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Yesterday May'n held her first solo in the Keyclub of Los Angeles, and what an experience.


The Keyclub may be small, but it was jam-packed. Many flew from Japan just to see her. Based on my personal estimate, we had a crowd in the high hundreds, because I don't think the club could have held one thousand. Her English improved vastly since she last came, and it showed. She was able to communicate with the audience with clarity and precision. Though there were still moments when cultural-misunderstandings caused some rather unintentional responses...

To give an example:

"I will show you my sign, ok?"

Oh yes baby, I wanna see your sign!

Some of her onstage moves were slightly out of place without her dancing troupe, who did not accompany her this time around. Then there were some of her more peculiar stunts, which she only got away with performing because she is Japanese.

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I have to honest, I am very amazed at her singing ability. She is a very small woman, and had to make herself taller with platform boots. But the sheer volume and power of her voice is... extraordinary. Nakajima just cannot compare, and I've already seen her live, too. I know Kawamori likes duets, but I've always felt May'n overwhelmed Nakajima with her energy whenever they are on stage together.

OTOH, this was a very personal concert, she really got close to the audience and had fun with us. This would not happen in Japan, with thousands of fans waiting to see her LIVE.

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She performed songs mostly from her new album, HEAT, which was much better live than in media format. In addition, she performed several Frontier songs, including Diamond Crevasse, which was supposedly her ending song. Fortunately, this was followed by an encore of three more songs, ending with, if I recall, Chasing the World. All in all, the concert lasted 2 hours.

Middle of the show, a technical issue occurred, but she managed it very well. She is becoming more pro, and her past performances, including this one, would prove to be invaluable experiences.

Now why do I say 'becoming more pro'? Because she is hardly a professional just yet. Compared to the likes of Ayumi Hamasaki, aka Queen of Jpop (and if you seen her live, you will comprehend the difference between their levels), she has a long way to go. Fortunately, she has actual talent. She may not have the looks (she is pretty average-looking, really), she has the talent, the skills, the passion and the energy to more than compensate for it. Moreover, she is not artificial, which helps tremendously.

In time, she can even go big...

Sounds like a pretty awesome concert.

I'm a bit confused about what you mean about her not being professional though. Does she lack "spit and polish?" Or does she have trouble not letting things get to her or something?

As for the duets stuff, she has been paired with Yoshiki Fukuyama at least a couple times. Shouldn't have a problem with her drowning him out.

It is a very awesome concert.

Her level of professionalism still needs work. She does lack polish. After all, she hasn't done this on a frequent basis.

Dueting with Fukuyama is different from dueting with Nakajima. Nakajima lacks the power, passion and the energy May'n possess.

Nakajima is, I think, trying to go a different route than May'n. May'n's going for, as you hint, the Ayumi Hamasaki route, with powerful, emotional belting.

Nakajima's going the traditional idol route...the girl who may not have the best voice, and messes up occasionally (although, as in most idols' cases, those mess-ups are intentional) but makes up for it in enthusiasm and energy.

For the Japanese music scene, both routes are valid. Nakajima's tends not to fly well in the west, however.

But that's all beside the point here...the point is that it sounds like you saw an awesome concert. And that's really cool.

Oh yes, I forgot to add, unlike her other live with intentional chirography, she was mostly being herself this time around, without Kawamori or Kanno's executive meddling. There was a lot of instances where she was just acting like a kid. She seemed to enjoy it, too.

This concert was very personal, and I am glad to have gotten so close. I just wished that she had left her hair long, instead of cutting it

OTOH, I am not a fan of little-girl-idols. Never had been. Now, Nakajima is a very good VA, and she is improving with each new role. Thus even if Nakajima will eventually fade away from the idol scene, she can still be a factor in the VA scene.

The routes you have pointed out, I think, May'n's route usually promises a longer-lasting career. Both Hamasaki and her predecessor, Amuro, had careers that span decades. If she can do this well, she might be able to pull it off.

Man, I'm jealous you guys got to see her perform live.
Oh well, I just hope an opportunity presents itself for me to be able to enjoy one of her concerts.

Speaking of which, May'n is going to France again on September 8 as part of her first world tour.

Well, a handful of '80s and '90s idols are still around (and successful) too, like Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, Shizuka Kudo, and the girls from SPEED...so pretty much anything's possible, but I see your point.

And I agree that May'n should never have cut her hair that short.

So envious...

Oh gawd, Speed. They were the shit when I was in high school. I've since grown out of them, though. Then of course, they disbanded and since 07, reformed. Seiko Matsuda is a definite icon, how she is able to hang is pretty amazing in itself.

Shizuka Kudo on the other hand, always struck me more as a diva than anything else, really.

Did I mention May'n is skinny? She is really really skinny. More and more am I amazed every single time she sings in such overwhelming, limitless energy.

My only regret was my inability to take pictures, since I was prohibited to do so. Even though I was prepared with my heavy-duty equipment. So I ended up carrying a huge bag into the concert without a chance to utilize the contents. I was slightly disappointed.

The sponsors also had to connect her concert with anime-expo somehow, even though she was not a featured guest this year (nor am I attending this year's). She came here to sing, nothing more, nothing less, and people should just accept the fact that she had transcended herself beyond an anime icon.

WHAT! I live in SoCal!! *sobs heavily* I was so mad at myself I missed her last year at Anime Expo.... (it was too last minute to buy a badge... I had no monies after rent)

I really should have my ear to the ground on this stuff more often. ;_;

While we're on the subject of singers: is it just me or has AKINO gotten louder over the years?
Replaying the original Sousei no Aquarion and then watching the recent live one, I notice their voices practically scream at you now. I notice this with the new openings for Aquarion EVOL to. I wonder why.

But Michi, her concert was announced and even posted on the forums months in advance

How could you miss it?! How!!??

I don't know!! ;_; I probably ignored it mentally since I wouldn't have time/money/way to get there and someone to go with?

"and someone to go with?"

You didn't even ask...

Hahaha, I'll know for next time now.