BE:FIRST "WATCH ME" SURPRISE VISIT & MINI TALK & LIVE in LA 2026

Last Friday, the 18th of September, my sister, Gabby, and I were fortunate enough to win priority entry for the BE:FIRST "WATCH ME" MINI TALK & LIVE at hello82 LA! I've heard about them and seen them overlap with our EXILE TRIBE boys a couple of times on social media. So when we learned that there was a chance to see them for free, we went ahead and tried our luck! Thankfully, we were able to attend this fun event with priority passes, which gave us a better feel for the boys and their music.

I vlogged about the event, so make sure to watch for a better visualization of our experience:

Initially, it was only going to be an event at hello82, but they surprised everyone by adding a pop-up at Barnes & Nobles at The Grove a day or two before.

Driving all the way from San Diego, we thought we wouldn’t make it. Thank goodness we decided to try anyway because we ended up at the back of the line with time to spare! Smarter people waited inside the store and joined the queue as we entered, saving them from the torture of standing under the hot sun. I wish we did the same, haha.

As for the actual event, we didn't know what to expect. But a lot of people showed up, which was great for this kind of event. The fans were all spread out between the second and third floors; Gabby and I ended up on the latter, not knowing what was about to happen. So what happened? The boys were paraded around, visiting the two display sections set up for them. This gave fans a good chance to wave as they passed by, and some fans near us even got to high-five some members, too! The boys were warm to their fans and greeted them, too. Gabby and I were the last ones before they arrived at their first stop on the third floor, and only MANATO and SHUNTO immediately waved hello. The rest of the boys seemed to have skipped us, but SOTA did a double-take after Gabby called his name, and JUNON (maybe) gave us a quick look. They probably thought we were just curious bystanders, which might be why SOTA was surprised. Still, we were so excited and happy to see them in real life, up close.

After their first stop, they went down to the second floor where they signed their photos on the wall and their pop-up display. They took more photos, then went back up to the third floor, ending the surprise visit. We were supposed to hurry to hello82 for the Mini Live & Talk, but decided on checking out the 2nd display with their autographs. It was hectic trying to get pictures and videos, but BESTYs (BE:FIRST's fandom name, or fans) were such good sports. Yes, it was busy, but everyone stayed in good spirits and was polite to each other. It felt delightful, even though we were only taking pictures of ourselves with the boys' photos and autographs. Gabby and I got caught by the staff and ended up in videos from both hello82 and BE:FIRST!

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For the BE:FIRST video, you can see us trying to film the display. In the hello82 footage, they zoomed in on me posing with the display, and we both made it into the fan chant. What a way to remember this fun time!

Alright, after taking all the pictures and videos we needed, we headed to hello82 for the main event!

How did we end up in this event? Well, you had to sign up by filling out a form to get priority entry, and the winners were notified via email. We didn't need to line up early and wait because we already had a guaranteed spot. However, the order in which we entered the venue still depended on another lottery. We literally had to pick the wristband number from a bag upon check-in. If you didn't win or couldn't sign up in time, you still had a chance to get in (depending on how many more people attended). General admission was definitely first-come, first-served. Lining up early gave you an advantage for a better spot in your designated area at the back, farther from the stage.

Before we get to the main event, let's talk about the setup!

To be honest, this is only the third time I've been to hello82 LA, and what I know is that it's usually a place where you can get merch from the latest K-pop group, and I vaguely know of it as an event space. The first two times I went, the only highlight was the Polaroid photo setup with the groups that were the stars of the day. As for BE:FIRST? I was pleasantly surprised! Aside from the portraits of the boys greeting you as you walk in, they have two huge photo zones! One is a comic book-like design with props you can use for photos, and the other is a big blown-up group photo of the boys. They also have a designated Artist Pop-up display where fans can pick up their Global EP exclusive for this event. I hadn't seen the full potential of this space until this event with BE:FIRST, and from what I’ve read on SNS lately, BMSG (their company) allegedly handled their own promotions for this release, and they went all out for the release of their Global EP using hello82. If that were the case, I have to give them credit for making this event big and quite magical. If you see my face in Gabby's vlog, I'm staring at the visuals in awe. The extra effort definitely made this event more memorable.

Okay, on to the main event!

If you heard my reaction in my vlog, I was also surprised by the stage setup: an elevated stage with a full sound system! The members even had in-ear monitors while they performed! They also had an MC who helped with the flow of the show and served as their translator. They really made an effort to turn this mini live into quite a show. Anyway, Gabby was lucky number 13 and ended up in the front right corner of the stage, while I got number 49, which isn't bad! I ended up only two rows behind Gabby! Yes, I am short, and it was a struggle to film because taller people were in front of me, but I'm not complaining at all. It really was not a bad spot. I still got a good look at the boys, and all I needed to do was zoom in for some (maybe) decent footage and photos.

So what did I think about the boys? They're way cuter in person! I also love that they wore their jackets from the WATCH ME MV. The bright blue color made them stand out at their surprise visit and at their live. The talk portion of the event challenged the boys' English skills, and it was fun to see them try their best. They did a fine job, of course. I was able to see a bit of their personalities, and they also got a feel for their American fans. Overall, the event made me even more excited to see them up close.

LEO was in front of me a lot, and I got good footage of him. Toward the end, he said he was worried about how the day would unfold, but his worries were for naught, as his fans cheered him on and screamed his name with all their might! He did look somewhat worried and unsure at first, but that turned into big smiles not long after. Just look at the pictures I took; that smile can light up a room, and it definitely looks great on him.

I noticed MANATO's energy, and I can tell he loves performing. I've seen that same energy in their practice videos for WATCH ME. I'm glad to see that same enthusiasm in real life.

I couldn’t see much of RYUHEI because my view of him was mostly blocked. JUNON was farther from my line of sight, but he seemed like a chill guy. And while SHUNTO was closer to my view, he wore a beanie that almost covered his eyes! That made it difficult to see his full expressions. And again, despite all of that, I still enjoyed seeing them in person.

Lastly, the one thing I was really looking forward to was seeing SOTA dance. I love, love, love dancers. When I found out SOTA won number 1 for best dancers in Japan in the 20s category for TBS's "Real No.1 Professional Ranking," where 300 professional dancers and choreographers voted, I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, they didn't do much dancing during the event. I expected at least three songs, but they only did two. They started with BRUCE WAYNE, but they only danced half of it, and the second song was PAPER SCARS, which was more of a ballad than a high-energy song to dance to. I did enjoy both, but I really wanted to see that amazing dancing from SOTA. Plus, two songs really didn't feel like enough. I really thought they would end with one more performance and at least perform WATCH ME! That day was the release day of their Global EP; they had just released the MV for WATCH ME, and the event itself was called "WATCH ME." So that felt like a letdown. Still, it was exciting to see them perform at all. But to our surprise, days later, they did perform WATCH ME at their event in Hawaii, which made us sad. In the end, it felt a little disappointing.

Again, we were very happy to be a part of this release event! We even stayed long after the Mini Talk & Live ended to enjoy their setup. We ended up decorating sunglasses, making a small note for the boys, and taking more pictures and videos to commemorate our fun day with BE:FIRST!

Gabby and I were also happy to see familiar faces this day! We met them when KID PHENOMENON from EXILE TRIBE came to Texas & LA!

Check out Gabby's vlog here:

Check out the WATCH ME MV here:

Anyways, that's it. It's been a while since I blogged, but I want to start writing again! I still want to talk about beauty and fashion, but I'll bring that live reporter era of mine here, on my own blog. A lot has happened, so new and old updates are coming soon. More than anything, I want this space to keep sharing the things I like and my experiences. So, I hope you’ll join me in this journey.