ONEMAN LIVE -I AM THE HERO- at BUDOKAN

**ONEMAN LIVE -I AM THE HERO- at BUDOKAN** is Novel Core's very first concert at Nippon Budokan. It took place January 17, 2024, the day before his 23rd birthday.

## Background

The concert was first announced January 21, 2023 while Novel Core stood on stage at Toyosu PIT during Novel Core ONEMAN LIVE -Untitled-. He said to the audience, "On January 17, 2024, the last day of my 22nd year, I will hold a one-man live at Nippon Budokan" and thanked everyone who helped to bring him this far. The announcement was streamed live from his Instagram account so fans everywhere could witness the moment in real time.

"At just 22 years old and in the second year of his major label debut, he is one of the fastest solo performers in Japan to take the stage at the Nippon Budokan."

On October 21 he announced he would be launching two support projects for the event: crowdfunding and an art auction.

**Crowdfunding**

Through the crowdfunding site Ubugoe, he launched the project on October 23 with a goal of 5 million yen to be reached by November 12. In his statement he said since making his major debut with BMSG in October 2020, he'd set a goal to perform at Budokan in three years.

"Just as I found hope for my future in SKY-HI and other artists who have gone before me, and have continued with my music without giving up and arrived at my dream stage, I want this Budokan concert to be a performance where I can clearly hand something to someone."

He explained that although he wants to put on a show that matches his vision, there was a problem with the budget. He and his team had run into a deficit after his previous one man live, Untitled -- the concert had to be held at half the venue's capacity due to Covid restrictions still being in place, and because he wanted as many people to be able to see it, he streamed in YouTube for free. Therefore there was no revenue from streaming tickets.

After spending six months looking for ways to fund the show, they decided crowdfunding would be the best route.
As he said in his statement: "We believe that this method, in which we ask for help by being honest and open about our current situation, is the most sincere way to help us and OUTERs (his fans)."

Through the project various goods could be purchased to help raise money for production costs.

**Auction**

In conjunction with the crowdfunding project, Novel Core auctioned off his artwork *iCoN*, a piece he created and used as a backdrop for cover of his cover of his iCoN EP. When he exhibited it at Toyosu PIT it was well received and there were inquiries if it would ever be put on sale. At 3m x 3m, the large art piece was divided into 100 pieces for the auction.

In one day the support project had already surpassed 500% of its goal and by its end on November 12 it had reached 811% for a total of 40,594,522 yen raised.

**Title**

The concert was originally titled *ONEMAN LIVE -I AM THE- at BUDOKAN*, which was displayed on the screen at the event, but at the end of the show, following his song new HERO and his parting words "We will definitely meet at a live again. I am your hero, Novel Core!", the title changed to *ONEMAN LIVE -I AM THE HERO- at BUDOKAN*.

## Setlist

1. I AM THE
2. No Way Back
3. WAGAMAMA MONDAIJI
4. BABEL
5. JUST NOISE
6. TROUBLE
7. FREAK PARADE
8. blue print
9. DAWN
10. Metafiction
11. BYE BYE
12. Dokusou Fantasista
13. SORRY, I'M A GENIUS - Mega Remix-
14. DOG -freestyle-
15. I AM THE instrumental -THE WILL RABBITS
16. TYPHOON
17. iCoN
18. A GREAT FOOL
19. Kami-sama Kidori - w/Takuya Yamanaka (THE ORAL CIGARETTES)
20. RULERS
21. SOBER ROCK
22. Over the Moon
23. Right Here
24. Letter
25. EVE
26. No Pressure
27. Green Light
28. THANKS, ALL MY TEARS
29. Jenga
30. HERO

## Special Announcements

During the concert, after performing some of his new songs, Novel Core took a moment to quickly announce his new album HERO would have a surprise digital drop at midnight, the 18th.

## References

1. ↑ *Natalie - Novel Core「22歳最後の日、日本武道館でワンマンライブをやります」とファンの前で発表, 2023/01/21*
2. ↑ *Rolling Stone Japan - Novel Core、日本武道館公演を2024年1月開催, 2023/01/21*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Novel Core 日本武道館公演 サポートプロジェクト
4. ↑ Novel Core Official Twitter
5. ↑ *Oricon - Novel Core、初の武道館ライブで涙 SKY-HIのカバー含む全29曲でファン7500人を魅了, 2023/01/17*