Interview: BE:FIRST Takes Their Sound Global With WATCH ME

“WATCH ME” says a lot about where BE:FIRST is right now. Five years after forming in Japan, the six-member group is reaching a new stage in their career with WATCH ME, their first international EP and official U.S. debut. Released September 18, the five-track project brings BE:FIRST together with executive producer Tommy Brown, producer ATL Jacob, and featured artists BIA and Flo Milli.

For Sota, Shunto, Manato, Ryuhei, Junon, and Leo, reaching audiences outside Japan has long been part of the plan. BE:FIRST formed in 2021 through THE FIRST, an audition program led by Japanese rapper and producer SKY-HI. Since then, BE:FIRST has built a sound combining hip-hop, R&B, and pop, pairing music closely with dance and performance.

That growth has taken BE:FIRST outside Japan. Their first world tour, “Who is BE:FIRST?,” brought the group to audiences across Asia, Europe, and North America. Now, the question posed by that tour has been followed by a much more direct statement: WATCH ME.

The EP arrives alongside the BE:FIRST WORLD SHOWCASE 2026 “WATCH ME,” beginning September 25 in Bangkok. WATCH ME is more than another release being taken overseas. BE:FIRST worked with an international team to make the project itself, while holding onto something the members repeatedly returned to during our conversation: what makes their music their own.

Ahead of the release of WATCH ME, I spoke to BE:FIRST on behalf of BroadwayWorld about creating their first international EP, working with Tommy Brown, finding new ways into hip-hop and R&B, and why Japanese remains central to their music as their audience grows around the world.

For BE:FIRST, one of the biggest differences in creating WATCH ME came from who they were able to work with. “The word ‘global’ is the key difference here,” Ryuhei explained. “We were able to work with top creators and producers that we never had a chance to before.” Five years into BE:FIRST’s career, he described having those opportunities as something new for the group.

Working with producers from outside Japan, however, did not mean leaving behind the parts of BE:FIRST that were already there. Leo and Sota pointed specifically to the group’s use of Japanese lyrics. “We as a Japanese group need to maintain our identity by having Japanese lyrics,” they explained. Whether listeners understand every word is not necessarily the point. “There’s a quality or kind of nuance that you can only get because the Japanese and English words are blended or mixed,” they continued, adding that the combination can even influence the beat and flow of a track. “That’s something that we definitely want to continue to keep and maintain in our work.”

That balance between keeping BE:FIRST’s identity and trying something new carried into the production of WATCH ME. The EP was executive produced by Tommy Brown, whose previous credits include Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. Manato explained that many of the important conversations with Brown happened before the songs were finished, when BE:FIRST and the production team were deciding what direction each track would take.

One of those conversations helped shape “WATCH ME,” the title track of the EP that shares its name. Manato said the title track was initially expected to feature much more rap, but with “BRUCE WAYNE” already leaning heavily in that direction, the group wanted the two songs to feel different. “We knew that stylistically we needed to differentiate a bit more between the two songs,” he explained. Brown was part of those discussions and later added his own touches during the mixing process.

Ryuhei hears Brown’s influence most clearly on “WATCH ME.” While the song still carries the hip-hop sound found throughout the EP, he pointed to its slightly more pop-leaning approach and the richness of its production. “I think that is sort of his signature, or the texture that he brings to the song,” Ryuhei said. “You feel that there’s a lot of influence of Tommy in that track.”

That experimentation becomes even more noticeable on “CAGLIOSTRO,” one of the EP’s most immediately catchy tracks. Built around percussion, rap, and smoother vocal sections, the song pulls together several different sounds without losing its momentum. Manato, who was also involved in the track’s production, pointed to the 2000s as a major influence on its sound. The structure was intentional, with the first verse leaning into rap before the song moves toward a smoother melody. “There are a lot of songs that anyone can probably recognize where there’s a rapper and then the singer comes in,” he explained. “That collab style is something that I was aiming for.” For Manato, hearing those different elements come through in the finished track was exactly what he had hoped for.

“PAPER SCARS” takes the EP in a different direction. Slower and more vocal-driven than the tracks around it, the song gives BE:FIRST’s singing more room to come forward. Ryuhei said that difference was apparent from the first time the group heard it. “We knew that it was quite different, but at the same time, it sort of matched our feelings of how we wanted this song to be part of this EP,” he explained. Rather than trying to make it fit the sound of the other tracks, BE:FIRST saw that contrast as part of its purpose. “As different as it sounds, I think overall it makes sense to have it, and it kind of balances out with the other tracks.”

On the other end of the EP is “DEAD EYES EVERYWHERE,” one of its darker and more intense tracks. Leo described the song as particularly true to BE:FIRST, with the group focused less on how others might view them and more on staying in their own lane. “This is very true to who we are,” he said. The track also contains more Japanese lyrics than any other song on WATCH ME, another choice that keeps the group’s identity at its centre.

For Leo, performance is also an important part of “DEAD EYES EVERYWHERE.” He pointed to the choreography as another part of what makes the song stand out, describing it as something that “really immerses you into our world.” The choreography was handled by Melvin Timtim, whose previous work includes performances for Justin Bieber.

With five songs showing different sides of BE:FIRST, the title WATCH ME also carries a larger meaning for the group. Manato sees the EP as an introduction for listeners discovering BE:FIRST for the first time, but also as something of a reintroduction to what the group has become five years into their career.

“It’s really an introduction for ourselves to the audience, to the new listeners who don’t know us,” he explained. At the same time, WATCH ME is about more than the music alone. “It’s not just the music, it’s not just the performance, but more as an entire package,” Manato said. “We wanted to make an impact and make a lasting impression.”

That idea extends beyond the EP. BE:FIRST has also carried the WATCH ME name into their upcoming world showcase, giving international audiences the opportunity to experience the performance side of the group alongside the new music.

The group’s identity was also important when bringing other artists into the project. WATCH ME features BIA on its title track, while Flo Milli and ATL Jacob join BE:FIRST on “BRUCE WAYNE.” Rather than changing BE:FIRST’s sound to match each collaborator, Sota said the group looked at what all six members could bring to the songs themselves.

“There are six of us in BE:FIRST, so we have our own unique characteristics that we can bring,” he explained. Those differences between the members, along with the group’s use of Japanese lyrics, became part of how BE:FIRST balanced its own sound with the artists joining them. For Sota, the result is something he feels sets BE:FIRST apart. “There’s a lot of uniqueness that I think, in total, is not something that you see anywhere with a Japanese boy band.”

Ultimately, BE:FIRST hopes WATCH ME encourages new listeners to do more than its title might initially suggest. For Shunto, listening to the five tracks is only one part of understanding the group. He hopes people will also seek out their music videos and performances to see how the music and choreography come together.

“We didn’t want this global EP to just have an impression that, ‘Oh, it’s just hip-hop,’” Shunto explained, pointing to “PAPER SCARS” as one example of the range BE:FIRST wanted to include. More than anything, he hopes the EP shows how the different parts of the group connect. “It’s all about the blend and the togetherness of the sound, what we sing, but also how we perform and how that all comes together.”

For listeners discovering BE:FIRST through WATCH ME, the five songs are only part of what the group wants them to know. For BE:FIRST, the music and performance have always gone together, and with WATCH ME, they are giving a new audience the chance to experience both.

WATCH ME, BE:FIRST’s first international EP, is out now via BMSG / The Orchard. BE:FIRST will also take the project on the road with the BE:FIRST WORLD SHOWCASE 2026 “WATCH ME,” beginning September 25 in Bangkok.

This interview was conducted with the assistance of a Japanese-English translator. Responses have been edited for clarity and length.

Top Photo Credit: BMSG