The First Take

The main concept of the channel is its simple presentation without any foreign element other than the high resolution camera and good audio quality to deliver the music's qualities to the viewers. Videos on The First Take are filmed in a studio, alternating between medium and close-up shots of only the performing singer and a microphone, set to a background that is usually white. The footage is recorded in 4K resolution with high quality audio. According to creative director Keisuke Shimizu, singers are asked to treat the filming as a live performance, The Japan Times writer Patrick St. Michel notes that ''The First Take's'' success demonstrates a shift in musical preferences in the public, suggesting that "slick, manicured pop is out and authenticity — or at least the veneer of authenticity — is in." == History ==

On November 15, 2019, the channel published its first video featuring "Narratage" by Adieu. Several recordings on the channel are available digitally; notably, Dish//'s performance of "Neko" peaked at 11th on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and also placed 28th on the Year-End chart. As of August 2025, 549 episodes and almost 300 individuals or groups have appeared on the channel; six videos have more than 100 million views: "Gurenge" by Lisa, "Neko" by Dish//, "Dry Flower" by Yuuri, "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts, and "Yoru ni Kakeru", "Gunjō" by Yoasobi. The group appeared again to perform "Mixtape: Oh" in October 2021, marking the first non-Japanese song to perform on the channel. In February 2022, singer-songwriter Ai performed her song "Aldebaran", becoming the first solo American artist to appear on the channel. The first American group to appear on the channel was Pentatonix in January 2021. On April 1, the channel published its first recording featuring non-human characters, Sesame Street muppets Elmo, Julia, and Cookie Monster, who performed "Ue o Muite Aruko" with Hinatazaka46 members Shiho Katō, Hinano Kamimura, and Mikuni Takahashi. In June, English singer Harry Styles appeared on the 225th episode, performing "Boyfriends". Styles was one of the few Western artists to appear on the channel. In September 2022, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne performed "Complicated" on the channel. In October 2022, singer-songwriter Sury Su performed her song "Liao (The Phoenix)", becoming the first solo Chinese artist to appear on the channel. In January 2023, Hololive Production member Hoshimachi Suisei, performing her song "Stellar Stellar", became the first virtual YouTuber to perform on the channel. On August 18, 2024, the channel exceeds 10 million subscribers, becoming the first Japanese music YouTube channel to do so. On November 28, 2025, The Idolmaster character Chihaya Kisaragi (voiced by Asami Imai) became the first video game or anime character to perform on the channel, with the song "Yakusoku". Within three weeks on December 10, Chihaya Kisaragi would once again perform on the channel singing the song M@STERPIECE. == List of performances ==

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Other performance The Home Take The First Take Fes Inside the First Take Flash the First Take == Notes ==