<figure id="attachment_400322" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2782px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400322"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1331671e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/fc5122a78f7fd936a4965a059f173fec.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400322" class="wp-caption-text">A &#8220;Ae!&#8221; group&#8217;s Richard Keita Kusama, who appeared in the musical &#8220;tick, tick&#8230;BOOM! Richard Keita Kusama of &#8220;group</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Fans are very satisfied with Richard Keita Kusama&#8217;s stage performance.</h2>
<p>Coming out of a theater in Yurakucho, Tokyo, in late October was Richard Keita Kusama of the &#8220;Ae! group&#8217;s Richard Keita Kusama (28) and Ken Kojima (25). Kota Kusama (28) and Ken Kojima (25) of the &#8220;Ae! Group,&#8221; and Kota Yabu (34) of &#8220;Hey!</p>
<p>Kusama and Yabu were performing in the musical &#8220;tick, tick&#8230;BOOM!</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The musical tells the story of the struggles and growth of Jonathan Larson, who created the musical &#8220;Rent&#8221; but died suddenly just before opening night. This was Kusama&#8217;s first stage debut since her CD debut in May, but she has already proven her ability in the musical &#8220;EDGES &#8211; Edges &#8211; 2022&#8221; (Yomiuri Hall, Tokyo), which she performed two years ago. Fans were very satisfied with the performance.</span></p>
<p>After the well-received performance, Kusama was the first to come out of the dressing room. She was dressed lightly in jeans and ZARA sweatshirts, but her black-rimmed glasses created a calm atmosphere. Next out was Yabu, holding a can of throat lozenges and an ice pack in each hand.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The throat lozenges are from &#8220;Kyoto Nenjian,&#8221; a famous Taiwanese souvenir, and many people in the voice-over industry are known to love them. She must be taking good care of her throat and body for her daily performances.</span></p>
<p>The last person to appear with a plastic umbrella was Kojima. As the leader of the &#8220;A! group, he was cheering for Kusama&#8217;s performance.</p>
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<h2>More than a Kohaku appearance, a Cowcon is more important than a Kohaku appearance</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The group&#8217;s debut single &#8220;《A》BEGINNING&#8221; was released in May and sold 625,000 copies in the first week, ranking first in the Oricon Weekly Single Ranking (May 27). group Debut Tour ~A Live in the World~&#8221;, which toured 8 cities in Japan from May 25, attracting 370,000 people for a total of 32 concerts.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On October 9, their second single &#8220;Gotta Be&#8221; (Garabee) was released and sold 391,000 copies in its first week, ranking No. 1 on the Oricon (October 15). The company has been in the business for more than a decade. In recent years, five to six groups from the old Johnny&#8217;s era have participated in the Kohaku Uta Gassen, and &#8220;Ae! group&#8221; was also expected to perform at the Kohaku Uta Gassen. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221; (music magazine reporter)</span></p>
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<p>On November 17, Nikkan Sports reported that &#8220;STARTO Inc. is making final adjustments in the direction that its artists will not participate. According to the article, NHK had made offers to several groups, but STARTO made a comprehensive judgment after discussions with the talent and staff, and decided not to participate. Fans voiced a variety of opinions on this, with some supporting the decision, such as &#8220;This is right&#8221; and &#8220;It&#8217;s fine to keep the distance now,&#8221; and others expressing disappointment, such as &#8220;I had high hopes for Kohaku&#8230;it&#8217;s a real shame.</p>
<p>In the end, no STARTO artists appeared in Kohaku. We contacted STARTO about this matter, but received no response by the deadline.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, there is a possibility that STARTO will hold its first &#8220;countdown concert&#8221; on a large scale at the end of the year. It is said that the groups and talents belonging to STARTO have become more united than in the days of the old Johnny&#8217;s, so if they do, it will be a very big event.</span></p>
<p>(A former music magazine reporter) &#8220;It will be interesting to see how the &#8220;Ae! group&#8221; toward the end of the year.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Images of Kota Yabu and Ken Kojima coming out of the backstage entrance after the performance."></div>
<figure id="attachment_400332" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1966px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400332"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3dfa1f74"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/5ea7e0e0a47cae5f75c8d6fcc22d2072.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400332" class="wp-caption-text">Kota Yabu of &#8220;Hey! Say! JUMP&#8221; wearing a mask and leaving the theater with a throat drop and ice pack.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_400335" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2141px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400335"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="30a16096"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/28f3fffbb72f3ad1a791430b441e944a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400335" class="wp-caption-text">Kenta Kojima of the &#8220;Ae! group&#8221; Ken Kojima</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_400340" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2141px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-400340"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="95021f5e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/98ba9a84efb60e11e0df5912b3091003.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-400340" class="wp-caption-text">Ken Kojima of the &#8220;Ae! group&#8221; put on his sunglasses just before getting into a cab.</figcaption></figure>


 In late October, Richard Keita Kusama and Ken Kojima of the "Ae! group's Richard Keita Kusama, Ken Kojima, and Kota Yabu of "Hey! The "Ae! group" was very active this year and was expected to participate in NHK Kohaku (red and white). ......

Ae! Group’s Keita Kusama Performs on Stage with Leader Ken Kojima Supporting from the Audience

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