RUAN

RUAN Gallery

Ohyama Ruan (大山琉杏), better known by her stage name RUAN, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and performer. She is a former member of MOONCHILD.

Ohyama made her major debut as a soloist under the stage name RUANN with the digital single "LOVE & HOPE" on September 10, 2018. As of 2021, she uses the stage name RUAN.

She passed the iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ audition in the girls division as one of seven winners in 2022 and was selected as one of the members of MOONCHILD.

Early Life

Ohyama Ruan was born on July 21, 2003 in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. She has a younger brother.^[1]

In her early elementary school years, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", the theme song from Titanic, inspired her to listen to Western music, and her mother later recommended various artists to her. She became fascinated with the music of artists such as Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, whose performances had the power to reach a wide audience while pursuing their own personal expression.^[2] Ultimately, she started singing, dancing and dreaming of becoming an artist.^[3]

When she was in elementary school, RUAN was banned from playing video games, however she was able to browse on YouTube, where she watched music videos of her favorite artists and sang her favorite songs as she walked around the house. While she did not take classes for playing musical instruments, she instead learned to play the guitar, piano, and drums by watching YouTube performance videos and adapting her own way of playing. This method applied not only to music, but also languages, as she was allowed to download English learning applications.^[2]

In 2013, she appeared on the TV show Kanjani no Shiwake ∞ dai 2-kai Utauma Kids Saikyou No.1 Kettei-sen and performed Lady Gaga's "Telephone".^[4]

In her youth, she also became interested in K-Pop after the genre was recommended to her by a close friend, which led her to study the Korean language besides English.^[2]

Career

2015-2016

On October 7, 2015 Ohyama made her independent debut under the stage name "RUAN" by being the vocalist for the indie single "TETOTE" provided by Kitagawa Yujin, a member of the pop rock duo Yuzu. The title track served as the theme song for Super Kabuki II: ONE PIECE, an original kabuki performance based on the popular manga ONE PIECE.^[5]

At the same time, was also active on social networking sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, posting cover songs of various artists.^[6]

2017

In 2017, she was invited by Taka, the vocalist of ONE OK ROCK, to perform at two of their concerts.^[6][7]

On June 14, Ohyama released her first self-produced original EP spice 13 acoustic EP digitally.^[6]

In October, she held her first solo live concert "RUAN LIVE@CITAN" for two days. The event was originally planned to be held on one day, but despite the announcement on SNS, the number of applicants exceeded expectations, and an additional show was quickly decided upon.^[6]

2018

On January 10, she released her second digital indie single "GET THE GLORY", which was used for Cygames' "Nasukawa Tenshin KO" TV CM.^[8][9] With this release, she started using the stage name "RUANN".

On January 17, RUANN released her third digital indie single "I AM STANDING", which served as the ending theme of the TV anime 3 Gatsu no Lion.^[10][11]

On March 6, she released her 2nd original EP and first physical CD titled SCRAMBLE 14.

During her solo concert RUANN TOUR 2018 SUMMER on August 11, she announced that she would be making her major label debut with TOY'S FACTORY, releasing her debut single "LOVE & HOPE" on September 10.^[12]

On August 26, she held the solo live concert RUANN TOUR 2018 SUMMER "LOVE & HOPE" at Shinjuku ReNY in Tokyo.^[13]

On September 10, she released her major debut single and 4th single overall titled "LOVE & HOPE". It later served as the theme song of the drama Takane to Hana.^[14]

On November 9, RUANN released her 2nd major single (5th overall) "There's No Ending" which was used as the theme song of the anime movie ANEMONE: Psalm of Planets Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution.^[15][16]

On December 12, she released her 3rd major single (6th overall) "READY TO GO".^[17][18]

On December 23, she held the solo live concert RUANN X★mas Eve2 Live 2018 at Shinjuku ReNY in Tokyo.^[13]

2019

On March 15, it was announced that RUANN would suspend her artist activities due to health problems.^[19]

On June 19, it was announced that her contract with TOY'S FACTORY had ended.^[20]

On July 31, she simultaneously released her 7th digital single "BEEP BEEP" both in South Korea and Japan, serving as her Korean debut.^[21][4][22] The song was produced by the Korean producer team Black eyed pilseung.^[23][24]

On December 4, Bside Inc., the company RUANN had been signed to since the release of "BEEP BEEP", released an announcement stating that due to the artist's decision, it would no longer be possible to proceed with the "RUANN" project any further, and that they had been forced to cancel all future projects, including the "BEEP BEEP" promotions, new song releases, fan events, and live performances.^[25]

On December 24, she published the song "Phantom" on YouTube and SoundCloud.

2020

On April 25, RUANN announced that she would suspend the distribution of her new album, scheduled to be released in April, due to issues with the copyright ownership of her stage name. She further explained that the name "RUANN" had been applied for trademark registration in Japan and Korea without her knowledge, and that there was a possibility that she may not be able to use the name "RUANN" in the future, or that her website, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram may all be closed. However, she also revealed she would do her best to protect her stage name as it held great importance to her.^[26]

In October, all of her social media accounts were cleared of content, and on October 13, it was announced that her website would be closed on October 31. Additionally, fans were requested to delete any content they had posted of RUANN from social media.^[27]

2021-2022

From 2021 to 2022, she participated in the girls division of the audition iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ and was chosen as one of 7 winners, securing her spot and debut as a member of a future girl group.^{[28][29][30][31][32]} During the audition, she started using the stage name "RUAN" again.

2023

On May 3, RUAN made her major debut as a member of MOONCHILD with the release of the group's first EP DELICIOUS POISON.

On August 18, it was announced that she would be absent from MOONCHILD's live performances scheduled from August 22 to October 13. Additionally, it was revealed that another announcement would be made regarding the reason for her absence and future activities.^[33] On August 25, LDH JAPAN released a statement detailing the current situation and future of RUAN. According to the report, it had been uncovered that during MOONCHILD's pre-debut period, an outside instructor, who was also accompanying RUAN on an overseas music video shoot, repeatedly used inappropriate language and behavior toward RUAN that went beyond the scope of instruction, which led to RUAN becoming ill and requiring a leave of absence. She would currently be undergoing medical treatment to improve her condition under the guidance of a doctor, but as she was not yet ready to perform, it was decided to suspend her activities for a while after several discussions.^[34][35][36]

2024

On April 30, 2024, MOONCHILD disbanded. In the disbandment announcement, it was revealed that RUAN would continue to focus on her treatment and work on music production activities with the support of LDH.

Discography

Albums

EPs

1. [2017.06.14] spice 13 acoustic EP (as Ohyama Ruan)
2. [2018.03.06] SCRAMBLE 14

Singles

Singles

1. [2015.10.07] TETOTE (as RUAN)

Digital Singles

1. [2015.10.07] TETOTE (as RUAN)
2. [2018.01.10] GET THE GLORY
3. [2018.01.17] I AM STANDING
4. [2018.09.10] LOVE & HOPE
5. [2018.11.09] There's No Ending
6. [2018.12.12] READY TO GO
7. [2019.07.31] BEEP BEEP
8. [2019.12.24] Phantom

Trivia

• Hobbies: Listening to music, DTM, guitar, memorization^[1]
• Special skills: Rubik's cube, video games, gluttony^[1]
• Songs influenced by: Celine Dion "My Heart Will Go On", Beyoncé "Listen"^[1]
• Favorite fashion: Mode fashion^[1]
• Artist influenced by: Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, TWICE^[2]
• Is studying Korean, English and Chinese.^[3][22]
• Can play the acoustic guitar.
• Composes music every day, creating melodies and sounds, writing lyrics, and collecting pieces to create songs.^[1]
  • Has various notebooks for music, in which she writes down conversations with people on the street, the compositions of songs she is interested in, and even what is popular at the moment.^[2]
  • According to herself, she is not making songs with the intention of making them. She completes the prototype of a song depending on her emotional state.^[2]
• Described as a stoic person.^[37] However, she would also have a fluffy and "natural" side, and would be a comforting presence to her members.^[38]
• Her favorite thing about herself is her "passion for music".^[1]
• When she was a student, she went through a lot of hard times, but music gave her hope and a place to live. For this reason she wants to be an artist who "can be like a friend" to those who are going through such difficult days, and a familiar presence that can tell them they are not alone.^[38]
  • According to herself, she has been saved by music even when she wanted to quit music, so she wants to be an artist who can create a place where people who want to disappear or are in pain can take a step back and find comfort in their hearts.^[39] "In the course of my long life, relationships with others can change at any moment, but music will always be there for me. It is such an important part of my life."^[1]
• When she wants to motivate herself, she would look in the mirror and try to say out loud the good things about herself from other people's point of view. "When I am being myself, I tend to focus on my shortcomings and compare myself to those around me, so I try to praise myself from a third person's point of view."^[1]
• Thinks the iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ audition was the moment in her life when she changed the most.^[38]
• In terms of fashion, she admires a style that is the complete opposite of hers.^[39]
• Her fandom name as a soloist was "RUNNDY".

References

External Links

• Official Website (former)
• Official YouTube channel (former)
• Agency Profile
  • LDH JAPAN (archived)
  • Bside
• Record Label Profile
  • TOY'S FACTORY
  • Sony Music Labels