Taiga Kyomoto’s Solo Album Hits Big Despite Never Being No.1

Taiga Kyomoto of SixTONES claimed the top spot on the April 29th Oricon Weekly Album Ranking with his 1st album PROT.30. Known as one of the group’s main vocalists and for his work in musicals, Kyomoto is highly regarded for his vocal talent. This album, featuring songs he wrote and composed himself, has become a proud milestone in his career.

“Being number one is something unfamiliar in my life.”

‘PROT.30’ is the first CD album from the creative project “ART-PUT,” launched by Kyomoto Taiga last September. It reflects Kyomoto’s current state after a variety of influences and was a long-anticipated release.

On its release day, it sold about 89,000 copies, debuting at No.1 on the Oricon Daily Singles Ranking. In an Instagram live stream on April 23, the day the results came in, Kyomoto expressed his gratitude to fans and staff, noting it was his first time topping the chart from day one.

He candidly shared, “Being number one is something unfamiliar in my life. I’m really happy. I don’t think I’ve ever taken first place in big rankings or anything in life before. It might even be my first time. And for it to be in music makes it all the more special.”

Thinking about the album’s lead track Kokkei na Fight (Absurd Fight), Kyomoto added, “That’s why I wrote lyrics like ‘I don’t need to be praised’ in the song. Even though I felt that way, this album, which includes that track, managed to take first place on the daily chart. It feels like a beautiful irony — and I’m so happy. Thank you.”

“Kyomoto is known as a second-generation celebrity, being the son of actor Masaki Kyomoto. However, rather than relying on the privileged environment of having a famous parent, he has continued to work hard to hone his skills in singing and dance.

Over time, his singing voice came to be highly regarded, and in 2015 — even before his CD debut — he was cast as Crown Prince Rudolf in the musical Elisabeth at Tokyo’s Imperial Theatre.

That said, as he himself mentioned, he may have harbored some lingering negative feelings about not having much connection to topping major rankings,” noted an entertainment writer.

The passion of fans: “We want to give him a No.1”

Kyomoto’s PROT.30 recorded 114,814 copies in its first week on the Oricon Weekly Album Ranking. Meanwhile, Hey! Say! JUMP’s Ryosuke Yamada, who released his first solo album RED the previous week on the 16th, sold 114,910 copies in his first week — meaning Kyomoto narrowly missed the top spot by just 96 copies.

On the 29th, after the weekly ranking was announced, Kyomoto updated his blog on the members-only site FAMILY CLUB web. While his group had received several No.1 titles before, he looked back self-deprecatingly, saying, “I’ve lived a life far removed from being No.1.”

“I’ve never received a major individual award or ranked No.1 on any chart — basically, I’ve never had that experience,” he reflected, explaining that rather than comparing himself to others, he’s focused on facing himself. “That’s just how my life is,” he thought, which inspired the emotions behind writing Kokkei na Fight.

“During the Instagram Live on the 23rd, when Kyomoto himself said ‘I’m not used to being No.1,’ fans were stirred up with the desire to ‘give him a No.1’ as a present,” a showbiz writer explained. “Leading up to the weekly ranking announcement, fans posted reports on social media about buying extra copies of the album.”

Kyomoto also revealed in his blog, “I could feel in many different ways how much everyone hyped things up and worked so hard for me.”

While he wasn’t able to surpass Yamada, with fans’ support, PROT.30 still achieved over 110,000 copies in its first week. Among solo albums released this year by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT artists, it outperformed NEWS’s Takahisa Masuda’s Kidoairaku (released February 12, first-week sales of 83,000 copies).

Kyomoto is scheduled to embark on his solo tour TAIGA KYOMOTO LIVE TOUR 2025 BLUE OF LIBERTY, starting May 8 at Zepp Nagoya, with additional shows in Osaka (June 3–5) and Tokyo (June 17–18). Fans are hoping he’ll deliver a high-quality stage to return their support.