CNBLUE held the Japan leg of its world tour in Tokyo, and on the second day announced a new album and autumn tour.

CNBLUE held additional performances of the Japan shows of its world tour, “2026 CNBLUE LIVE '3LOGY' IN JAPAN,” at Tokyo Garden Theater on August 17 and 18. At the performance on the 18th, the second day, it was announced as a surprise that the Japanese 8th album, “FULL CIRCLE,” their first in three years, would be released on October 21, and that the tour “CNBLUE AUTUMN TOUR 2026 -FULL CIRCLE-” would be held in the Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka areas in November. “2026 CNBLUE LIVE '3LOGY' IN JAPAN” is the Japan leg of CNBLUE’s world tour. This time it was an additional performance of the same live show that was held in Yokohama and Kobe in May, so the set list did not change, but having toured Asia and Europe after Japan in May, they showed a performance that was fully seasoned. As the title “3LOGY,” which expresses the idea of wanting to show “the appearance of the three CNBLUE members each becoming stronger as their own axis,” suggests, the center of the stage that day was the individuality of the three members and the unity woven by CNBLUE and the fans. While orange light stretched out like piercing beams, the three members—Jung Yonghwa (Vo./Gt.), Kang Minhyuk (Dr.), and Lee Jungshin (Ba.)—appeared on stage in formal black-and-white outfits. When Yonghwa picked up a red guitar, flames rose, and the show opened with the speedy rock tune “Ready, Set, Go!” As they stepped on the accelerator all at once, they kept the tension accelerating through “RACER,” raising the voltage of the entire venue to boiling point in one go. In recent years, in Korea, Yonghwa’s shouted words “Everybody 뛰어 (jump)!” at festivals and CNBLUE’s hot live performances have become a topic of conversation, and Yonghwa, saying, “Today too, I want to do a lot of ‘Everybody 뛰어!’,” powered through to “99%.” When it came to the MC part, Jungshin opened his jacket and said, “Look!” showing his dress shirt soaked through with sweat. Sweat was also dripping in beads from Minhyuk’s forehead, but he was in high spirits, saying, “My current feeling is like ‘wow!’” Yonghwa also smiled and said, “The energy is good!” After the refreshing “Bliss,” they moved into “Domino,” in which Yonghwa played the Moog synthesizer for the first time in a while. The flow from the lingering afterglow of the outro directly into the Japanese version of “Radio” gave a fresh change to a song they have heard many times. Creating a sense of unity with the fans’ loud singalong voices, Yonghwa closed the song with a shout of “CNBLUE Forever!” From the nostalgic “LOVE,” which got the crowd excited with call-and-response, to “Little Things,” which reset the mood of the venue with a warm atmosphere, they entered the ballad block. Yonghwa introduced it by saying, “I think this block, which connects songs with messages, is the protagonist of this tour.” Rather than simply livening things up with flashy production, this part, which let the audience carefully hear the delicate nuances created by Yonghwa’s voice and the three members’ playing, was a time that strongly conveyed CNBLUE’s musical range within the live show “3LOGY.” Jungshin described “The Temperature of Memory,” which he composed, as “a song that lets people feel the small happiness and important moments in everyday life, and memories that remain in the heart,” and the song began slowly with piano, acoustic guitar, and Yonghwa’s voice. In “Then, Now and Forever,” past stage footage was projected in monochrome on the monitor and synchronized with the present CNBLUE, showing a beautiful production perfectly suited to the title “past, present, future.” Regarding the next song, Yonghwa introduced it by saying, “I made it with the hint of the words ‘Still, a Flower,’ which appeared in a dream. It was my first experience. It is a song with the message that even if people are different, each has its own beauty.” The powerful warmth of “Still, a Flower” gently filled the venue. When Minhyuk said, “It’s about time for the final block,” and the venue responded with regretful cries of “Ehh,” he could not bear it and passed the talk to Jungshin. Jungshin also passed it to Yonghwa in response to the “Ehh” voices, and Yonghwa asked the audience, “You don’t want it to end? Shall we start again from ‘Ready, Set, Go!’?” Then they really played “Ready, Set, Go!” in full once more. Turning the venue into a wave of excitement, he sang the final long tone longer than usual. Returning from that frenzy to the original set list, “To The Moon And Back,” the song “Between Us,” greeted by loud calls and clapping from the venue, once again united the voices on the floor. Because the excitement was so intense, Yonghwa took off the vest he was wearing and unbuttoned his shirt before flowing into “I’m Sorry.” In the midst of the excitement, they reached boiling point with “Killer Joy,” and Yonghwa passionately sang, changing the lyric “My name Killer Joy” to “My name Jung Yonghwa.” Truly, he himself became the Killer Joy that blew away boredom. In the middle of the song there was also a big call-and-response contest between Yonghwa and the venue. This sense of unity is the real thrill of rock. It felt as though “Killer Joy” was a song that had grown through live performances. The encore began with their debut song, “I’m a Loner.” In “YOU’RE SO FINE,” there was an a cappella call-and-response with the venue. Smiles spread as Yonghwa manipulated the crowd’s voices like a conductor. In “Again,” which the three created together, Minhyuk, Jungshin, and Yonghwa sang in turn. Because Yonghwa also wished, “It’s in Korean, but please sing along,” the fans sang the Korean lyrics loudly, and Yonghwa gave a thumbs-up, saying, “Amazing—perfect!” In the MC part, Yonghwa said, “I have an announcement.” On the monitor, the release of the Japanese 8th full album “FULL CIRCLE” on October 21 and the November Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka tour “CNBLUE AUTUMN TOUR 2026 -FULL CIRCLE-” were announced as a surprise, and the fans rejoiced. Yonghwa said, “It’s our first album in three years since ‘PLEASURE’ in 2023. It is a work that only CNBLUE, now celebrating the 15th anniversary of our major debut in Japan, could make. After spending a long time singing and performing on stage, I felt as if we had arrived once again at the place where everything began. That is not about looking back at the past, but about moving toward a future we have not yet seen with everything we have accumulated so far. With the feeling that after finishing drawing one circle, a new circle begins again, we gave it the title ‘FULL CIRCLE.’ We really prepared hard. I’m sure it will be an album that surprises everyone. Please support CNBLUE, who took on this challenge! It is the strongest album. An album made with our blood, sweat, and tears. Please look forward to it,” showing confidence. Then, after singing “A Song in Praise of Life,” which is also included on the new album, loud cries of “Encore!” rose again from the venue, and they immediately answered with a double encore of “Can’t Stop.” Furthermore, when the three bowed at the center of the stage and the unending cries of “Encore!” continued, Yonghwa said, “One more time?” and, guitar in hand, continued the hot stage to the very end with their Japanese major debut song, “In My Head.” “2026 CNBLUE LIVE '3LOGY'” was not merely a place to present the songs from the latest album “3LOGY,” but a stage where one experienced CNBLUE’s music itself, moving back and forth between intensity and calm, nostalgia and novelty. When Yonghwa threw his voice toward the audience, BOICE (the fans’ name) responded. Receiving that response, the three played even more passionately. It was a place where CNBLUE’s style of “creating it together with the fans” could be felt directly. Even with the same set list, the live show is completed by the voices of the fans there and the energy of the three members on that day. That is the fun of a band live performance, and the reason why one wants to watch CNBLUE’s live shows again and again. The world tour “2026 CNBLUE LIVE '3LOGY'” will conclude with performances in Busan on September 12 and 13, and expectations are already building for the next “FULL CIRCLE” tour. Text: Yukari Sakamoto