Takahisa Masuda, a member of NEWS, celebrated his 1ST LIVE called ‘Kidoairaku’ 「喜怒哀楽」, which was held in four shows in two cities (Tokyo and Osaka) and attracted 26,700 people.
Dumpling Box had the pleasure of going to the Tokyo Garden Theatre to attend his live, and it was accompanied by his recently released solo debut album with the same name and was totally self-produced.
In taking on the challenge of this live performance, Takahisa said: “What kind of work can Takahisa Masuda, who was brought up by NEWS, produce on his own? I’m going to fight! I will do my best together with the staff, the band, the strings and the dancers!”.
Takahisa himself said that neither uchiwas nor penlights could be used during the concert, so even before the concert started, I knew it would be a kind of show I had never experienced before. My seat was in the middle of the venue so I could see the scenery perfectly.
The show began with the chorus delivering beautiful harmonies as Takahisa walked alone onto the dimly lit stage. A single spotlight illuminated his figure, showcasing a full white costume.
Amidst the spontaneous applause, a phrase from the a cappella song “Kidoairaku” rang out, his elongated vocals transitioning into high-speed rap in the next moment, accompanied by a rapid succession of expressive changes. Takahisa‘s ability to express the subtle emotions of “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure” in a single song is impressive and was truly showcased through this opening.
The gushing power of the song flowed seamlessly into the cool and intense stage performance of “Master’s bomb“, while the musical-style production of “Venom“ stood out as another highlight.
The atmosphere of the venue transformed entirely when a fantastic image was projected onto the curtain that covered the stage. With a band of 25 string musicians and dancers leading the way, the group captivated the audience, delivering a powerful performance complemented by intricate group dances and vocals that artfully enhanced and manipulated the colors of his voice.
The cool atmosphere changed dramatically when the words “Let’s bring out Takahisa’s joy, anger, sadness, and humor” appeared on the monitor. In this part of the program, Takahisa took on the challenge of various projects prepared by the staff in order to bring out his joy, anger, pathos, and humor. This segment was particularly funny, with the staff thoughtfully selecting the best projects to engage the audience while Takahisa changed his clothes.
His singing ability was also on full display in the cover songs performed in succession: “Koibun“ by Every Little Thing and “Forever Mine“ by Tatsuro Yamashita. While tracing the singing style of the original song and recreating its atmosphere, the powerful and clear vocals created a new worldview of the lyrics. It was a storyteller-like scene, where Takahisa’s passion for music could be felt directly.
The song “Candy“ was sung in a simple composition with only guitar and percussion, and before singing this song, Takahisa placed a chair in front of the stage to sit on, and the audience cheered at how close he was.
To the surprise and delight of the audience, he continued with Tegomass‘ debut song “Miso Soup”. When the song reached the chorus, fans sang the main melody and Takahisa sang the lower part of the melody, and the sense of unity was overwhelming. Takahisa‘s expression as he looked at the fans with a kind smile was also impressive. The end of the song was accompanied by loud applause, and some fans could be heard holding back their tears, making the audience feel a strong bond with the singer. The songs “hanami“ and “Koi (戀)“ followed, with Takahisa‘s sweet vocals and warm atmosphere.
In the next block, he changed clothes to a black top and pink bottoms and performed a mix of old and new dance numbers, including “Symphony of Dissonance“, “kawaii“, “Pumpkin“, “Girls That Dance” and “Remedy“.
A buzz was generated in the audience when he performed “Pumpkin”, which came as a pleasant surprise to fans as it had been 18 years since NEWS’s 2007 concert “Never Ending Wonderful Story“.
The song is included in the “Solo BEST version” of the album, along with “Remedy”. This song was also highly supported by fans, and the audience got excited as soon as the intro to the song started to play. The performance went from rugged to cute, sometimes with glimpses of sexiness, and developed one after another, synchronized with the dancers and the intense lighting.
“Girls That Dance” was a dance-focused performance accompanied by six dancers, who danced without a stitch of difference. After the names of the dancers were introduced one by one during the interlude, the words “lighting equipment” appeared on the screen. This lighting equipment was placed at equal intervals on the stage emitted a searchlight-like light, adding color to the performance. This was a playful touch that was typical of Takahisa, to also introduce the equipment that had helped build the stage together, and the fans in the audience started laughing.
More of Takahisa‘s creative side was seen on stage using an MPC (Music Production Center) in the second half of the show, and as he was standing alone in the center of the large stage, he made beats on the spot by overlaying various rhythm tracks. He then proceeded to perform “XXX“, utilizing the completed music, singing nimbly, using various types of microphones and megaphones.
Finally, the live performance reached its climax.
The entire audience sang “Monogatari“ along with the magnificent music in the background, and the fans singing along with him were shown on the monitors also displaying lyrics such as “Look, today again, you let me see this kind of scenery“.
After the end roll, he sang—as the last song—the first song of the show again, “Kidoairaku”. Takahisa roared his powerful singing voice without a microphone to the entire audience as if he were exerting his last strength. Everyone looked at him with a serious expression and surrendered themselves to the music he delivered until the end.
Takahisa performed 19 songs in about two hours, and said at the end of the show, “I’m Takahisa Masuda of NEWS! Thank you very much!” before he left the stage with a very satisfied smile on his face, receiving thunderous applause from 8,000 people.
It was really a unique experience, and without uchiwas or penlights, all I could do was appreciate what I had in front of me: an exceptional singer with a voice you won’t find anywhere else. The way he delivered his music with a variety of emotions is the very essence of an expressive person. The 8,000 people who gathered at the Tokyo Garden Theatre were all captivated by his singing voice.
There was no MC for 2 hours, so everything went very smoothly, and the intermission videos were also very funny, and we could laugh from time to time.
Takahisa wants to take up the challenge of doing his solo activities as well as group activities, and it is a challenge to be admired and he is sure to do well in both facets as a singer.
Check out more of Takahisa Masuda’s new album through the official accounts on SNS!
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