Jin Akanishi held a special fan event which was streamed live at The Grammy Museum to celebrate his new music and thank his dedicated fans.
On January 6, lucky fans who were able to get tickets gathered at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. They waited eagerly to watch the live feed of Jin Akanishi’s special fan event LIVE from Yokohama, where Jin would perform songs off his upcoming album and answer some fan questions. Many in the crowd were from out of state, proving that when Jin’s involved, no distance is too great to travel.
Though the event at Yokohama Arena began at 11 a.m. local time, the entire venue was sold out. On screen, an intro video of Jin’s time in Los Angeles played, then the show began with Test Drive, the first single he released in the U.S. Appearing alone on the stage, Jin serenaded the crowd with the sassy song which debuted at number one on iTunes.
Moving on to the next song, things slowed down a bit, mostly due to some stage mishaps! First, the fog machine produced too much fog and obscured the entire stage, causing Jin to cough. After a short chat with a stagehand, Jin tried again only to meet with mic failure. The third time, just as the intro ended, flames shot out from the front of the stage, shocking Jin to a standstill. Turns out fourth time was the charm, and Jin performed Eternal without any more interruptions. The sweet piano ballad was enhanced by his earnest and heartfelt singing, and it was refreshing to hear him perform without auto-tune.
The following MC was translated for those watching in Los Angeles. Jin talked about recording in Los Angeles, the upcoming release of his album and filming the movie “47 Ronin” in Europe. He confessed that he was horrible at doing solo MCs and invited his friend DJ DAVE to help him out, but also promised to study hard and be able to do better solo MCs.
After a bit of conversation about food – during which Jin mentioned missing In’N’Out, a Californian burger joint – DJ DAVE introduced the audience watching in Los Angeles, and a live video of the fans was shown on screen in Yokohama. With fans screaming on both sides of the ocean, Jin performed his upcoming single Sun Burns Down live for the first time. The song, which will surely be a hit amongst club-goers, got everyone up and dancing.
After the song, everyone sat down for the Q&A session. Fans from L.A. had sent questions in and as they watched, Jin picked two from a box. The first asked about how he liked recording in America, and Jin answered, “Love it! The hot girls…I get so much influence from my environment.” The second asked which American musicians influenced him, and he mentioned Lil’ Wayne and Michael Jackson. The next few questions were drawn from his Japanese fans, and while most were quite tame, one frequently asked question riled him up, and Jin decided to answer it once and for all.
The question? “Why do you wear hats and sunglasses all the time?” Jin’s answer: “They make me feel safe and secure when I have to meet people, or be in front of a lot of people. It’s like…a woman’s bra. Would you go out without wearing a bra? No? That’s the way I feel about my hats and sunglasses.”
Fans laughed as he struck an exasperated pose and hoped that this answer would satisfy all. After a few more questions, it was time for the event to end, and Jin sang the last song, SEASONS. The slow, lovely ballad was a nice send off, but the fans in Japan had one more treat in store. Jin announced that he would come to the doors and personally say goodbye to the fans as they exited.
Though fans in Los Angeles weren’t able to see him at the door, they won’t have to wait long to see him again. With a new album Japonicana coming out March 6 in the U.S., Jin will be going back on tour, and his first stop will be in Los Angeles on March 9 at Club Nokia.
