The Sakura Matsuri festival in Washington D.C. was a flurry of activity from early in the morning with parades, street fairs, performers and of course, the sakura. One of the most anticipated performances was that of
Ai Kawashima, a pop artist from Japan with worldly maturity which was displayed not only in how she carried herself, but in the message she delivered to her fans through her music. Set to have two performances on Saturday,
Kawashima's fans patiently waited for her arrival.
As the first performance at the JPOP STAGE on Pennsylvania Avenue, the MC entertained fans who waited by teaching Japanese to audience members, including teaching
Ai's name, what it meant and useful sentences that could be used from the word. The stage, which was equipped with 18 televisions and just a piano, seemed even bigger when
Ai came on stage, answering the screams and shouts for her as she waved and smiled. Dressed in a see-through cream colored poncho over a purple blouse and black jeans, her simple outfit was elegant and cute and fit her personality well.
"Hello everyone! I am
Ai Kawashima, I came here from Japan to see you guys. The first song is
Shigure," she announced and began to play the piano, the slow opening echoing through the speakers as she stayed focused on the song.
Ai did not look up much as she sang, and despite the wind blowing her song sheets and her hair getting in her face, she remained composed without missing a beat. The crowd was silent during the mournful song, as the televisions behind her played clips from her August 20 concert at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall,
The Best Seventeen Twenty Two.
At the end of the song she smiled as people clapped. "Thank you very much. Please listen to the next song,
Tabetachi no hi ni." People fell silent as
Ai began to play, but hitting the wrong key she chuckled to herself. "I'm sorry," she apologized, taking a moment to compose herself. "Okay." She then began to play, and the flawless composition that was
Tabetach flowed from her fingertips. During
Tabetachi,
Ai's voice was even clearer, and she looked up at her fans adoringly, smiling as she sang the slow lullaby-like track.
At the end of the song,
Ai had a long Japanese MC in which she thanked the crowd, announcing that she would be playing a song that is featured on her new single, released April 8. The new song had lyrics which were very heavy and was about pressure on people, and this was a song of encouragement to help them continue on. With that, she launched into the next song,
Daijoubu da yo. The vocals of
Daijoubu were strong as
Ai tried her best to convey her message to the listeners, breaking the language barrier so they too could feel the emotions she had put into her song.
Finally,
Ai's last song came, and she announced in another Japanese MC that this would be her final song,
Simple Treasure (kakera). However, as she began to sing, her listeners were surprised to find that
Kakera, or Simple Treasure, was sung to them in clear English. In her MC, she explained that
Simple Treasure (kakera) was about poor people struggling, and it was a reminder to those who have everything not to forget about the people who didn't. The fans thoroughly enjoyed the song, swaying to the delicate melody as she played. When she finished the last song, she bowed and thanked people graciously before leaving the stage to the left. After a few minutes,
Ai returned to thank her fans again before retiring to prepare for her next performance, which would feature a reprise of the same songs on the main stage for the fans coming to the festival later that day. Long after she left the stage, the fans cheered for her, proving her performance was well received.
Set list:
Shigure
Tabidachi no hi ni
Daijoubu da yo
Simple Treasure (kakera)
For more information on Ai Kawashima, please check out her official homepage. Her newest single, Daijoubu da yo came out on April 8th and can be purchased via CDJapan.
