Kitayama’s Sell-Out Concerts vs. Kis-My-Ft2 Tickets at 500 Yen

Last August, Hiromitsu Kitayama graduated from Kis-My-Ft2 (hereinafter Kis-My) and is currently pursuing solo activities as an actor and singer. Recently, tickets for his solo concert in June at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena went on general sale and sold out for all three shows on the same day. Meanwhile, his former group Kis-My’s album sales have significantly decreased, and it appears their concert tickets are also struggling to sell.

After leaving Johnny’s Entertainment (now “STARTO ENTERTAINMENT”), Hiromitsu Kitayama transferred to Hideaki Takizawa’s talent agency, TOBE, on September 17 last year. Despite airing in a late-night slot, he starred in the April drama “Before You Become a Beast” on TV Tokyo and sang the theme song “THE BEAST”. Kitayama has been expanding his career successfully.

“TOBE artists Ken Miyake, IMP., and Number_i will each hold solo concerts at Ariake Arena in June. Kitayama is scheduled to perform three shows from June 15 to 16. Ticket sales through the fan club have ended, and general sales started on May 19 at 10 AM. According to comments from hopeful fans, all three shows sold out within 30 minutes.” (Entertainment Writer)

Previously, there was concern about Hiromitsu Kitayama’s popularity, highlighted when Nikkan Gendai DIGITAL ran an article on May 1 titled “Former Kis-My-Ft2 Member Kitayama Hiroki’s Big miscalculation. Solo Concert Tickets Not Selling!” The article suggested uncertainty over his solo career prospects.

 

On the day of the fan club ticket lottery results, posts flooded X (formerly Twitter) seeking to transfer tickets, causing “Hiroki Kitayama Resale” to trend. The article noted, “The venue’s maximum capacity is 15,000 people. In his group days, Kitayama was used to filling such venues, but as a solo artist, it’s tougher, as revealed on X.”

However, according to the entertainment writer mentioned earlier, even fan club members faced many rejections, and subsequent general ticket sales sold out immediately.

 

Ticket prices were 9,000 yen for fan club members and 9,500 yen for the general public. Online ticket resale sites showed tickets selling in the 2,000 to 3,000 yen range, with the lowest available price listed at 4,800 yen as of May 31. 

 

Amidst this, Kis-My-Ft2’s ticket situation with their six-member lineup is even more serious. They have announced a major dome tour from June to September, covering Osaka (Kyocera Dome Osaka), Tokyo (Tokyo Dome), and Aichi (Nagoya Dome). Ticket sales for fan club members (9,700 yen) concluded in April, and their first stop is the Osaka concerts on June 8th and 9th, which are approaching soon.

General tickets (10,200 yen) are currently on sale via Ticket Pia, but despite the concerts being imminent, both days still have seats available for reserved seating tickets (for one or two persons) as “available on the day of exchange.”

“On a certain ticket resale site, the lowest price for the Osaka concert is 700 yen, and tickets priced at a bargain 950 yen are still available as of May 31st. Towards late May, there were even one-coin tickets for 500 yen listed on resale sites, and instances where accounts on X offered to transfer tickets free of charge.

Whether these free tickets will actually be obtained remains uncertain, but if this trend continues, there’s a real possibility of free ticket distribution occurring up until the day of the concert. However, depending on the discovery of junior dancers as backing performers or the concert’s content, resale ticket prices may increase later on. 

The capacity of Ariake Arena is 15,000 people, while Kyocera Dome Osaka can hold up to 55,000. Despite the scale difference between arena and dome venues, Hiromitsu Kitayama’s popularity remains evident as tickets for his solo concerts quickly sell out, even in general sales.

 

“Kis-My-Ft2” released their new album “Synopsis” on May 8th, selling 126,000 copies in the first week according to Oricon. This is notably lower compared to their original album “To-y2” in 2020 (191,000 copies) and the best album “BEST of Kis-My-Ft2” in 2021 (247,000 copies).

 

In light of these figures, some fans on social media express concerns like ‘Kis-My, a dome tour from next year seems impossible,’ and ‘There are still tickets left for Osaka, but can they continue dome tours in the future?’

 

With key member Hiromitsu Kitayama gone, Kis-My-Ft2 faces challenges. Whether they can expand their audience depends largely on their performances. 

 

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