Ae! group has released the lyric video for the ballad “Ai Musubi” (哀結び), a track included on their second album Runway, which was released on February 25.

Runway has already achieved a major milestone, surpassing 300,000 copies in first-week sales—the group’s first time reaching that mark—and claiming No.1 on the Oricon Weekly Album Ranking (dated March 9). Meanwhile, their performance of “Fashion Killa♡,” which was recently unveiled on a music program, also trended online.

The newly released “Ai Musubi” is a delicate ballad that opens with flowing piano and a fragile acoustic guitar arpeggio. The song portrays lingering emotions toward a relationship that has already fallen apart, alternating between the perspectives of “boku” and “watashi.” Through subtle yet emotionally rich vocals, the story unfolds with quiet intensity, while the lyrics displayed throughout the video deepen the viewer’s immersion into the song’s world.

The track feels less like a conventional music video and more like a lingering conversation between the song and the listener. Written and composed by newcomer Ren (れん)—who shared in the comments how overwhelming it was to see his first provided song become a lyric video—“Ai Musubi” was created with a simple wish: that the song might gently stay beside someone’s heart.

Ae! group has always been a group of startling emotional range—capable of turning a variety segment into joyful absurdity one day and delivering a performance like this the next. They’re a group who color the universe with endless colors, and “Ai Musubi” just reveals one of their most quietly devastating shades.

In the broader arc of Runway, the track serves almost like gravity. The album often speaks about movement—about forward motion, growth, and the courage to take flight. But “Ai Musubi” reminds us that no one takes off empty-handed. We carry things with us: memories, regrets, unfinished ties.

And maybe that’s why listeners keep returning to it—late at night, during long commutes, or in the quiet moments between one day and the next. Because sometimes the most honest songs are not the ones that promise closure.

They’re the ones that simply sit beside you while you remember.

Described by the members themselves as an album filled with a positive message about “running forward into the future and taking flight,” Runway further updates and refines Ae! group’s signature style while significantly expanding the group’s expressive range as artists.

The CD will be released in three editions: Limited Edition A, Limited Edition B, and a Regular Edition.

• Limited Edition A includes music videos for two new songs along with behind-the-scenes making-of footage.
• Limited Edition B includes the music video for a third new song, as well as Blu-ray/DVD footage documenting the album’s production process.
  Additionally, fans who pre-order the album by December 26 will receive an early pre-order bonus: a set of flake stickers featuring four solo member cuts.

It was also announced that Ae! group will embark on a nationwide arena tour starting in March, titled “Ae! group LIVE TOUR 2026 Runway.” The tour will visit eight cities across Japan and consist of 30 performances, beginning on March 7–8 at Aichi Sky Expo and concluding on July 11–12 at Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka.