～Onlyyoujin～

The night of March 9, 2012 will 
go down in history... or it should. 
There is nothing that unifies people 
better than music, and on March 9, 
L.A. Live in Los Angeles was buzzing 
with nightlife for not one, but two high-profile 
Asian concerts: the Korean pop group 
CNBLUE and FTISLAND on one side (at Nokia Theatre), 
and the Japanese superstar Jin Akanishi's 
Japonicana concert on the other (at Club Nokia).

Club Nokia was bumping, as it was the first 
concert for Jin Akanishi's second US tour. 
Jin Akanishi traveled all over the States, 
including New York City, Honolulu, 
and ending in San Francisco, spreading 
the music of his new album Japonicana 
and pleasing his die-hard fans indeed.

Jin Akanishi is a top selling Japanese artist 
who was formerly the lead vocalist in the 
mega-popular KAT-TUN, a band who set 
a record for being the first artists to perform 
for 10 consecutive days at the Tokyo Dome Stadium 
(Japan's equivalent to Madison Square Garden).

Already having conquered the hearts of 
his fans in his homeland, Jin Akanishi is 
reaching for even higher stars by trying to 
bring his music to America and the world. 
In 2009, Jin Akanishi delivered 32 shows 
for his first emergence in the US market 
with his "You & Jin Tour," selling out venues 
all over the country. Japonicana is his recent 
US debut album with the Warner Music Group, 
featuring tracks from renowned producers 
such as Stereotypes.

In a Q&A with the Examiner, Jin explained: 
"The word 'Japonicana' comes from Japan, 
America and Spain…There's more than 
one genre -- dance, pop, hip-hop, and R&B. 
It's like my baby, because I created it from scratch."

Club Nokia was an extremely smart decision 
as the venue. Immediately upon entering the room, 
the lively atmosphere was infectious to all. 
The venue was set up with the main stage 
in the center with a small dance area slighting 
below it and the seating area at the very back. 
The entire venue was small in scale, 
creating a much more intimate atmosphere; 
yet, the production (i.e. lights and music) were 
bigger than life.  At one point during the performance, 
the jumping and dancing fans seemed to be 
part of the show, as the movement of Jin and 
his dancers synchronized with the energy of the fans.

The crowd ranged from teenyboppers to 
fully-blossomed adults. The dress code 
seemed to demand fur, feathers, and rhinestone belts. 
(Unfortunately, we missed the memo!) 
Entering the club was similar to walking into 
a Wonderland; however, we were surprised to see 
that many of the audience seemed be mainly 
Japanese speakers -- with the random sprinkle 
of multicultural die-hard fans that support J
in Akanishi regardless of ethnicity, 
dress code, or background.

Well-known YouTube star and Asian American 
songwriter and artist Joseph Vincent was the opening act. J
oseph Vincent came out with his handy and familiar 
acoustic guitar to serenade his the audience, 
performing his new Valentine's hit "S.A.D. 
(Singles Awareness Day)." Although he is an 
accomplished YouTube star and charming performer, 
the crowd seemed to be unfamiliar with his work. 
Despite his few fans' attempts to overcompensate 
with louder cheers and howls, it seemed that the 
contrast between Joseph Vincent's (possibly Asian American) 
demographic and Jin's (mostly Japanese) fanbase 
may not have had much overlap, despite 
Jin's goals of drawing in an American audience.

After the awkward opening, Jin fans were 
more anxious than ever. After patiently sitting through 
numerous cheesy 90s songs, the only and only Jin 
made his entrance, performing his recent hit 
"Sun Burns Down." During performances of 
"Sun Burns Down", "Yellow Gold" and "Test Drive," 
his dancers helped Jin keep the energy and flow 
of the music at a constant high, while the singer 
concentrated on his vocals -- 
which were stellar, as expected. 

One constant of the night was Jin's white rimmed 
sunglasses (which he explains in an Asia Pacific 
Arts interview conducted prior to the concert).  
Other than that, the only thing fashionable 
about Jin was his lateness. For most of the night, 
he had on a casual black jacket, slouchy pants 
that looked like sweatpants, his signature shades, 
and the most puzzling fashion piece of all, 
a thick multicolored scarf wrapped tightly 
around his neck. His back-up dancers seemed 
to have more outfit changes than he did, 
and quite frankly, they seemed to outshine him 
with stage presence as well. Jin Akanishi may 
have put his best foot forward in every performance, 
but his onstage dancers led with their entire bodies. 

During one of the outfit changes, the beats 
to "Ni**as in Paris" came on, and a rapper 
(we admit, we were hoping it was the real Jay Z 
himself at first) entered the stage and performed 
his rendition of the song. Jin then joined the stage, 
and the mysterious rapper -- who was not even 
properly introduced -- challenged Jin to a rap battle. 
Jin, quite hesitant at first, made multiple attempts 
at rapping with much encouragement from his fans. 
However, after many tries, Jin adorably confessed 
"I can't rap..." -- drawing laughter and "awws" 
from the audience.

Although the improvised transition may not have 
showcased Jin's strengths, it made "Jin the 
superstar" more human. We got to see his humor, 
a side of him that laughed, joked, and genuinely smiled. 
It was the only time he really interacted with 
the audience, and they appreciated every moment of it.

The finale ended with a moment that surprised 
not only his fans -- but also seemed to catch 
Jin himself off-guard.  After ending his rendition 
of "California Rock" with a bang, the production 
team began to loop another song right afterward. 
Perhaps it was by accident; perhaps it just wasn't 
well-coordinated.  In this state of confusion, 
Jin's on-stage dancers began to freestyling in 
attempts to cover up the fact that this indeed 
was not a planned part of the concert. That is, 
until Jin decided not to pretend anymore and 
sheepishly announced that the song was over.

Although he managed to proclaim his love and 
gratitude for his fans, it was a mishap that takes 
the prize for the most awkward way to "end" a concert.

Luckily, minutes later, Jin Akanishi came back 
out for an encore, performing his first Japanese 
song of the night -- and a ballad at that! "Seasons," 
on the other hand, ended the night on a perfect note, 
as it not only highlighted his amazing talent 
as a vocal artist and songwriter, but more importantly, 
his goal as a Japanese artist who is spreading 
his music to the United States and beyond.

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