[Official Message] ayumi confirmed to perform at a-nation Singapore on Oct 18th

[freedreamer]

I wonder if Ayu finally decided to come back to Singapore because of Alvin Lee HAHAHA!
and i really expected Feel the love and MGR since she said she would pick songs from Colours but Im really glad she sang more of her epic hits instead

[KarenPang]

Originally Posted by freedreamer

I wonder if Ayu finally decided to come back to Singapore because of Alvin Lee HAHAHA!
and i really expected Feel the love and MGR since she said she would pick songs from Colours but Im really glad she sang more of her epic hits instead

LOL

The stage at MASTERCARD THEATRES AT MARINA BAY SANDS was so small but yet she still made an effort to make a rather grand/cool entrance before she began STEP you + let alone have outfit changes too

MASTERCARD THEATRES AT MARINA BAY SANDS is the same venue when the cast of the Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de movie came last July & last year I was seated on the 2nd floor . The 1st floor was only reserved for the media

What a difference on what I saw just now . I think the media were seated on the 2nd floor of the venue

And yeah I was really thrilled that she did quite a lot of her old songs they're still golden but of course the ones she picked/sang from Colours were also good

[jiarongisme]

Quick review:

Spoiler:

Ayu sounded great honestly.

Because there wasn't a rising platform for the stage, they entered from the side of the stage. They were literally pushed in

Opening video was a mash up of PVs + a count down. Similar to a-nation '14/A BEST LIVE's. After that, the same opening song from a-nation, followed by STEP you and XOXO. Same as a-nation '14/PREMIUM SHOWCASE.

Again, due to the lack of a rising platform, Ayu couldn't disappear in her usual fashion. She had to run to the side of the stage.

Rock section. Yo-chan was playing some pretty awesome guitar riffs to get the crowd hyped up.

Following that was A Song for xx and Memorial address. Think A BEST LIVE, but with a different dress and altered lighting.

Love song was next. Same as a-nation. What's awesome was that there were the lyrics on the LCD screens. I almost cried for this.

Lelio was next. Nothing special, though it was super fun. You & Me had a slight remix before the final chorus. SUR~evo~SUR, in typical fashion. Really fun too.

Stage went black, spotlight on Ayu. She thanks us for coming, and says that her show is trying to convey to all her fans that they're all beautiful. 'Final' song was how beautiful you are. Like HOTEL Love songs. Ran back stage, but it was obvious the show wasn't over. Everyone was shouting for Ayu to come back.

The band came back to the stage, and then Boys & Girls started. Real fun! After that, the show ended.

Overall, it was a really great show. My favorite has got to be the A Song for xx/Memorial address/Love song segment. It was amazing. I'm so happy I finally got to see Ayu live. It really is a dream come true. I hope she comes back when she's touring or maybe for another a-nation.

[Ayumi Romania]

Thank you for the reviews!

[orangeakira]

Lelio, You and me, XOXO, Memorial address, A song for xx, How Beautiful You are. This setlist is a mixture of upbeat and depressing.

[Jieweitan]

Originally Posted by UHPlus

credit to www.facebook.com/fumiakira

Super thanks for the pics! The staff saw me took a photo and made me delete everything (mostly innocent stage pictures, and a few blur Ayu pics). I didn't like the way they did it though because they did it in a rude manner, without taking into account that they are disturbing audiences sitting next to me. Another time they caught another audience videoing next to me, blocked my view while asking her to delete the stuff.

Do all Jpop concerts ban photography? I went to other concerts before and it was allowed. Or was it just a difference in enforcement?

That said, it was a great concert! Ayu was amazing! The other artistes were superb as well. My only gripe is that the audience wasn't as kind to the other artistes, to a point that the host had to come to ask the audience to make more noise/clap/stand in order to make the performers feel more welcomed. It was a real pity for Stella Seat and Wagakki Band. The crowd was quite cold during their performances. It took Sonar Pocket to get about 60% of the people started. By M-flo, you could see that 90% of the crowd, who mostly do not know him, started raving. The whole hall went bonkers during Ayu's performance.

Hopefully Ayu and A Nation would be back bigger next year. With the global TA poster, I sense that we'll be getting more global Ayu activities real soon.

[labello]

Thank you everyone for sharing their reviews and opinions! It sounded like it was quite fun, the set list also seems to be quite diverse!
The STEP you fancam was great!! So much energy and the "wowow"s from the audience were so loud, I was super impressed! I guess a smaller venue makes stuff like that seem a lot better

[tiffanytgs]

Still feeling excited after the show. Love song was really awesome! hope she will come back sg next yr!

[adantatu2]

I'm glad you were really happy with her concert!!!

[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*

[freedreamer]

Love your ending Karen!! We waited for so long and it was so worth it
to add, I felt ayu's voice was slightly hoarse/tired by the time it was how beautiful you are, I think she really gave it her all during the whole concert ><

[waterballoon]

shitttttttt Now I REALLY regret not going

[Bigtop]

Man, what a feeling...a very different experience compared to those typical big-stage Ayu concerts! When was the last time she had a big performance in such a stage like this!? Remember that TA Limited live early last decade?

[KarenPang]

Originally Posted by Jieweitan

Do all Jpop concerts ban photography? I went to other concerts before and it was allowed. Or was it just a difference in enforcement?

It depends but generally photography and video tapping are not allowed . Only if the organisers state upfront then it is different

The JPop concerts I went all prohibit it . Only time when it was allowed was when flumpool came to Singapore for the 1st time and they told everyone onstage to take all the photos and video clips they want

Originally Posted by freedreamer

Love your ending Karen!! We waited for so long and it was so worth it

to add, I felt ayu's voice was slightly hoarse/tired by the time it was how beautiful you are, I think she really gave it her all during the whole concert ><

Thanks and yeah her voice was quite husky but at least it showed that she was not lip synching . Especially the last part where she took out both her ear pieces while feeling the crowd

I forgot to say that I loved it when she sang the 1st 1/2 of Love song acapella which was just wow

Originally Posted by waterballoon

shitttttttt Now I REALLY regret not going

Omg you didnt ? You should have as it was once in a lifetime chance to see her so upclose . I don't think there will be any other chances to see her in such close range . The feeling is so different as compared to the arenas and/or hall tour venues , let alone Yoyogi

[ayu_fantasy]

Omg!!! Pls tell me when she's leaving singapore! Anyone knows??

[PEARL]

boys & girls was real fun!!!

[Kid_Dream]

Actually I would prefer them to hold it at MBS Theatres. Yes it might be small but at least it's a more intimate venue and we can see them up close. Plus it's easier to fill up a smaller venue. Hoping that the success of this concert will encourage Avex to bring A Nation back to Singapore next year. And Ayu's SOLO Concert! I'm still having withdrawal symptoms. Ayu's appearing in my head when I close my eyes.

[Minttulatte]

I love that setlist. I hope we get to see some clips soon.

[tsumekaze_]

Will this be broadcasted somewhere? It looks SPECIAL.

[Chibi-Chan]

Originally Posted by ayuinh.k?

STEP you + XOXO + BLUE BIRD + Love song + You & Me + July 1st

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x27...E3%81%BF_music

whoever 2030 teamayu is, he/she is awesome for posting all these ayu videos on youtube and dailymotion

STEP you, XOXO and Love song were great!