The First Take (stylized as THE F1RST TAKE) is a Japanese YouTube channel that invites singers to perform a song recorded in one take in a white studio. The First Take is a trademark of Sony Music Entertainment Japan.[2]

The First Take
Websitewww.thefirsttake.jp
YouTube information
Channel
Created bySony Music Entertainment Japan
Years active2019–present
GenreMusic
Subscribers10 million[1]
Total views4,69 billion[1]
Contents are inJapanese
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2020
10,000,000 subscribers2024

Last updated: August 18, 2024

Concept

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Videos on The First Take are filmed in a studio, alternating between medium and close-up shots of only the performing singer and a microphone, set to a background that is usually white. The footage is recorded in 4K resolution with high quality audio.[3] According to creative director Keisuke Shimizu, singers are asked to treat the filming as a live performance,[4] The Japan Times writer Patrick St. Michel notes that The First Take's success demonstrates a shift in musical preferences in the public, suggesting that "slick, manicured pop is out and authenticity — or at least the veneer of authenticity — is in."[5]

History

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On November 15, 2019, the channel published its first video featuring "Narratage" by Adieu.[5] On December 6, Lisa's performance of "Gurenge" went viral and gained more views than the song's original music video, and is credited with popularizing the channel.[6] Several recordings on the channel are available digitally; notably, Dish//'s performance of "Neko" peaked at 11th on the Billboard Japan Hot 100[7] and also placed 28th on the Year-End chart.[8] As of August 2024, 549 episodes and almost 300 individuals or groups have appeared on the channel; five videos have more than 100 million views: "Gurenge" by Lisa, "Neko" by Dish//, "Dry Flower" by Yuuri, and "Yoru ni Kakeru", "Gunjō" by Yoasobi.[3]

As a response to a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several videos in 2020 were filmed inside the singer's home/private studio and titled "The Home Take".[4] In June 2020, South Korean boy band Stray Kids performed "Slump" (Japanese version) on the channel, becoming the first foreign and Korean artists to appear, and was the first video to be shot remotely.[9] The group appeared again to perform "Mixtape: Oh" in October 2021, marking the first non-Japanese song to perform on the channel.[10]

In February 2022, singer-songwriter Ai performed her song "Aldebaran", becoming the first solo American artist to appear on the channel.[11] The first American group to appear on the channel was Pentatonix in January 2021.[12] On April 1, the channel published its first recording featuring non-human characters, Sesame Street muppets Elmo, Julia, and Cookie Monster, who performed "Ue o Muite Aruko" with Hinatazaka46 members Shiho Katō, Hinano Kamimura, and Mikuni Takahashi.[13] In June, English singer Harry Styles appeared on the 225th episode, performing "Boyfriends".[14] Styles was one of the few Western artists to appear on the channel.[15] In September 2022, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne performed "Complicated" on the channel.[16] In October 2022, singer-songwriter Sury Su performed her song "Liao (The Phoenix)", becoming the first solo Chinese artist to appear on the channel.[17]

In January 2023, Hololive Production member Hoshimachi Suisei, performing her song "Stellar Stellar", became the first virtual YouTuber to perform on the channel.[18]

On August 18th, 2024, the channel exceeds 10 million subscribers, becoming the first Japanese music YouTube channel to do so.

On October 20, 2024, the YouTube channel Wings of Pegasus demonstrated that The First Take had engaged in fraud by using pitch correction in videos, contradicting the channel’s claim that it features unedited performances.[19]

List of performances

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Key
Indicates performances by non-Japanese artists (including collaboration with Japanese artists)

2019

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2020

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2021

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2022

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2023

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2024

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List of 2024 performances on The First Take
No. Date Artist(s) Song(s)
392 January 3 Kanjani Eight "Zukkoke Otoko Michi", "Tomoyo"
393 January 5 SixTones "Kokkara"
394 January 8 Hiroshi Kitadani "We Are!"
395 January 10 Sakurazaka46 "Samidare yo"
396 January 12 Nami Tamaki "Believe"
397 January 17 SixTones "Kimi ga Inai"
398 January 19 Måneskin "I Wanna Be Your Slave"
399 January 24 Kanjani Eight "Osaka Romanesque"
400 January 26 Gao "Ending"
401 January 31 Måneskin "Honey (Are U Coming?)"
402 February 2 T.M.Revolution "White Breath"
403 February 7 Cö Shu Nie "Yume o Misete"
404 February 9 Spyair "Genjō Destruction"
405 February 14 Takanori Nishikawa "Freedom"
406 February 16 Omoinotake "Ikuokukonen"
407 February 19 Bad Hop "Champion Road"
408 "Kawasaki Drift"
409 February 21 Spyair "Orange"
410 February 23 Angela Aki "Tegami (Haikei Jūgo no Kimi e)"
411 February 28 Yusuke "Himawari (Ōenka)"
412 March 1 Nokko "Friends"
413 March 4 Phil Lam "Mountains and Valleys"
414 March 6 Angela Aki, Natsumi Kon, Sakurako Ohara "Kono Sekai no Achikochi ni"
415 March 8 Creepy Nuts "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born"
416 March 11 Loren Allred, Nobuo Uematsu ConTiki "No Promises to Keep"
417 March 13 Nokko "Ningyo"
418 March 15 Zerobaseone "In Bloom" (Japanese version)
419 March 20 Phil Lam, Cath Wong, Mischa Ip "Art and Science"
420 March 22 Riize "Get a Guitar"
421 March 27 Airi Suzuki featuring Sorane, Taku Takahashi (M-Flo) "Koi ni Ochitara"
422 March 29 Loren Allred "Never Enough"
423 April 3 Riize "Love 119" (Japanese version)
424 April 5 Creepy Nuts "Biriken"
425 April 5 A-Lin "A Kind of Sorrow"
426 April 12 West "Ee Janai ka"
427 April 17 A-Lin "Best Friend"
428 April 19 Yuki Chiba "Team Tomodachi"
429 April 24 West "Heart"
430 April 26 Hitorie "Unknown Mother Goose"
431 May 1 Fruits Zipper "Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro"
432 May 3 Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi "Tonbo"
433 May 8 Hitorie "On the Front Line"
434 May 10 Ano featuring Lilas Ikuta "Zezezezettai Seiiki"
435 May 15 Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi "Black Cloak and Red Apple"
436 May 17 Psychic Fever, JP the Wavy "Just Like Dat"
437 May 22 Lilas Ikuta featuring Ano "Seishun Ōka"
438 May 24 Dozan11 AKA Dōzan Miki "Lifetime Respect"
439 May 29 Lex & Lana "Akarui Heya"
440 May 31 Wands "Sekai ga Owaru Made wa..."
441 June 5 Kimaguren "Life"
442 June 7 Kessoku Band "Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet"
443 June 12 Chō Tokimeki Sendenbu "Saijōkyū ni Kawaii no!"
444 June 14 ALI featuring Hannya "Professionalism"
445 June 19 Kessoku Band "Shine as Usual"
446 June 21 INI "Fanfare"
447 June 26 Da-ice "I Wonder"
448 June 28 Noa "Any Angle"
449 July 1 SB19 "Gento"
450 July 3 INI "I'm a Dreamer"
451 July 5 Asian Kung-Fu Generation "Haruka Kanata"
452 July 8 Jeonghan X Wonwoo "Last Night" (acoustic version)
453 July 10 Noa "My Lovely Killer"
454 July 12 Ai Otsuka "Planetarium"
455 July 15 SB19 "Mapa"
456 July 17 Asian Kung-Fu Generation "Rock'n Roll, Morning Light Falls on You"
457 July 19 Hakushi Hasegawa "Somoku"
458 July 22 BoyNextDoor "Earth, Wind & Fire" (Japanese version)
459 July 24 Ai Otsuka "Sakuranbo (Cocktail)"
460 July 26 Rikondensetsu "Love Is More Mellow"
461 July 28 Hakushi Hasegawa "Outside"
462 August 2 Neguse Nichijō Kakumei
463 August 7 Rikondensetsu "Honjitsu no Osusume"
464 August 9 Aqua Timez "Niji"
465 August 12 Aespa "Supernova"
466 August 14 Neguse "Zutto Suki da kara"
467 August 16 Bakufu Slump "Runner"
468 August 21 Aqua Timez "Senno Yoru o Koete"
469 August 23 Umeda Cypher "Switch (Be the Monsterr)"
470 August 26 Aespa "Hot Mess"
471 August 28 =Love "Zettai Idol Yamenaide"
472 August 30 Kocchi no Kento "Hai Yorokonde"
473 September 4 Umeda Cypher "Rodeo13"
474 September 6 Bird "Soul"
475 September 11 TWS "If I'm S, Can You Be My N?"
476 September 13 Bim "Bonita"
477 September 18 Bird "Sora no Hitomi"
478 September 20 Wednesday Campanella "Charlotte"
479 September 25 Bim featuring Kohjiya, Punpee "DNA"
480 September 27 Natsuko Nisshoku "Water Flow Rock"
481 October 9 Kiyoshi Ryujin 25 "Will you marry me ?"
482 October 11 Zarame "Sixth Magnitude Star"
483 October 16 Kiro Akiyama "Caffeine"
484 October 18 Shota Shimizu "HOME"
485 October 23 ClariS "Hitorigoto"
486 October 25 marcy "Love Song"
487 October 28 Laufey "From The Start"

Other performance

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The Home Take

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The First Take Fes

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Inside the First Take

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Flash the First Take

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Notes

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  1. ^ The First Take performance of "Niji" was included on the limited edition of the CD single "Niji".
  2. ^ ALI's The First Take Fes performance were removed due to drummer Kahadio being arrested for fraud.

References

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  1. ^ a b "About The First Take". YouTube.
  2. ^ "登録6320136". J-Piat Pat (in Japanese). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Ito, Haruka (September 30, 2021). "News Navigator: What is popular Japanese YouTube music channel 'The First Take'?". Mainichi Daily News. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "普段ならNG箇所を価値あるものに…「THE FIRST TAKE」制作チーム". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). May 9, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  5. ^ a b St. Michel, Patrick (April 24, 2020). "Racking up the views on YouTube with The First Take". The Japan Times. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (August 24, 2020). "LiSA's "Gurenge" Performance for "THE FIRST TAKE" is Featured in Sony's Headphones CM". Crunchyroll. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  7. ^ "Hot 100 [2020/06/17 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hot 100: Year-End 2020". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "Stray Kids「THE FIRST TAKE」に韓国から出演、「SLUMP -Japanese ver.-」世界初披露". Natalie (in Japanese). June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  10. ^ "Stray Kidsの凄みをまざまざと見せつけられる「Mixtape : OH」。韓国語歌唱で挑む、2度目の『THE FIRST TAKE』". The First Time (in Japanese). November 11, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "AIが今夜「THE FIRST TAKE」初登場、朝ドラ主題歌「アルデバラン」披露|ウーマンエキサイト". ウーマンエキサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  12. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About 'THE FIRST TAKE,' Featuring Harry Styles, Stray Kids, YOASOBI & More". Billboard. June 20, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  13. ^ "日向坂46「THE FIRST TAKE」で「セサミストリート」キャラクターとコラボ(コメントあり)". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  14. ^ Paul, Larisha (June 13, 2022). "Watch Harry Styles Perform a Stripped-Back Version of 'Boyfriends' on 'The First Take'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  15. ^ Dailey, Hannah (June 13, 2022). "Harry Styles Nails His One-Shot Performance of 'Boyfriends' on 'The First Take': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  16. ^ "Avril Lavigne、"THE FIRST TAKE"に初登場!デビュー曲「Complicated」を一発撮りパフォーマンス!" [Avril Lavigne's first appearance in "THE FIRST TAKE"! One shot performance of debut song "Complicated"!]. Gekirock (in Japanese). September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  17. ^ "スー・ルイチー、中国ソロアーティストとして初出演した『THE FIRST TAKE』の感想とプロフィール。彼女の魅力を探る". The First Times (in Japanese). October 11, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  18. ^ Harding, Daryl (January 20, 2023). "Hololive Member Hoshimachi Suisei Is the 1st VTuber to Perform on THE FIRST TAKE". Crunchyroll. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  19. ^ "NOW THIS is the biggest musical fraud I'VE EVER SEEN". YouTube.