There is something so magically wonderful about a 4U. (ふぉ~ゆ~) concert that is difficult to put into words. Whether they’re dancing in their signature style or cracking jokes with each other during their hilarious MC time, members Yuta Fukuda, Yudai Tatsumi, Yuki Koshioka, and Yusuke Matsuzaki have honed their craft to the absolute peak of their abilities.
When their 2024 live tour, PANIC, was announced, I had absolute faith in them to deliver a concert that met my high level of expectations. 4U. concerts are easily my favorite shows to attend year after year because of the level of craftsmanship the group put into constructing the show. PANIC easily exceeded expectations and has become, quite possibly, my favorite 4U. tour. Last year’s tour found 4U. making changes to their standard concert flow, and they have kept that momentum up in PANIC.
What I loved about this tour is, right from the beginning, they open their set with their song Call & Response 4U. (コール＆レスポンス4U.), which was introduced at last year’s tour. This song is an eight minute long extravaganza that features plenty of audience participation and, in my humble opinion, is the ultimate 4U. song to show off their vivid personalities.
What starts as a rock number, and this year’s performance took on an almost wild edge from the backing live band before its quick descent into the hilarity and chaos of the song. For those seeing 4U. for the first time, Call & Response 4U. is a song where you can quickly learn what kind of idols this group are. From drinking water on stage when they’re supposed to be singing or encouraging the audience to cheer for Naniwa Danshi and Travis Japan (and subsequently getting fake annoyed by the loud cheers) to participating in plenty of call and response with their fans, this song is a rollercoaster that I never want to get off of.
The comedy that the group is well known for doesn’t stop with this song. Their MC time, the corner of the concert that allows the audience to sit and rest while listening to their idols talk, is easily the highlight of the entire show. 4U. use this time to construct a set on stage, like a Japanese bathtub or camping set from previous tours. The name of this year’s tour, PANIC, inspired 4U. to make a picnic on stage. This entire part of the concert had me in stitches from laughing so much. But why?
It’s because in this corner, 4U. aren’t afraid of taking themselves down a few pegs to expose a bit of their humanity to the audience. They’re talented idols with thousands of adoring fans, but they also make mistakes. In the show I attended, Koshioka had to guess what was wrong with Tatsumi’s outfit. After a few minutes of searching, Koshioka realized that Tatsumi had accidentally put on his shorts backwards when they were rushing to perform and change their outfits on stage earlier in the show. Tatsumi then revealed he had only noticed they were on backwards after their song Wagamama (わがまま) when he tried to put his sunglasses in his pocket but wasn’t able to.
4U. had also reached back and revealed a story from their first day of the tour. When performing a song with some fan service elements, Koshioka hadn’t realized he needed to go to his position for the next bit of choreography. When he did, there wasn’t enough time to run across to the other side of the stage. He stood next to Matsuzaki instead, and the others adjusted the timing and spacing of the choreography to make it appear as if there hadn’t been a mistake.
These stories 4U. share brings out a more human side to them, but it also highlights how well the four of them work together. They can act quickly and decisively not only to save their members from making huge accidents, but their comedic timing and knowing when to jump in and extend a joke is comparable only to the top comedians.
It is also a beautiful thing to see them interact with their fans during the MC time. 4U. had asked their fans who had tickets for the shows the next day as well as those who wouldn’t be attending. During that time, a fan in the arena had shouted and asked for a ticket for the next day. Without missing a beat, Koshioka joked that he would give that fan a ticket with Fukuda joking not long after that he would share his address with everyone. Even with their promotions for their individual work, fans jumped in and shouted out dates to the amazement of the members.
The love felt between 4U. and their fans is absolutely palpable. It’s hard not to smile watching them interact with fans, waving and sending their love out into the audience. For this year’s tour, the group found a way to make each concert feel unique for those lucky enough to attend multiple times. At the end of the MC corner, they perform an acoustic version of one of their songs as a “Super Panic Band 4 Arrange” corner.
But the love between idol and fan doesn’t stop there. In Tokyo Dome City Hall, the venue for 4U.’s Tokyo dates, the members do a lottery drawing for what floor they’ll go to for PANIC or NO PANIC time. This little corner had fans “panicking” and being excited as 4U. run through the venue, high fiving and doing fan service to all those who want to interact with them. But, when the music changes, everyone, including the members, must stop what they’re doing and show zero emotion. It’s a chaos filled few minutes full of laughter and love between them and their fans. It’s little touches like these that show the bond between 4U. and their fans is one that can never be broken.
4U. spent a lot of time in their careers back up dancing for groups such as ARASHI and KinKi Kids, so their shows are chock full of fabulous choreography. Songs like Scandalous, haunted house, and S.O.D.A. are fabulous songs in their own right, but the choreographed performances of these songs are full of energy.
Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of this entire show was 4U.’s newest song, PANIC. I had read on social media prior to attending that PANIC was a slow rap song, so I had been a little concerned over what I was about to watch on stage. In my head, I had been imagining a slow song that would be hard to bump my penlight along to, but I wanted to keep my mind open to what I was about to experience.
But from the first few notes of the upbeat backing track, the sound taking a bit of a Spanish influence to it, I was hooked. Especially with the members of 4U. chanting “P A NIC! P A NIC!”, I wanted to sing along with them. The rap of the song was a lot more fast paced than I originally imagined, and, with a catchy chorus and fun penlight choreography for the fans to participate in, PANIC was such a fun addition to 4U.’s repertoire. This particular song shows up once at the beginning of the show and once during the encore, and I am so happy they made that decision to include it twice.
Throughout the show, 4U. exhibit strong vocal performances, but the strongest can be seen in their cover of Snow Man’s song, Midnight Trendy (ミッドナイト・トレンディ). This particular performance was choreographed by Hikaru Iwamoto of Snow Man and shows off the vocal talents of all four members but especially of Fukuda and Tatsumi in the bridge of the song. The soaring high notes in the songs are easily hit by this duo, and it is impossible to discredit the vocal range they have when singing this song.
One corner of the concert that I am glad 4U. continued from last year’s show is the member produce section of the show. Each member takes a turn producing a performance for another member. This year, Koshioka produced Fukuda’s tap dance filled solo, Ame ni Utaeba (雨に唄えば) by timelesz’s own Shori Sato. Fukuda produced Tatsumi’s wildly fun and laughter filled solo, 99%LIBERTY by KinKi Kids. Tatsumi produced Koshioka’s dance filled performance of A.B.C-Z’s Hanakotoba (花言葉) in which Tatsumi also danced near the end. Which left Matsuzaki to produce his own solo where he sang Domoto Koichi of KinKi Kids’s solo, Bad Desire, dressed up as C3P0 and dragging along a trash can looking like R2-D2 for a bit of the performance.
This corner is always enjoyable to watch and see how 4U. utilize the skills of each of their members. The mini interviews and videos shown before each performance also give insight into their thoughts and vision before we, the audience, get to see each one unfold on stage. It’s also a brilliant way for the members to rest a little before they push towards the end of the concert.
PANIC had every element that I’ve come to know and expect from a 4U. concert: comedy, dancing, strong vocals, and a bond that has been built through hard work and dedication to one another. But, most importantly, is the element of love. 4U. are four people that love their fans, but they love each other as well. It is an absolute joy every time I get to see these four men interact on stage, and I cannot wait to see how they continue to evolve.
Check out more from 4U. on their various social media accounts!
YouTube | Line Account | X (Official English STARTO account)
Yuta Fukuda Instagram | Yudai Tatsumi Instagram | Yuki Koshioka Instagram | Yusuke Matsuzaki Instagram
what? they’re still active??