Album Iwasa Misaki 1st [Request Covers] (2013/11/06)

Wasamin's 1st day sales rank came in at 7th place, according to Oricon

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2013-11-05/more/2/

Keep in mind, the rank is not as important as the overall sales number. Wasamin still has plenty of promotional events to do, many of which are in the Tokyo area. So I imagine her number will stay reasonably consistent for the first week. Instead of sinking like a rock after the first day, which many releases do.

 

Osaka Setlist...

1. Tsugunai
2. Mujineki
3. Ai no Mama de...

Wasamin did not wear a Kimono for this appearance, instead wore an extremely short miniskirt, white knit top and black bow. It seems nosebleeds were abound in Osaka...

Also, a couple of screenshots of TBS coverage of the Shibuya Event

 

I wasn't at the Osaka event. Anyway, photo taking is strictly prohibited. I have seen one photo of that outfit, but it is in a 2-shot, so I don't thing it is appropriate to post here

As a consolation, here is the Yellow Kimono from Kobe, taken from her G+

 

Ah, the TV appearance! Everyone was talking about it at the event today. I wanna see! Anyway, back from Suzuka. Quite the trek to go all the way to Mie Prefecture, but it was totally worth it. I will begn with the setlists and build from there...




2pm Event:
1. Nagori Yuki
2. Love is Over
3. Mujineki

Wasamin in Off-White w/ Pink detail Kimono (check the above appearance post)

5pm Event
1. Moshizora
2. Nadasousou
3. Akai Sweet Pea

Wasamin in mini floral print skirt, with tan wool sweater and thigh-high brown suede boots w/ scrunchie

So the first question I asked when I got there was "Why would they decide to have events out in the middle of nowhere?" I mean, Suzuka...it is an hour outside of Nagoya. No real fun for tourists unless you are coming for Formula One racing. But my question was answered when the crowd began to fill...




The place was packed, even more than Shibuya. Not only was the main floor packed, but the second and third floor verandas were packed too! The most amazing part? At least one-third of the crowd could be classified as elderly. This was perfect. This is her demographic! They were buying the CD too! I was so excited when they would win the 2-shot.

BTW, a funny aside...When I got off the train I was walking to the event behind two random guys. About a block later I noticed their bags and briefcases had the Tokuma Records insignia on them. They were there from the label to run the show. Kinda funny.

Anyway, I was hanging out behind the performance area when the show started, and rushed to my reserved seat (4th row center) As I entered the MC was talking about people coming from out of town for the event, and half the crowd began pointing at me.

As for her performance...her voiced cracked a little bit on Nagori Yuki, like she was straining to hit the high notes. But the rest of the songs were perfect! In fact, Nada Sousou brought me to tears. Seriously! It was beautiful. Wasamin even noticed, kinda squinting at me in acknowledgement.

OMG Moment...During the second performance, in the second MC Wasamin commented about how many people she noticed came from Tokyo, and one person from San Francisco! I couldn't believe she was singling me out again in the middle of the show! But a lot of her Nagoya fans came up to me after to talk about it.

Once again, she gave away her hair accoutrement as a grand prize, and both winners were friends of mine. I had dinner with both of them after the show. Here is the piece from the early show...



I bought 2 CDs, so I got 2 handshakes. During the first meeting I apologized for not going to Osaka and Kobe, and told her I enjoyed Love is Over. She freaked out over my pronunciation, and asked me to repeat it. So I did, then I said it emphatically a third time..."Wasamin, Love is Over!" She and her manager were laughing. I won the postcard for that meeting...

For the second meeting, I won the 2-shot! She again started talking bout "Love is Over", so I had her practice the American pronunciation of "I will Follow You" (Akai Sweet Pea) It took her two tries, but she got it...sort of. I then told her that I was requesting a performance of Blue Light Yokohama tomorrow. So when she sings it, and I think she will since it is one of three songs she hasn't done live yet, she will think of me...

I can't begin to tell you what an almost religious experience this has been. Wasamin's singing has far exceeded my expectations. You can see it in her eyes how focused she becomes when it is time to perform. And for the most part, she nails every song!

Tomorrow, three performances in Ibaraki. I am ready!

 

Another day of Wasamin awesomeness completed. Lets begin with the setlists...



Iwasa Misaki Request Covers Tsukuba Event 2013/11/08

11am
1. Ai no Mama de...
2. Moshisora
3. Kita no Yado Kara
Outfit: Pink Kimono w/ pink flowered pattern. Pink/Blue flower set in hair (won by one of the first people in line)

2pm
1. Ettou Tsubame
2. Love is Over
3. Mujineki
Outfit: Purple Kimono with Pink floral print. Ponytail with black&white flower piece in hair (won by one of the guys I was with)


5pm
1. Moshisora
2. Matsu wa
3. Hanamizuki
Outfit: Grey skirt w/overalls Bergundy sweater w/ black short boots. Black choker w/cross Black scrunchie

First of all, yesterday I told Wasamin that Blue Light Yokohama was my favorite song on the CD, and now it is the ONLY song she hasn't done live. Is she mocking me on purpose? Torturing me? The song is beautiful, and I want to hear her sing it!



Got to the mall just before 10am, since that is when the CD sales were to begin. One problem, the mall was closed! They were also doing seating on a first come first served basis. So when the mall doors open it became a race for seats. I came to the mall with Okaji-san, who is heading her birthday committee this year. He isn't a young guy, so it was amazing to see him run so fast! BTW, a lot of Wasamin's otaku fans are in the older age range. 35+ In fact I would guess that she has the oldest average fan age range of all the girls in AKB.



The show was MC'd by Jumbo Kobayashi, who is a high profile guy from Tokuma Records. I remember him from the Mujineki events I attended. He's a really slick dude, and he plays with the audience (as well as Wasamin) quite a bit. Jumbo started off by calling Wasamin "kawaii" in a very strange way. This totally creeped her out. But Wasamin, as well as the fans love to poke fun of Jumbo as well. In the first show, Wasamin challenged Jumbo to donate something as a grand prize since she was donating her hair set, and suggested his sport jacket. (He wears very expensive looking suits) He offered his pen, but didn't think anyone would want it.

This was an extremely high end mall, and Tsukuba looks like a beautiful place to live. Nice homes...everything looks clean and new. Far enough from Tokyo to be a sort of refuge, but close enough to enjoy the city. (around 50 minutes by Tsukuba Express from Akihabara)



Didn't seem to have as many people in attendance compared to Suzuka. 2pm show was definitely the most crowded. There were 150 seats (which were about 90% filled each time) Quite a few people chose to watch from the upstairs verandas in the mall.

They love the international angle. In the 2nd pre-show MC, Jumbo made a big deal about my friend Andy coming all the way from Hong Kong. Later in the second show Wasamin talked about the people traveling all over the country to the various events, and then mentioned me coming from San Francisco. She proceeded to say to me "Hello, I am Misaki Iwasa!", to which I responded "HELLO...Wasamin" BTW, I have never said "hello" to her. I always use a Japanese greeting. But it was all in fun. On one hand, I get slightly embarrassed when she puts the focus on me during the show, but I also get that they enjoy pointing out that Wasamin is now "world famous". Anyhow, she has now done that to me 2 days in a row!

I bought three CDs today, which means I got three handshakes and three prize drawings. Obviously the goal is to get the cheki (or the grand prize, but there is only one of those). Today I got the postcard on each of my first two. I want to be disciplined and not buy a million CDs, but I decided that if I didn't win the 2-shot on the third try I would buy one more CD and try again. Luckily, I got the cheki with my third ticket. (Jumbo kept calling them "Chucky", to the amusement of everyone)



So that makes 9 CDs purchased so far, and I have won three of each prize. Three stickers, three postcards, and three cheki. I posted the first 2-shot where we did the obligatory peace sign. For Suzuka we did the joined heart, and today we did Mujineki singing pose. Some people get really creative with their pose requests, it is fun to watch. The guy who won the grand prize for the third show did the "Team B Oshi" pose.

Speaking of cheki. Jumbo had purchased the CD, and kept taunting Wasamin that he wanted his handshake like everyone else. He waited for the end of the last show. And for his prize, he drew the 2-shot. Wasamin suggested the "nyan nyan" pose, but right before the shot she dropped it and gave him a shitty look. Too funny. Jumbo then proceeded to do his best nerdy otaku impression during the handshake until the guard forcefully threw him out!



For my handshakes, the first one was sort of a "failshake" I greeted her with "Ohayowasamin", and before I could say what I planned she started talking to me in Japanese. I asked her to repeat it but still didn't get what she said. So I just said "Gomen Wasamin, I love you!" before I got pushed out.

For the second one I had remarked about her performance of "Love is Over" (more on that in a minute) I got an excited "Hontoni???" as a response. Oh, she again asked me to repeat "Love is over" in American pronunciation.



Between each show many of the fans hung out in the food court. Between shows 2 and 3 Wasamin posted on her google plus, drinking a Bubble Tea from Dipper Dan, the shop we were sitting next to. The next thing you know there are about a dozen Wasafans (including myself) in line buying the same drink. So for the third handshake I told her I got the Bubble Tea on her recommendation. She said she really liked it and asked if I enjoyed it to.



On to the performances...needless to say she did an amazing job. This was the first time hearing Matsu wa and Kita no Yado Kara. I you listen to "Yado Kara", it is an extremely intricate and difficult song. Very traditional Enka. To hear her pull it off live...wow! She is really impressive. As for "Love is Over", there is a singing " run at the end of the song that Wasamin performed flawlessly. That is what I had commented to her about on the 2nd handshake.

I think that is it for Friday. Now it is time to rest and get ready for Saitama. We are hoping that tomorrow's event will the biggest, since it is the weekend AND close to Tokyo. Fingers crossed...

And fingers crossed for Blue Light Yokohama

P.S. @Arubaro I forgot to mention yesterday I had met Wild-san in Suzuka (he's the one who's blog you read) I didn't realize I hadn't met him before. He doesn't live anywhere near Tokyo. I get some of her fans mixed up since they don't put their own photos on their mixi profiles. He is a crazy dude! Heckling Wasamin during MC's, suggesting oddball 2-shot poses. He always has this wild look in his eyes (hence the name, I guess) But he is a super nice guy! Check out the first 2-shot on his blog, the look on Wasamin's face is great!
http://ameblo.jp/saku1125/entry-11676048669.html

 

2013/11/09 Setlist, Request Covers Promotional Event @ Ito-Yokado Department Store in Nishikicho, Saitama

Special Opening Act, the karaoke stylings of Jumbo Kobayashi



BTW, I attended this event with Memorybreak!!!

11am
1. Moshisora
2. Nagori Yuki
3. Tsugunai
Outfit: White Kimono w/ Fiery Red @ Purple Print
Note: Grand prize won by the guy sitting next to me during the show

Handshake: (won 2-shot) I told Wasamin her Kimono was beautiful. She asked "Aren't I beautiful?", to which I responded "of course!" I also told her that Jumbo was my new twitter friend (I attempted to follow him on twitter last night, but is account is protected. He came over to me while I was in the handshake queue to tell me that he approved my request )

2pm
1. Toki no Nagarene Miwo Makase
2. Blue Light Yokohama
3. Mujineki
Outfit: Pink Kimono w/ Black Pattern at the bottom (hawt!)
Handshake: (won sticker) She said I was cute. I told her she was cuter. But she said I was cute too. I asked her if she was happy about the tremendous turnout, and thanked her for finally singing Blue Light.

Note 1: Claudia (loveandcoffee) showed up at the end of the 2nd event, in time to see Wasamin going up the escalator in her Kimono. She looked starstruck, and thought Wasamin was beyond adorable. I was so proud!

Note 2: Between shows I was walking through the food court, and a little old lady came up to me, pointed to my Wasa-shirt and exclaimed "Kawaii, ne?!"

5pm
1. Nada Sousou
2. Moshisora
3. Akai Sweet Pea
Outfit: Light Blue checkered dress w/ Pink scrunchie, Tan thigh high boots

Handshake: (won postcard) I basically introduced Claudia to her. Gave Wasamin her name and told her she was very nervous.

Note 1: Jumbo was excited not only was San Francisco and Hong Kong in the house, but now Italy was in attendance! Wasamin is truly an international star!



Note 2: I won the postcard, but Claudia got the 2-shot...on her first try! My tally is now 12 handshakes w/ 4 each of the stickers, postcards and chekis. Yep, right on average.

Note 3: Wasamin delivered a message to me via Claudia. "Please teach Chris Japanese so we can have more conversations" It tugged at my heart that Wasamin really wants to talk with me more, but our language barrier limits what we can really talk about. I wanted to cry when Claudia told me that Not to mention she had just performed Nada Sousou, which brought me to near tears the first time I heard it. Yeah, I was an emotional wreck for the third performance.

* I have now heard every song on the album performed live

That was the first time I had heard Tsugunai live. It is a great song, so chalk it up as another of my faves. As for Blue Light, it got a huge reaction when she announced it. The fans had noted all day that it was the only song not performed so far. Not only did Wasamin do a flawless job, she actually riffed on the second chorus. I was so impressed that she was confident enough to play with the song on the first live performance!

I think I love that song so much because it really has a sexy vibe to it. Really neat to hear Wasamin sing a song like that!

Note: Crowd was by far the biggest this week. A majority of the seats for the 11am event were taken over an hour prior to the show. 2pm show was absolutely packed to the rafters. Handshake session for the 2pm show took over 45 minutes, 5pm event's handshakes took about an hour. (they have traditionally been around 30 minutes)

Here is a tally of how many times each song has been performed (aside from Mujineki and Moshisora)
Ai no Mama de... 3x
Akai Sweet Pea 3x
Ettou Tsubame 3x

Hanamizuki 2x
Love is Over 2x
Tsugunai 2x
Nada Sousou 2x
Nagori Yuki 2x
Toki no Nagareni Miwo Makase 2x

Matsu wa 1x
Kita no Yado Kara 1x
Blue Light Yokohama 1x

From there you can of venture a guess of what tomorrow's final three setlists will be. In fact I called all three songs correctly for the 5pm show! More to come...

 

We are really hopeful, and I am sure her fans will give her a big push by buying many CDs. i expect the handshake queue will take quite a bit of time, especially for the last performance. It is amazing to me how many CDs some of these guys buy!

Oh, and I edited my precious post with more event detail

 

Tell me about it. It isn't that Wasamin hurt my feelings, but there is so much I would love to say to her but don't know quite how to say it. But if there is a will, there is a way. I may have a trick up my sleeve for today...

Anyway, off to Ageo pretty soon for the final release week event. It is going to be bittersweet. Not sure how I am going to handle it, as I am already a little bit choked up...

The Wasa-faithful are already strategizing for today. Fans from afar are making the trip this morning too. It is going to be great!