FanimeCon (May 27-30, 2011) may technically be an anime convention, but that hasn’t stopped Japanese pop from making a big splash at the event. Having hosted artists such as
AN CAFE and
LM.C in the past, the convention’s trademark concert,
MusicFest, carried through yet again for 2011 with back-to-back performances by
Matsushita Yuya and
FLOW!
Since debuting in 2008, Matsushita Yuya has released an album and eight singles, including “foolish foolish“, “YOU“, “Trust Me“, and “Naturally“, which was released earlier in May. Although this marked his first performance in North America, and at an anime convention in general, the audience was packed with fans who voiced their support with ecstatic screams and cheers.
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Japanese pop fans who attended FanimeCon struck gold this past weekend with free tickets to the highly anticipated concert, which took place across the street from the convention center on Saturday evening. Many fans sacrificed precious convention time to queue up that morning; although the show wasn’t scheduled to begin until 7 PM, the line already was already snaking around two blocks by the afternoon. After the long wait, the early bird attendees were granted access to the first ten rows of seating, while everyone else streamed in to completely fill the concert hall seats on the first level and surrounding balconies.
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Right when the clock struck seven, one of the convention staff members cut right to the chase and introduced Matsushita Yuya to the crowd. When the 21-year-old musician stepped onto the stage, he seemed to spark a fire in the audience – everyone abandoned their seats to swarm forward, immediately greeting Yuya with rousing cheers, chanting his name and pressing forward to get closer to the singer.
Sleekly dressed in a black suit and white button-up, and flanked with a dancer on each side, Matsushita Yuya perfectly exuded pretty boy charm. Matched with his soothing vocals and fast-paced choreography, the handsome idol achieved the perfect formula to capture the audience’s attention and keep the ladies swooning at the same time.
He launched his set list with the “YOU“, a sexy pop track to hype up the crowd, then followed with “Paradise” and the Evo Mix of “I’m Sexy“, matched with pelvic thrusts and body rolls. At one point during a dance break, Yuya licked his hand and pressed it down his body, and many fans reacted with ecstatic screams of delight.
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After these first three tracks, Yuya introduced himself and greeted the audience with a smile. He then resumed with “foolish foolish” and “Back to Love” with his dancers. During each song, Yuya walked across each side of the stage and pointed at individuals in the audience, connecting with fans across the stadium despite the distance. With the music vibrating through the floor and such an enthusiastic crowd, it was hard not to get into the performance.
At the second break, Yuya began reading off a card in English, exclaiming, “Are you having fun? This is my first anime convention… I see so many cosplays!” He expressed happiness in seeing cosplays from Kuroshitsuji and Durarara in particular.
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Matsushita Yuya also performed “Hallucination” and “Bird” from Kuroshitsuji 2 Project. For these two ballads, the singer sat alone onstage and let his vocal pipes do the rest and carry the performance. He then picked up the pace again with “Trust Me“, “Secret Love“, and “Honesty“.
After a rousing chant for an encore, Yuya returned to the stage and wrapped up the night with his newest track, ”Naturally“, featuring a hat dance with a black fedora.
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As the final notes of the song faded and were lost in the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, the singer gave his last bow and exited the stage. With such a successful and exuberantly received debut performance in America, tokyohive anticipates future performances from Matsushita Yuya in the future!
Stay tuned for tokyohive’s exclusive video interview with Matsushita Yuya!
Photography by: Kevin Chang
