FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, CUTIE STREET, and KIMURA MISA to Join 'ASEA 2026' Lineup

ASOBI SYSTEM Artists and Producer to Make a Full Appearance at the 'Asia Star Entertainer Awards'

Artists and a producer from Japan's ASOBI SYSTEM will be making a full appearance at 'ASEA 2026'.

On April 15, the organizing committee announced that FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, CUTIE STREET, and producer KIMURA MISA will perform on the first day (May 16) of the '3rd Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2026' (hereafter 'ASEA 2026'). The music festival, which brings together top-tier artists representing Asia, will be held on May 16 and 17 at the Belluna Dome in Saitama, Japan.

FRUITS ZIPPER (Amane Tsukiashi, Suzuka Chinzei, Yui Sakurai, Runa Nakagawa, Mana Manaka, Karen Matsumoto, Noel Hayase) debuted in April 2022 through ASOBI SYSTEM's idol project 'KAWAII LAB.' With their second single "Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro" (My Most Adorable Part), they achieved over 3 billion views on TikTok, surpassed 71 million music video views, won the Japan Record Award for three consecutive years, and made their first appearance on the 76th NHK 'Kohaku Uta Gassen'. Following their largest-ever standalone concert at the Tokyo Dome this February, they are currently embarking on an arena tour spanning 16 shows across 8 cities.

CANDY TUNE (Bibian Murakawa, Mizuki Kirihara, Rino Fukuyama, Nanako Ogawa, Natsu Minami, Shizuka Miyano, Kotomi Tachibana), who debuted in March 2023, achieved 4.3 billion TikTok views, 100 million streams, and ranked #1 on the TikTok Popularity Ranking for 10 consecutive weeks last year with "BAIBAI FIGHT!". After drawing around 20,000 fans during their 8-city live tour last fall, they made their first appearance on the 76th NHK 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' and will hold a 3rd-anniversary live concert at the Nippon Budokan in June.

SWEET STEADY, formed in March 2024, is a 7-member group consisting of Ayu Okuda, Yui Otoi, Natsuka Kurita, Rise Shiokawa, Nagisa Shoji, Mayumi Shiraishi, and Sakina Yamauchi. The group successfully held a 6-city tour last year and continues to see steady growth, true to their name. The audio and music video for their new song "SWEET STEP", released in February, gained popularity by charting on Spotify's major charts and YouTube's trending music chart.

CUTIE STREET (Risa Furusawa, Aika Sano, Kana Itakura, Ayano Masuda, Emiru Kawamoto, Miyu Umeda, Nagisa Manabe, Haruka Sakuraba), who debuted in August 2024, recorded 200 million streams and 7.4 billion TikTok views with their debut song "Kawaii dake ja dame desu ka?" (Is it not enough to just be cute?). Based on these achievements, they won the Music Category at the 'TikTok First Half Trend Grand Prize' last year, followed by the honor of winning the Best New Artist Award at the 67th Japan Record Awards. After drawing 48,000 fans across a 12-city tour last year, they will hold a 2nd-anniversary commemorative concert at the Nippon Budokan in September.

KIMURA MISA has been active as the general producer of ASOBI SYSTEM's idol project 'KAWAII LAB.', which birthed FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, and CUTIE STREET, since 2022. Entering the entertainment industry as a model for the magazine Zipper in 2014, KIMURA MISA performed as a member of the ASOBI SYSTEM group Musubizm from 2014 to 2017, receiving much love from fans. Beyond her activities as a model, singer, and producer, she has expanded her scope by serving as a committee member for the Gunma Prefectural Government's 'Re:born Conference' and as a hometown cheering ambassador for Tatebayashi City.

Launched in 2024, 'ASEA' has established itself as a global awards ceremony that carefully selects and honors artists exercising worldwide influence beyond Asia, showcasing high-quality performances. This year as well, a large number of top-class artists who have achieved significant results over the past year are scheduled to participate and put on spectacular stages.

The lineup for this year's awards ceremony includes ATEEZ, &TEAM, CANDY TUNE, CUTIE STREET, ENHYPEN, FRUITS ZIPPER, Hearts2Hearts, IDID, KIMURA MISA, KWON EUNBI, NOWZ, SWEET STEADY, THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE, VVUP, WONHO, and xikers (in alphabetical order). MONSTA X's Hyungwon and IVE's Rei will take the stage as MCs on the first day, while actress Lee Sungkyung has been confirmed as the MC for the second day. Singer and actor Lee Junho, Go Younjung, and Lee Chae-min will also be in attendance.

'ASEA 2026' is hosted by NEWSEN, South Korea's representative entertainment and sports media outlet celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, and @star1, a star & style magazine celebrating its 14th anniversary, and is organized by the ASEA Organizing Committee.

'ASEA 2026' plans to sequentially announce the artist lineup, award categories, and judging criteria through its official website.

Ticket reservations began on March 16. Further details can be found on the official Japanese website.

(Photos provided by the ASEA Organizing Committee, ASOBISYSTEM Co., Ltd.)