RUI

## Kawashima Rui  川(かわ)島(しま)塁(るい)

RUI, August 2023

**RUI** (ルイ), birth name **Kawashima Rui** (川島塁), is a Japanese singer, model and trainee of Japanese management company BMSG. He is currently pursuing various activities to prepare him for his eventual debut.

Before joining BMSG, Rui took part in audition show THE FIRST, where he made top 11 and was thus offered a trainee contract in BMSG. He also trained at Avex Artist Academy Fukuoka and Tokyo and was a member of training unit **RAPGAKARI**. He was also an exclusive model for magazine **Nico Puchi** between 2020 and 2022.

### Early Life

Rui started taking singing lessons at 9 years old and dancing lessons at 10. During his elementary school years, he attended Avex Artist Academy in Fukuoka , and after moving to Tokyo for middle school, he started attending the Tokyo branch.

### 2018-2020

In April 2018, Rui was chosen for the Avex training unit RAPGAKARI. The group disbanded on March 26, 2020.

In March 2020, he started modeling exclusively for Nico Puchi magazine.

### 2021

In February, Rui auditioned for SKY-HI's THE FIRST and passed the Quality screening round in Tokyo (conducted in-person) with "Kanden" by Yonezu Kenshi (vocal performance). He ranked 22nd out of 30 with his performance.

In THE FIRST Artisism screening, Rui sang "Kanden" again, and was Team A (with Sato Ryuta, Nakanishi Naoki, Baba Ryosei, Kuroda Ryuhei) to perform "Sexual Healing" by SKY-HI. At the end of the 3rd round Rui ranked 8th, successfully continuing on to the training camp.

In THE FIRST training camp Creativity screening, Rui was placed in Team C with Shota, Reiko, Shunto, and Taiki. The song they created in this round is titled "YOLO". Rui's rank remained the same (8th) after this round.

In THE FIRST training camp Mock Professional screening, Rui was placed in Team "Be Free" with Junon, Leo, Sota, Manato, and Reiko. They performed Be Free, and Rui ranked 5th.

In THE FIRST training camp VS. Pro Artist screening, Rui performed To The First together with the remaining 10. Rui was eliminated after the VS. Pro Artist screening, but he was offered an exclusive trainee contract under BMSG instead. This was revealed to the public on July 23.

On September 23, the tracklist for SKY-HI's album Hachimenroppi was revealed. It included 14th Syndrome, a song that featured Rui along with the other two 14 year olds from THE FIRST, edhiii boi and TAIKI.

In October, Rui started his own serialization in Nico Puchi, "Rui no Fashion&Music".

On November 26, it was announced that he would take part in the THE FIRST FINAL concert alongside his fellow THE FIRST contestants on January 29 and 30, 2022.

### 2022

In January, Rui co-starred in Nico Puchi's web drama "Sakura Saku".

On January 29 and 30, he performed in THE FIRST FINAL concert.

In February he was a guest performer at SKY-HI HALL TOUR 2022 -Hachimenroppi-.

In March, Rui graduated from Nico Puchi.

On April 8 he performed at BMSG Artist Showcase 2022.

On April 27, he was a guest at Amazon Music BREAKTHROUGH JAPAN Live.

On June 27, it was announced he would be releasing a split EP titled 15th Dream with edhiii boi and TAIKI - first as a digital release on July 1, then as a CD on July 2.

From July to September he was one of the opening acts in the SKY-HI HALL TOUR 2022 -Cho Hachimenroppi-.

On August 21, he performed at FREEDOM Aozora 2022 Awajishima as an opening act with edhiii boi and TAIKI.

On September 17 and 18 he performed at BMSG FES '22.

On September 18 he released New Chapter as a part of BMSG ALLSTARS.

In December, he auditioned for Japan's Got Talent, but didn't make it past the first round .

### 2023

On June 18, he performed as the opening act for the SKY-HI ARENA TOUR 2023 -BOSSDOM- alongside TAIKI and KANON.

On July 31 and August 1, he performed at the BMSG TRAINEE Showcase 2023 with REIKO, TAIKI, and KANON.

On August 21, he and KANON released their digital single Koe.

On September 18, he released The Sun from the EAST as part of BMSG EAST.

During the last two weekends in September, he performed at BMSG FES '23.

### 2024

On January 11, he along with trainees TAIKI and KANON, were announced as new members of "QJ Camera Club" in which they will take turns writing a weekly series of photo diaries for *QJWeb Quick Japan Web*.

## Personal Life

* Family
* Education
* Friendships
* Nicknames
* Name Meaning

Rui's father is former professional baseball player Kawashima Keizo (川島慶三). His mother is Nozawa Saya (野沢沙耶), a former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters cheerleader. He has a little brother, younger by two years, named Rento (連十).  Keizo lives in Sendai, where he is currently working as a coach for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, while Rui lives with his mother and his little brother in Tokyo.

The family keeps a female toy poodle named Sherry (シェリー).

His uncle is Kawashima Masaru (川島勝), a professional bicycle racer.

His paternal grandmother passed away due to pancreatic cancer on May 9, 2021.

When he auditioned for THE FIRST, Rui was a first year middle school student.

In March 2023 he graduated from middle school.

As of April 2023 he is a first year high school student.

* **TAIKI**: he's close to fellow THE FIRST contestant TAIKI
* **edhiii boi**: he got close to fellow THE FIRST contestant edhiii boi after the recording of 14th Syndrome
* **KANON**: he's close to fellow BMSG Trainees member KANON

* **Rui-chan** (るいちゃん): most common nickname used by BMSG artists
* **RuiRui** (るいるい): used mainly by fans and TAIKI.

Rui's given name, "塁", means baseball base.

## Profile

* Information
* Q&A

* **Birth Name**: Kawashima Rui (川島塁)
* **Stage Name**: RUI (ルイ)
* **Nicknames**: Rui-chan (るいちゃん), RuiRui (るいるい)
* **Birth Date**: June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) (age 16)
* **Birth Place**: Tokyo, Japan
* **Blood Type**: ?
* **Height**: 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)?
* **Western Zodiac**:  Gemini
* **Eastern Zodiac**:  Pig (Boar in Japan)
* **Emoji**: ⚡
* **BMSG Status**:
	+ 2021-07-23: Joined
	+ 2021-07-23: BMSG Trainees Member
* **BMSG Units**:
	+ BMSG ALLSTARS (2022)
	+ BMSG EAST (2023)

* **Looks up to**: SKY-HI
* **Favorite food**: natto kimchi, chocolate
* **Disliked food**: eggplant , coffee, sweets
* **Subject he's good at**: English
* **Favorite artists**: Yuuri, SEKAI NO OWARI , Saucy Dog
* **Favorite BE:FIRST song**: Kick Start
* **Best subject in school**: PE

## Discography

*Main article: RUI/Discography*
* Artist
* THE FIRST

EP
* [2022.07.01] 15th Dream with edhiii boi & TAIKI

Features
* [2021.10.27] SKY-HI - 14th Syndrome feat. RUI, TAIKI, edhiii boi

Collaborations
* [2022.09.18] BMSG ALLSTARS - New Chapter
* [2023.08.21] RUI・KANON - Koe
* [2023.09.18] BMSG EAST - The Sun from the EAST

Unreleased Songs
* Yume no Naka de

During the audition RUI participated in each of below performance screenings:

* **Creativity**
	+ Team C
	+ Song: YOLO -You Only Live Once-

* **Professional Trial Stage - Be Free vs Move On**
	+ Team Be Free

* **VS Professional Artist**
	+ Performance of To The First featuring all Top 11 finalists

## Live Events

*Main article: RUI/Live Events*
* One Man Lives
* Featured Lives
* Tours

* [2022.01.29-30] THE FIRST FINAL
* [2022.04.08] BMSG Artist Showcase 2022
* [2022.04.27] Amazon Music BREAKTHROUGH JAPAN Live (guest)
* [2022.08.12] ROCK IN JAPAN FES. 2022  (guest)
* [2022.08.21] FREEDOM Aozora 2022 Awajishima  (opening act)
* [2022.08.26] SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2022  (guest)
* [2022.09.17-18] BMSG FES '22
* [2022.09.24] TOKYO ISLAND 2022 (guest)
* [2023.06.18] SKY-HI ARENA TOUR 2023 -BOSSDOM- (opening act)
* [2023.07.31 - 08.01] BMSG TRAINEE Showcase 2023

* [2022] SKY-HI HALL TOUR 2022 -Hachimenroppi- (guest)
* [2022] SKY-HI HALL TOUR 2022 -Cho Hachimenroppi- (opening act)

## Other Works

* Starring TV Programs
* TV Appearances
* Music Videos
* Modeling
* Dramas
* CM

* [2021] THE FIRST / Hulu
* [2021] Ano Hi no THE FIRST / Hulu
* [2022] BE:FIRST TV Tokubetsu-hen Road to BMSG FES’22 / Hulu

* [2021.11.12] Sukkiri / NTV
* [2022.04.15] MUSIC BLOOD - THE NEXT UP / NTV
* [2022.09.23] Music Blood / NTV

*Main article: RUI/Music Videos*
Featured
* [2021] SKY-HI -  ONE MORE DAY feat. REIKO  (cameo)
* [2021] SKY-HI - 14th Syndrome feat. RUI, TAIKI, edhiii boi
* [2022] edhiii boi - Forever Friend

Collaborations
* [2022] edhiii boi, RUI, TAIKI - Nightmare
* [2022] edhiii boi, RUI, TAIKI - Anytime, Anywhere -Natsuyasumi 2022 ver.-
* [2022] BMSG ALLSTARS - New Chapter

* [2020-2022] Nico Puchi  (exclusive model)

* [2022] Sakura Saku  (web drama)

## Publications

*Main article: RUI/Publications*
* [2022.04.12] anan 2295
* [2022.05.11] anan 2298

## Trivia

* In early 2021, Rui developed acne and started taking care of his skin with the help of a dermatologist.
* He tries to drink 2 liters of water every day.
* He eats a lot of vegetables, but he treats himself to chocolate once a week (although sometimes he eats it more often).
* He wants to go to the USA while he's still a teenager and be on America's Got Talent
* He's in the basketball club to improve his physical strength
* The first song he ever sang on stage was "Robinson" by Spitz. He was in third grade and he had heard it playing on the radio
* He listens to music from different genres and countries
* When he goes for a run, he listens to SKY-HI's and BE:FIRST's music, as well as Eminem's Godzilla
* He discovers music thourgh the charts and TikTok
* If he described himself as a type of food, it would be crackle candy, because he dances like a burst of energy on stage
* Between April 2021 and July 2023, the representative emoji fans had assigned him was a dog (🐶), because of his puppy-like behavior and energy. In August 2023, he himself decided to change it to a lightning bolt (⚡), since it represents how when he's on stage, it's like a lightning strikes.

## References

1. ↑  https://www.instagram.com/p/BxCFnX\_BwGU/
2. ↑  https://www.instagram.com/p/CFPG04QpAut/
3. ↑  https://www.instagram.com/p/B-OH8TXF8AV/
4. ↑  https://www.instagram.com/p/B-I99g-FRPe/
5. ↑  Rui no Fashion&Music announcement
6. ↑ Instagram Story 2023/02/10
7. ↑  https://www.nikkansports.com/baseball/news/1488815.html
8. ↑ Rui's Instagram
9. ↑ RUI・KANON / クリスマス・イブ (Cover)
10. ↑ Kawashima Keizo's Instagram
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5  anan 2298
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4  *Rui no Fashion&Music - October 2021*
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3  *Rui no Fashion & Music March 2022*
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1  Instagram Live 18/07/2022
15. ↑  Instagram Live 10/08/2022
16. ↑  *『THE FIRST』で人気爆発！　もーっと知りたい！ルイのコト☆*