[YUI Hong Kong Live 2011]
Reporter: Ka Man Leung
Translator: ss4_goku
I have heard J-pop for most of my life. To be honest, I’ve never been attracted by YUI, ordinary vocals, not the prettiest, and the songs aren’t that special. No matter how hit her songs are, they are never the mostly played in my MP3 or Iphone. Seeing how her concert in HK was completely sold out, I was really surprised as it was her first foreign concert.
As I head towards the Asia-World Arena, I was expecting a very simple, calm, acoustic concert. The results were totally unexpected. From a street performer to a contracted singer, YUI has been a professional artist for six years and her singles are constantly in the top three of Oricon. Unlike AKB who is famous via marketing and other means, what YUI depends on is just her songs. Hearing her live, YUI’s singing isn’t as great as MISIA, but her focus and dedication covers up for her shortcomings. YUI’s performance is truely exceptional, singing with her guitar, and even playing the piano during the encore segment. Cheers and applause never ceased throughout the concert.
I was most surprised by the pure singer and her very courteous (Japanese styled) fans. When YUI finished her last song and the band left the stage, she said that she wanted to do a street-performance and sing “Goodbye Days”. After saying that, she sat down with her guitar and sang with no microphones nor pick-ups. Due to my seat being very far away, I only heard a weak voice and guitar souds, but I saw YUI on the screen singing with all her heart and all her emotions flowing from within. And for the first time, those were five minutes of complete silence, no phones ringing, no whistles, and no crazy shouts of “I love you”, even right before she was about to sing, the crowd were all hushing each other, and it was a sight I thought I’d only see in Japan. A rush of emotions came from within me hearing the voice of YUI amidst the silence in the arena.
[backside] So there are still singers in today’s entertainment world who do not rely on fancy clothing, nor sexiness. In the two hours, only changing once, YUI relied only on her talents to capture and touch others. There are still positive energy in this world.
P.S. Japanese artists having concerts in HK sell a lot of pretty concert goods of good quality, unlike the HK singers who just randomly make ugly t-shirts to get money.
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