[KarenPang]

omg finally finished writing my concert report via my LiveJournal +_+ it's almost 4am D: xD

I just post the portions on what I wrote about Ayu as what I wrote on my LJ is super duper lengthy it's not funny +_+ xD

Spoiler:

Finally after it feels like forever , Ayumi finally took to the stage at around 8pm+ . And despite the small stage , she still was able to make things rather grand in her favour .

Before her set started , a countdown timer was shown onscreen + a moving podium was pushed out from backstage which featured Ayumi + some of her dancers wearing cloaks before she finally began her set with her being the closing act of a-nation Singapore !

Ayumi's setlist :

1) STEP you
2) XOXO
3) A Song for XX
4) Memorial address
5) Love song
6) Lelio
7) You & Me
8) SURREAL ~ evolution ~ SURREAL
9) how beautiful you are

Encore
10) Boys & Girls

==> 3 outfits Ayumi wore that includes :

- black sheer bodysuit (when she sang STEP you & XOXO)
- black sheer Victorian inspired gown (when she sang A Song for XX , Memorial address & Love song)
- ayumi hamasaki 2014 SUMMER T-shirt (Lelio onwards inclusive of Boys & Girls)

With Ayumi being dubbed the headline act , it was really no surprises that her set was the most grand as compared to the rest . She was the only 1 that had multiple costume changes & also having an encore for her set in which of course she deserves to have it x)

I recognised Ayumi's band members who came onstage together with her aka guitarist Yo-chan , bassist Enrique & Timmy . Yo-chan looked really youthful in person (must be the hair cut he had ? xD) while Timmy was really fabulous in drag , dreadlocks & the works haha

In interviews Ayumi did before a-nation Singapore started , she promised she would be doing a mixture of old & new songs + sure enough she didn't disappoint at all .

I was so happy when Ayumi (decked out in a black sheer bodysuit , singing while holding onto the pole that was mounted on the moving podium) kicked off her set with STEP you as up to now it's still a great track which was followed by XOXO .

Honestly I love XOXO + the version that Ayumi did was somewhat more raunchier than what I saw in the PV but everyone didn't really care & just wanna have fun x)

As a longtime Ayumi fan , the next 3 songs she did after she changed to her 2nd outfit (which was a gorgeous beautiful black sheer Victorian inspired gown) to me was the main highlight of her set which were A Song for XX , Memorial address & Love song .

I never would have thought Ayumi chose to sing A Song for XX because this song was 1 of the very 1st few songs I heard of her when I began listening to her almost 10 years ago . Even up to now , the song still never fails to stuck a chord in me , lyrics wise .

Likewise , the same thing goes for Memorial address & Love song , especially Love song as the translated lyrics in English were flashed onscreen when she sang it (with her singing it Acapella in the 1st 1/2 of the song) which was another highlight .

Ayumi's dancers & her band members also have quite a loyal following . And seriously , the way Yo-chan played his guitar was just spell blinding it was just insane noting just how versatile in the way he strutted his stuff onstage .

After Ayumi's 2nd outfit change to the ayumi hamasaki 2014 SUMMER T-shirt , she did Lelio which was really fun . That was followed by You & Me + a SURREAL ~ evolution ~ SURREAL medley .

SURREAL & evolution are still evergreen gems from Ayumi's extensive discography + sure they've been overdone/sung to death but the songs are still classics from her . As for You & Me , it was a real crowd pleaser .

The next surprise Ayumi had was when she sang the 'last' song of her set which was how beautiful you are & before she sang it , she thanked everyone in fluent English for coming + also in that she conveyed a message to all fans present in which she said everyone is beautiful .

Just about she was about to finish singing how beautiful you are , silver strings were released from the top (that unfortunately didn't had any signatures , let alone Ayumi +_+) & after that , everyone all went backstage .

Naturally or not , everyone all started chanting for Ayumi to come back to do an encore in which she didn't disappoint in closing off her set (once & for all) with another evergreen number of her which was Boys & Girls .

Around this time when she did Boys & Girls , she went quite close to the audience who were in the 1st 2 rows & things got quite crazy for a while .

But all good things have to come to an end & finally after close to 4 hours+ , a-nation Singapore concluded at 9.10pm+ .

====

Wow what can I say ? the 1st a-nation Singapore was quite something + after 12 long years , I finally got to see Ayumi Hamasaki live in concert in my home turf at such a close proximity range !

I will say this on behalf of all the Singaporean fans of her in that after such a long time , for her to finally perform in Singapore was truly a dream come true + the fact that I was 6 rows away from her onstage , it was a very surreal feeling .

I wouldn't deny that I was star stuck when I finally got to see Ayumi so upclose & personal + that what I've experienced was literally a once in a lifetime chance because I know I wouldn't be able to experience the same thing again if I fly to Japan to see Ayumi perform as there's no way she would again perform in such a small/intimate concert venue like MASTERCARD THEATRES .

That said , with this being the 1st a-nation Singapore , I hope avex can iron out some fine line details in that should a-nation Singapore returns back next year , please let it be held in the Padang in order to have that whole outdoor concert feeling .

Also , if there's another issue I want to highlight is that I wished that the artistes that performed would have did a bit of MC for their sets as it felt as though it's solely just songs they did but no interaction with fans .

As for Ayumi's setlist , I was hoping she would have done BLUE BIRD , MY ALL and/or Humming 7/4 . I think the song that I was surprised she didn't do in which I thought she might do was Merry-go-round as I assumed m-flo's Verbal would joined her onstage after m-flo's set finished but guess not :p

All in all , wow what an absolutely amazing once in a lifetime experience & Ayumi , thank you so much for finally gracing your presence in Singapore after so long . You were so great , a real trooper + you really deserved to be known as the Empress Of JPop .

And despite all the whatever nonsense that has been written about her , Ayumi really delivered a hell lot of a wonderful performance . Her vocals for her set were quite flawless from start til finish + I could see that she was genuinely happy to do what she does best which was to give her fans a great performance onstage .

Ayumi , please come back to Singapore soon & next time if you do , solo concert please ! *hint avex hint*