day, which was the ninth stop of their nationwide tour of 13 cities, they announced that they would be performing at the Nippon Budokan for the first time. It was a memorable night for the band, who continue to evolve and aim for greater heights, and also for the BALLY’S (the name for their fans) who have supported the seven of them.

[Live Report]
Under lighting based on the theme color of this tour, red, the members appeared after an emotional and dramatic instrumental number performed by a live band. The first song was “HIGHER EX,” the title track of the latest single released on May 22nd and the theme song of this tour. Written and composed by Fukahori Miku, Okuda Rikiya, and Matsui Toshiki, this song directly conveys the determination and spirit of the seven members moving forward. The bright red costumes and lighting created an opening that further heightened the heat swirling around the stage.

They continued with four high-energy songs, “JIGGY PARADISE,” “Ding Ding Dong,” “Most Wanted,” and “PASION,” and after a short greeting from the members, they performed “BYE BYE TO THE LAST DANCE.” Masahiro Sunada, who had taken off his jacket, led the group into “Animal” with a sexy solo dance, and the seven members charmed BALLY’S with a graceful performance using white chairs, and ended the first half of the performance with “In My Head,” which was memorable for its repeated chorus phrases and beautiful dance.

The middle part of the show started with “Unmei no Hito,” a classic EXILE song, sung a cappella by Hidaka Ryuta (the “taka” is officially spelled with the はしごだか character) and Kano Yoshimasa. When the band joined in and Fukahori and Sunada added their vocals, the worldview of the song became deeper and more poignant. “Good day good night,” sung by the four members’ richly distinctive voices, was followed by “Lonely,” and “Mermaid,” a song by rappers Uminuma Ryusei, Okuda, and Matsui. It was a corner where the audience could fully enjoy the delicate expressions and facial expressions that were different from the powerful stage performance of all seven members.

The second half of the show started with Okuda’s rap, followed by Fukabori on drums and Sunada on guitar, leading into “God Mode”. This performance was more impactful, coming right after the middle corner where they had all captivated the audience with their “voices”. During “We never die”, all the members of BALLY’S put their hands up to get the crowd excited, and during the part that followed “Front Burner”, “Make U a Believer” and “Tenhane -1000%-“, the venue became one with call and response and clapping. During “Meant to be feat. F.HERO & BOOM BOOM CASH”, everyone waved towels, which were tour goods for this show, painting the venue red. The last song of the main show, “All Around The World”, was a number that they hadn’t performed with their band members since the tour four years ago. With a new arrangement that put the band sound on full display, the seven members carefully conveyed the feelings they had put into the song to BALLY’S, enjoying the performance of each band member up close.

The encore included the first cover of “24karats TRIBE OF GOLD” by BALLISTIK BOYZ. During the MC, they spoke about how this tour was one they put everything into, and how they are eager to take BALLY’S to even bigger stages in the future. Fukahori quoted the lyrics of “NEXT” and said, “Last year we couldn’t go to the NEXT stage, but we’re not going to give up and we’re going to aim for even greater heights, so this year we’re working on the theme of “HIGHER EX”. “Because there are things that can’t be achieved, there are things that can be achieved”. I believe in those words, and I want to continue to work hard with big dreams that make everyone laugh at me.” The seven members finished singing “NEXT” with all their heartfelt feelings, looking around the venue and closing their eyes. They conveyed their gratitude for being able to reach this day and their determination to aim for even greater heights to BALLY’S, and left the stage.

Afterwards, the screen in the darkened venue announced that the band would be performing at the Nippon Budokan for the first time on November 6th, and the venue erupted in screams of joy. This was the next stage that both the band members and BALLY’S had been waiting for.

In a previous interview, the members commented on this decision as follows:

“The Budokan is a place with a long history for LDH, and it’s a place filled with a lot of different feelings. We hope to be able to do an interesting live performance on that stage that will overturn past concepts and break past precedents.” (Toshiki Matsui)

“I’m very happy to be able to announce that we will be performing on the Budokan stage during this hall tour. It’s our dream, and we can also fulfill our promise to our fans, so we’re full of joy and enthusiasm.” (Yoshimasa Kano)

“It’s our first time performing solo on such a big stage. We’ll all work hard together to create a great live show, so we can take responsibility for it.” (Fukahori Mirai)

“I’ve always dreamed of performing at arenas and domes. I think the experiences we’ve had up until now, where we’ve focused on what we lacked and gone through trial and error, will lead us to the Budokan.” (Uminuma Ryusei)

“It’s been five years since our debut. I’ve had some frustrating experiences, but HIRO always told me, ‘Just keep going until you win with a never-give-up mentality, and you’ll be fine.’ I think the Budokan was the embodiment of that.” (Masahiro Sunada)

“Of course we want to make it as exciting as possible, but the most important thing is that the results of that excitement will lead to next year. We want to make the Budokan a success together with the seven of us and all our fans, and aim for even greater heights next year.” (Rikiya Okuda)

Also, Hidaka Ryuta spoke on behalf of the members about his feelings for BALLY’S that he was unable to express directly at the venue.

“Last year’s ‘NEXT’ tour was filled with our desire to go to the NEXT story and the NEXT stage, but unfortunately we couldn’t achieve that goal and this year we ended up with a hall tour. I’m sure not only us, but also all the BALLY’S who support us must have felt frustrated, so I think they will be very happy with today’s news. Being able to perform at a venue like Budokan is the moment when we achieve one of the goals of the story that began last year. For us, Budokan is just a passing point, but I want to make it a performance that will lead us to the next one.”

The seven members have stepped on the gas for their next stage, their first performance at the Nippon Budokan. The positive response from this tour, which will conclude on July 19th at the Kobe International Hall, is sure to be a boost for them.