Morning Musume dazzled at their US debut.
West Hall A was the largest hall available at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and it was appropriately filled as fans dashed in for the Morning Musume concert. As the lights dimmed, the front ranks broke out their glow sticks, but the live didn’t start right away – a short video was shown on the screens framing the stage. The video showed a brief history of Hello! Project and Morning Musume. Their impact in Asia and former members who have since gone solo were also mentioned, and then the video introduced the nine members of the eighth generation Morning Musume.
While the fans were still screaming, the girls bounced out onto the stage and immediately started Mikan. They wore matching, cute red dresses somewhat styled after Bavarian beer maid costumes. Morning Musume kicked off their debut in the most energetic, enthusiastic way possible, and the crowd matched them dance move for dance move.
The girls lined up to start 3,2,1 Breakin’ Out. The bright pop song was accompanied by Morning Musume’s 50’s style jive dancing. Then they ran around on stage, striking cute poses before leading the crowd to clap along. After the song ended, Kusumi Koharu shouted in English, “Welcome to Anime Expo!” When the screams from the crowd died down a bit, Takahashi Ai took over. She yelled “konnichiwa,” which the crowd roared back at her, making her smile and say, “Nice!”
Member introductions began mostly in Japanese, but a few of the girls tried out their hard-learned English. Koharu told the audience, “I had some cheesecake this morning, and I am very excited!” Mitsui Aika asked, “Do you like anime?” Lin Lin asked in Chinese if there were any friends from China, and Ai ended the MC by saying, “We would like to make wonderful memories with you!”
Shoganai yume oibito and How Do You Like Japan? followed, with the girls dancing for all they were worth. Jun Jun seemed particularly excited as she jumped across the stage. Resonant Blue was an up-tempo song with a heavier beat, and the girls swung their hair in a very cool fashion. A short MC was next to prepare the fans for the special medley Morning Musume had prepared, and when Aika sang the opening lines of I WISH, everyone began to scream and clap along.
As they transitioned into Koi no Dance Site, the girls took off the red vests of their dresses to reveal sparkling, teal tank tops. Paired with the fluffy red and black skirts, they looked like dancers from a circus. During Sou da! We’re ALIVE, the crowd happily sang the chorus for the girls. The medley ended explosively with Renai Revolution 21, and the girls vanished from the stage. However, they returned almost instantly and asked if the crowd was okay. Takahashi Ai hoped to hear everyone’s voices for LOVE MACHINE!.
After Sono bamen de bibiccha ikenaijan!, there was another MC. Ai read in English the words that flowed across the screens: it was a message about global warming and the hardships many faced. Morning Musume dedicated the next song, Ame no furanai hoshi de wa aisenai darou, to everyone and hoped it would bring happiness to those who heard it. The girls lined up on stage to sing the pretty ballad, and their combined voices rang through the hall while their smiles lit up the stage. When the song ended, they linked arms and bowed; then waving, they left the stage.
However, the live wasn’t over yet. The girls returned to the stage with a translator and Yaz Noya, who organized their events at Anime Expo, and said they would now announce the winners of the Myspace 3,2,1 Breakin’ Out PV contest that had been running on Myspace from May to June. Before the winners were named, HANGRY walked out on stage to surprise the audience. “Enjoy?” she shouted, grinning. “HANGRY & ANGRY heard Morning Musume was coming to Anime Expo, so I decided to tag along to have some fun!”
HANGRY revealed that HANGRY & ANGRY would release a new single soon: Sadistic Dance. Then, she introduced TSUNKU, the man behind Hello! Project and Morning Musume. He walked on stage to thunderous applause and greeted everyone in English, but had to rely on the translator for his next words: “I’m thrilled to have everyone here today. It’s great to see so many people, and I’m glad everyone is having fun.”
TSUNKU quickly explained the categories of the contest – there was a Morning Musume prize, chosen by the girls, a TSUNKU prize, and a Grand Prix prize, which was voted on by the girls of Morning Musume, TSUNKU and the senior staff.
The Morning Musume prize was given first, and Niigaki Risa announced the winner: “We are the cutest, so we picked the cutest PV!” At this, HANGRY laughingly interrupted, saying, “No, HANGRY & ANGRY is cutest!” TSUNKU announced his winner, which was chosen for its surprising and unique quality, as well as the Grand Prix prize. The Grand Prix winner was chosen for its color, quality and animation, which matched the Anime Expo theme.
The winning PVs were played on the screens, and the crowd showed their appreciation through screams and applause. Morning Musume also seemed to enjoy the PVs, dancing along to them as best they could on the crowded stage. After the announcements were all made, TSUNKU and HANGRY left the stage with the others, leaving Morning Musume to finish their concert with their grand finale: an encore performance of 3,2,1 Breakin’ Out.
With Takahashi Ai in the lead, the girls had the crowd dancing and singing along to the happy song. When it finished, they stood at the edge of the stage to wave and bow. Shouting “I love you!” and “See you later!” they left the stage one by one, though the excitement and energy they left the crowd with stayed long after the lights came on.
Morning Musume proved that they had no problems performing overseas with their lively, entertaining debut. The fans who had been waiting to see them received the performance they deserved, and those who had never seen them before were given the best impression possible. Hopefully, this won’t be the last time these girls sing in America.
Set list:
- Member introduction VTR -
01. MIKAN
02. 3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT!
- MC1 (greeting MC) -
03. SHOUGANAI YUME OIBITO
04. HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN? ～Nippon ha donna kanji dekka?～
05. RESONANT BLUE
- MC 2 -
06. - Medley -
I WISH
HAPPY SUMMER WEDDING
KOI NO DANCE SITE
SOUDA! We're ALIVE
THE☆PEACE!
RENAI REVOLUTION 21
- MC 3 -
07. LOVE MACHINE
08. SONO BAMEN DE BIBITTYA IKENAIJAN!
- MC4 -
09. AME NO FURANAI HOSHI DE HA AISENAI DAROU?
- MC5 (PV contest victory ceremony) -
EN01. 3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT!
