Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.
Chara’s tour encore performance, held on the 32nd anniversary of her debut, ended with great success! Takeshi Kobayashi makes a surprise appearance!
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[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/19470/3317/resize/d19470-3317-c0d674efec13accf0994-1.jpg&s3=19470-3317-4b1f4179e4947ed7f846ca093a206d05-768×513.jpg] Chara held a one-man live “Chara Simple City Tour+ 2023 “Heaven”” at Ebisu Garden Hall in Tokyo on September 21st (Thursday), the 32nd anniversary of her debut.
From June to July of this year, Chara held a nationwide tour “Chara Simple City Tour 2023” touring live houses in a small group. During their first national tour in 4 years since the coronavirus pandemic, performing 9 shows in 8 cities, there were many requests from the audience who attended the concerts for a repeat performance, and it was suddenly decided to hold an encore performance. As the title “Chara Simple City Tour+ 2023 “Heaven”” suggests, it will be held on the day Chara debuted her first single “Heaven” in 1991, and there were fans of various ages across generations at the venue. gathered from all over the country to celebrate the debut anniversary of Chara, a one-of-a-kind artist who, even after 32 years, has not seen a single artist similar to her.
When Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” was played as the opening BGM, claps erupted from the floor as Yusuke Onishi (BM, guitar) and Masato Minagawa ( The band members, consisting of Key), Kenichi Takemoto (Cho, Per), and Olivia (Cho), appeared in colorful costumes. Next, Chara appeared barefoot, guided by the notes of the piano, sat on a rattan chair placed in the center of the stage, and began to sing “Okage”, co-written by Chara and Takemoto, quietly and as if speaking to the audience. . As Chara, Takemoto, and Olivia repeat the phrase – love is forever, a warm and relaxing mood spread through the floor, with a sad yet gentle feel. Chara played the acoustic guitar and Takemoto played a powerful beat on the floor tom and tambourine for “Yashii Kokki,” and Chara’s call to “Love Chara!” sparked a loud clap and a call-and-response. The whole audience was already singing in chorus, and the entire venue became one.
Chara, who switched from acoustic guitar to electric guitar, mentioned that September 21st, the anniversary of her debut, is “World Peace Day,” and said with a smile, “Peace is always good.” In the synth-pop song “Sweet,” which became the title song of the first album released in the debut year, the audience sang with a charming and cute voice like candy, while putting all their feelings into the phrase “-A lot has happened.” Attracting the crowd, Onishi took a complete turn during “Shimashima no Bambi,” where he pounded the body of his acoustic guitar to create a beat, overwhelming the atmosphere with his soulful vocals and emotional shouts. During the interlude, she said with real emotion, “I feel like I’m receiving a lot of vibrations of love at live shows.”The moment she finished singing, she seemed overcome with emotion and shouted, “I’m so happy!” from the audience. The free-spirited and dynamic singing voice was met with loud applause and cheers.
While playing the keyboard, she sang “Time Machine”, sometimes whispering sweetly, sometimes shouting violently, but her spell-like singing voice overlapped with the audience’s loud chorus, and during “Milk”, each audience member sang He hummed and swayed his body slowly. “Yashii Koki”, “Shishima no Bambi”, “Time Machine”, and “Milk” are included in the 1997 album “Junior Sweet”, a timeless album of love that sold over a million copies. As we were reconfirming that we had all the famous songs that everyone would hum, Chara went off stage to change her clothes, and Takemoto and Olivia sang “hug” as a duet. When he returned to the stage with “Break These Chain,” which was used as the ending song for Shunji Iwai’s drama “FRIED DRAGON FISH” in 1993, he said, “The song I just sang is the theme song for a drama starring Tadanobu Asano. It’s the one that was used on the show.” He then added, “Suu-chan (my eldest daughter SUMIRE) must have come here secretly today.”
She added, “I’m going to sing a rare, nostalgic song. I’m sorry, Sue-chan. This isn’t a love song with my dad. It’s a song from when my mom was single.” She made them laugh, and added, “I’m going to sing a rare, nostalgic song.” In the groovy funk number “Take Me to a Deserted Island” from the album “Violet Blue,” a lively chorus is inserted, and the refreshing acoustic guitar tone gives it a summer breeze feeling, and the ending of -baby,yeah- There was a scene where Chara liked it so much that she repeated it five times. In “Why do I want to hug you?”, which begins with the question “How’s your love?”, Chara not only plays the floor tom and cymbals, but also plays the glockenspiel. In 2001, she was a drummer in an all-girl band formed with Yuki and others. I felt the real thrill of a live performance as they made sounds with a variety of instruments, from keyboards to guitars, percussion, and vocals, and communicated with band members, live staff, and the audience. Furthermore, the call and response in which the audience responded by saying, “I don’t approve” to her singing “Forever” was exciting, and she performed “DUCA”, which was reminiscent of the new wave of the 1980s, while moving around the stage. It raised the tension of the audience.
Chara, breathless as she gave her all-out performance, expressed her gratitude, saying, “I’ve been singing for a long time. I feel very happy.” Looking back on the time when she was pregnant with HIMI, she said, “I wrote this song when my son was in my womb and before HIMI was born, when I was feeling anxious. “It has a double meaning, it’s a song I wrote for my son,” she said, and in “Kizuku Mono” she carefully delivered each word of the song to the audience. Next, she introduced her new song “ohhh!” saying, “I wrote this song for Su-chan, so I’ll sing it for her,” and she sent a message to the audience, asking them to live as they feel. The entire venue was enveloped in a great love that would continue to be there for them and be there for them no matter what.
Here, Takeshi Kobayashi, a music producer and member of YEN TOWN BAND, appeared with a bouquet of flowers. He was a genuine surprise guest who had been kept a secret from even Chara, and while Chara was surprised, they hugged each other.Kobayashi congratulated her, saying, “Congratulations on your 32nd anniversary,” and added, “Yesterday, we released the music video for our debut song “Heaven.” I’ve seen people with such talent these days, and it’s amazing that they’ve been able to do it like this for 32 years.” Chara then said, “I was praised… seriously.” I’m so happy that I almost cried. I’m a very strict person,” he said with a smile on his face. Then, the band performed “Swallowtail Butterfly ~Ai no Uta~,” which was a big hit as the theme song for Shunji Iwai’s movie “Swallowtail,” released in 1996, with Kobayashi as the keyboardist. Kobayashi, who was performing for the first time at Chara’s live performance, said enthusiastically, “I’ll play as if I were a new player,” and although Chara
unexpectedly made mistakes in the lyrics, the audience didn’t want to miss a moment of this precious collaboration. As they were
concentrating on this, the nostalgic yet cool tone and sweet, sad singing voice echoed beautifully, and the venue gave them the loudest applause of the day. Also, as mentioned in the two MCs, YEN TOWN BAND will be participating in “Ento LIVE” which will be held at KURKKU FIELDS in Chiba Prefecture on October 21st.
After seeing off Kobayashi, Chara said, “Ah, it was fun. Thank you for the surprise. Even though you came all the way, I made a mistake in the lyrics, but it was fun to spend time with all the special people. I will continue to do it at my own pace.” I’m going to go, so please come with me,” he said, expressing his thoughts about the future and moving on to the last number, “A・O・U.” Chara removes the microphone and lets out a variety of vocal tones, including fakes, shouts, high tones, and falsettos, etching the emotion of “this very moment” into the hearts of the audience. Eventually, Chara received the call from the audience -We Love Chara- guided by Takemoto with her whole body.She smiled happily and said, “I am fully pregnant with everyone’s love,” and she accepted the audience’s raised hand. While swaying from side to side, he gave a slight nod, gave a coquettish and mischievous expression that said, “Oh, well!?” and ran off the stage.
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/19470/3317/resize/d19470-3317-e6fc8EE01B275B4470DA-4.jpg &s3=19470-3317-582C2991C2991C2991C9965432CA E77D8-1672X2508.jpg] Chara returned to the stage in response to endless encore applause and began to sing the title song of her masterpiece album, “Junior Sweet.” The audience raised their hands toward the stage, and naturally a sing-along spread throughout the floor. It spreads. By repeating the call-and-response of the phrase -bathing with love-, the entire venue was enveloped in a divine and blessing atmosphere, reminiscent of a gospel church. They then playfully shouted, “Let’s sing our debut song!” and transformed the floor into a disco with “Heaven,” a song from 32 years ago that brought the trend full circle and sounded like the latest boogie funk. Everyone sang, danced, and clapped as they felt free, surrounded by the joy and freedom of the music, and at the end, the Japanese version of “It’s a small world” was played as the END SE. Chara and her band members became puppets and were guided by the music “The World is One” and put it on their sleeves, marking the grand conclusion to Chara’s 32-year musical journey. This day marks the 33rd anniversary of the anniversary live, and we started with the coupling single “Omokage” released last November, which is the latest physical anniversary live, and concluded with the title song “A・O・U”. I can’t wait to hear her next new song.
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/19470/3317/resize/d19470-3317B384836F031D31D31D18C3B-2.jpg &s3=19470-3317-b5C0FFFFAB8CC7B8361BBD8BBD41bbbd 094d3-2560×1707.jpg] [Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/19470/3317/resize/d19470-331241F45ACE89B5EA-3.jpg &3=19470-3317-FB5188D6041F85FF85FF85FF85FFF5FFFF5FFF5
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Interview and text: Atsuo Nagahori
Photography: Takao Iwasawa
-set list-
Chara Simple City Tour+ 2023 “Heaven”
01 Face
02 Gentle feelings
03 Sweet
04 Shimashima Bambi
05 Time Machine
06 Milk
07 hug
08 Break These Chains
09 Take me to a deserted island
10 Why do I want to hug you?
11 DUCA
12 Things that hurt our preciousness
13 ohhh!
14 Swallowtail Butterfly ~Love Song~
15 A・O・U
-ENCORE-
En.01 Junior Sweet
En.02 Heaven
■Performance information
One night only special live “Ento LIVE”
Date and time: 2023/10/21 (Sat) Doors open: 10:00 (LIVE area 16:00) Start: 17:00 (scheduled to end at 19:30)
Venue: KURKKU FIELDS (2503 Yana, Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture) Cast: YEN TOWN BAND (Vocal: Chara, Chorus: Mizuki Kamata), Lily Chou-Chou (Vocal: Salyu), Kyrie (Vocal: Aina The End)
Tickets on sale to the general public from 9/23 (Sat) 10:00
L-tike https://l-tike.com/entolive/
Ticket Pia https://w.pia.jp/t/entolive-c/
e+ https://eplus.jp/entolive/
■Chara profile
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/19470/3317/resize/d19470-3317-5d35f501450e01643c1e-0.jpg&s3=19470-3317-9f7bf4a473830033db883dc9ec101672-816×816.jpg ]
Debuted on September 21, 1991 with the single “Heaven” from Epic Record. They have gained popularity due to their original songs and unique presence, and are also attracting attention for their fashion. Their 2nd album “SOUL KISS” in 1992 won the Album New Artist Award in the pop and rock category at the Japan Record Awards. In 1996, the movie “Swallow Tail” directed by Shunji Iwai, in which she appeared as an actress, was released, and she participated as the vocalist of the band YEN TOWN BAND in the movie. The theme song “Swallowtail Butterfly ~Ai no Uta~” became a huge hit, reaching number 1 on the Oricon charts. His 1997 album “Junior Sweet” was also a
million-seller and ranked #1 on the Oricon chart. “Yashii Kakki”, which was included in this AL, also became a big hit as a single. Around this time, she gained popularity as a new image of women, including fashion and lifestyle, and established a personality that has led female artists to be described as “like Chara.” In recent years, I sympathize with Chara’s lifestyle as she has been able to balance being an artist and the mother of two children, “HIMI” (actor/artist) and “SUMIRE” (model/actress/artist). They have strong fan support and are showing a new presence. In terms of music activities, since his debut, he has continued to consistently pursue musical pursuits, and is also known for his many collaborative works and activities with up-and-coming artists and creators who are responsible for each era. In 2019, he was in charge of vocals for THE MILLENNIUM PARADE’s “Stay!!!”. Released the original album “Baby Bump” in December 2018. In February 2020, he released the mini album “echo” under the name “Chara + YUKI”, a unit with YUKI. In September 2021, “Chara’s Time Machine: 30th Anniversary Live” will be held at NHK Osaka Hall and LINE CUBE SHIBUYA to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their debut. Starting off the 30th anniversary year with a hugely successful live performance, Chara announced on stage that she was changing labels. In addition, it was a year of many activities, including the publication of Chara’s 30th commemorative book and appearances in dramas as an actress. The expression of musical exploration extends to classical music, and with an orchestra led by maestro Hisao Yanagisawa, the first full-scale symphonic concert “Chara 30th ANNIVERSARY Premium Symphonic Concert -Chara’s Time Machine-” was held at Orchard Hall, Hyogo Arts Center KOBELCO It was held in a large hall, and a number of famous songs that have been passed down through the ages were performed with magnificent arrangements. In November 2022, he will release his first single “A・O・U” after transferring to Nippon Columbia. In May 2023, the video work “billboard classics Chara 30th ANNIVERSARY Premium Symphonic Concert 2022 -Chara’s Time Machine-” will be released, and in June, the digital single “ohhh!” will be released. From June to July, they held a nationwide tour “Chara Simple City Tour 2023” for the first time in about four years, and all performances were sold out. On September 21st, the encore performance “Chara Simple City Tour+ 2023 “Heaven”” was held at Ebisu Garden Hall.
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