FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, CUTIE STREET, and Misa Kimura Confirmed for 'ASEA 2026'

The '3rd ASIA STAR ENTERTAINER AWARDS 2026' (hereafter ASEA 2026), a music festival gathering top-class artists representing Asia, will be held for two days on May 16 and 17 at the Belluna Dome in Saitama, Japan. On April 15, the organizing committee announced that FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, CUTIE STREET, and producer Misa Kimura will perform on the first day (May 16).

FRUITS ZIPPER (Amane Tsukiasi, Suzuka Chinzei, Yui Sakurai, Ruka Nakagawa, Mana Manaka, Karen Matsumoto, Noel Hayase) debuted in April 2022 from Asobisystem's idol project 'KAWAII LAB.'. Their 2nd single 'Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro' surpassed 3 billion views on TikTok and 71 million MV views, winning the Japan Record Award for three consecutive years. They also made their first appearance on the 76th NHK 'Kohaku Uta Gassen'. Furthermore, they held their largest-ever Tokyo Dome concert in February this year and are rolling out an arena tour of 16 performances in 8 cities.

CANDY TUNE (Bibian Murakawa, Mizuki Kirihara, Rino Fukuyama, Nanako Ogawa, Natsu Minami, Shizuka Miyano, Kotomi Tachibana), who debuted in March 2023, recorded achievements last year with 'Baibai FIGHT!', including 4.3 billion TikTok views, 100 million cumulative streams, and ranking 1st on the TikTok Popularity Ranking for 10 consecutive weeks. Last autumn, they mobilized about 20,000 people on an 8-city live tour, and following their first appearance on the 76th NHK 'Kohaku Uta Gassen', they will hold their 3rd-anniversary live concert at the Nippon Budokan in June.

SWEET STEADY is a group formed in March 2024, consisting of 7 members: Ayu Okuda, Yui Otoi, Natsuka Kurita, Rise Shiokawa, Nagisa Shoji, Mayumi Shiraishi, and Sakina Yamauchi. Last year, they successfully held a 6-city tour, and true to their name, they are steadily riding an updraft. Their new song 'SWEET STEP' released in February attracted attention by charting on major Spotify charts and YouTube's trending music charts for both the audio and MV.

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?'. Backed by these achievements, they won the 'TikTok First Half Trend Award' in the music category and the New Artist Award at the 67th Japan Record Awards. Last year, they mobilized 48,000 people on a 12-city tour and will hold a Nippon Budokan concert in September this year to commemorate their 2nd anniversary.

Misa Kimura is active as the general producer of 'KAWAII LAB.', which has introduced FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, and CUTIE STREET to the world since 2022. She entered the entertainment industry as a model for the magazine 'Zipper' in 2014, and was also active as a member of the ASOBISYSTEM-affiliated group 'Musubizm' from 2014 to 2017. Beyond being a model, singer, and producer, she has expanded her activities, serving as a committee member for Gunma Prefecture'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 who demonstrate influence not only in Asia but worldwide, showcasing high-level performances every year. This year again, a large number of top-class artists who have achieved significant results over the past year are scheduled to participate and unfold spectacular stages. ATEEZ, &TEAM, CANDY TUNE, CUTIE STREET, ENHYPEN, FRUITS ZIPPER, Hearts2Hearts, IDID, Misa Kimura, KWON EUNBI, NOWZ, SWEET STEADY, THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE, VVUP, WONHO, and xikers (in alphabetical order) have been confirmed to perform. MONSTA X's Hyungwon and IVE's Rei will serve as MCs on the first day, alongside actor Lee Seung-gi.